Here's The Reason That This Is Us Montage Was Extra Freaking Emotional
This isn't the first time the show used "To Build A Home" to pull at heartstrings.
After six seasons on the air, This Is Us has a defined style that can make viewers cry at the drop of a hat. The show has perfected turning on the waterworks, juxtaposing past with present and future — and doing it all with a dynamite soundtrack. The most obvious of the stylistic choices are those soft mid-aughts U.K. indie rock sounds that play over an episode’s final moments as yet another emotional beat thwacks audiences in the heart. However, of all the soundtrack choices on This Is Us, the “To Build A Home” song (and its lyrics) hit hardest.
Warning: Spoilers for This Is Us Season 6, Episode 16 follow. As was probably predictable, the final moments of This Is Us’ third to last episode was aimed right at the tear ducts. After a passionate and dramatic family meeting hour, Kevin and Sophie declared they would relocate back to the East Coast and moved in with Rebecca to have family around her 24/7, 365 for her remaining years as she slipped away. Madison and Elijah came too, moving nearby, so Nicky and Franny could grow up in a blended family. With Uncle Nicky and Edie also close and Randall’s section of the family in Philly, the Pearson clan was practically colonizing Pennsylvania to stay close to mom.
The episode's final moments fast-forwarded over the next few years, from Miguel’s passing in 2029 to 2034. It ended the afternoon before the famous “flash forward” scene fans have glimpsed since Season 2. Over a montage of images of all three Pearson siblings caring for their mother, one of the show's favorite music cues started up again: “To Build A Home” by Cinematic Orchestra. Fans will recognize it as This Is Us’ answer to Game of Thrones’ “Rains of Castamere,” played over super-emotional moments like Jack’s passing in Season 2, Episode 13, or Kevin taking up Jack’s legacy and deciding to build the cabin of his father’s dreams in Season 4, Episode 14.
Why is this song part of This Is Us’ arsenal? The lyrics fit the show’s themes of building a place for family until they leave you.
There is a house built out of stone
Wooden floors, walls, and window sills
Tables and chairs, worn by all of the dust
This is a place where I don't feel alone
This is a place where I feel at home
'Cause, I built a home
For you
For me
Until it disappeared
From me
From you
And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust
Out in the garden where we planted the seeds
There is a tree as old as me
Branches were sewn by the color of green
Ground had arose and passed its knees
By the cracks of the skin, I climbed to the top
I climbed the tree to see the world
When the gusts came around to blow me down
I held on as tightly as you held onto me
I held on as tightly as you held onto me
And, I built a home
For you
For me
Until it disappeared
From me
From you
And now, it's time
To leave and turn
To dust
This Is Us: The Final Season continues with episodes on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming the next day on Hulu.
