We Will Become Silhouettes

"We Will Become Silhouettes" is a single by American indie band the Postal Service, released February 8, 2005, under the Sub Pop Records label. The single included a new track "Be Still My Heart" and two remixed tracks by Matthew Dear ("We Will Become Silhouettes") and Styrofoam ("Nothing Better"). The title track has been used in a Honda Civic commercial. Indie band The Shins recorded an acoustic cover of the title track, which was included as a B-side on The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights".

"We Will Become Silhouettes"
Single by the Postal Service
from the album Give Up
B-side"Be Still My Heart"
ReleasedFebruary 8, 2005 (2005-02-08)
Recorded2001–2003
Genre
Length5:00
LabelSub Pop
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)The Postal Service
The Postal Service singles chronology
"Against All Odds"
(2004)
"We Will Become Silhouettes"
(2005)
"A Tattered Line of String"
(2013)

"We Will Become Silhouettes" was the fourth single released by The Postal Service and is the band's most successful, reaching number three on the Canadian Singles Chart, number 82 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 92 on the UK Singles Chart.

The cover artwork was designed by Kozyndan, who have illustrated the previous singles as well.

Music video

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The video for this song, directed by Jared Hess, consists of incongruously lighthearted footage of a family (consisting of band members Ben Gibbard, Jimmy Tamborello, frequent collaborator Jenny Lewis, and two young children) playing and singing the song, then riding bicycles into the desert and, at the very end, watching the sun set in the distance. Their odd clothing, the worn down houses they pass by, abandoned streets, and the lyrics may suggest the video takes place far in the future, post-nuclear attack.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by The Postal Service

"We Will Become Silhouettes"
No.TitleLength
1."We Will Become Silhouettes"5:00
2."Be Still My Heart"3:02
3."Nothing Better (Styrofoam remix)"3:30
4."We Will Become Silhouettes (Matthew Dear's not scared mix)"5:02

Charts

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Chart (2005) Peak
position
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[1] 3
UK Singles (OCC)[2] 92
UK Indie (OCC)[3] 26
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 82
US Dance Singles Sales[5] 1

Covers

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The song was covered by Jenny and Tyler in 2013 as a part of their For Freedom EP.

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The song was used in the trailer for the 2009 film Funny People, and also appeared in the movie Love Happens the same year.

The Shins' cover of the song was featured in the 2011 film The Art of Getting By.

References

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  1. ^ "The Postal Service Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  2. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  3. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  4. ^ "The Postal Service Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 18, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  5. ^ "Dance Singles Sales". Billboard.
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