Dead Alive

Dead Alive

The Shins

This song is perhaps best understood in light of The Shin’s earlier track, Simple Song. In its music video, Mercer is dead and his children, distant from one another for most of their lives, are reunited at his funeral, and serves as a nostalgic tongue-in-cheek reminder to put family differences aside.

One interpretation of this song is a continuation of his death: in the music video for Dead Alive, Mercer is seen emerging from his grave as a skeleton and wreaking havoc in the world as the spooky, trippy video plays.

The song’s title immediately evokes a sense of dichotomy between life and death, while simultaneously blending the two together recalls an image of the dead coming to life once again.

The song begins and end with the phrase “Figments of imagination,” as Mercer expresses his thoughts or dreams as he is seen sleeping in this nightmarish portrayal, where his skeleton could also be seen as an image of his anxiety, fear, and mental fragility.