ORIMERA
01
Before the line
Before We Had Sides
Daniel and Eli have been friends since childhood and live in houses facing each other. The first song returns to that childhood, before adults teach them to distrust each other.
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The Other Side of Us
Daniel and Eli grew up in houses facing each other, thirty steps apart. As children they crossed the street to play; years later their families and surroundings taught them to see each other as members of opposing sides.
The Other Side of Us tells how that friendship breaks down and how they come to speak again. The story mainly follows Daniel: the labels he learns, a photograph that changes his perspective, losses in the homes and recognising Eli when they meet again.
The same street, before there were sides.
The story of Daniel and Eli
The first three songs tell of their separation: a shared childhood, learning to speak of 'us' and 'them', and no longer crossing a street that remains just as narrow.
The next two show the consequences. Daniel finds a photograph of a teenager from the other side who has died, and later faces absence in his own home. In the last three he recognises Eli's mother's fear, meets his friend again and, weeks later, speaks with him once more.
The ending is a handshake. Daniel and Eli do not resolve their differences or bring back those who are missing. They decide those differences need not make them stop seeing each other as people.
Read the prologueThe eight songs, step by step
Each chapter places you in the story and explains its relationship to the song. You can read the original English lyrics. The names and some scenes belong to the story accompanying the music, even where they do not appear literally in the verses.
02
Learned distance
They Gave Us Names
Daniel and Eli begin repeating the labels they hear at home and at school. To feel part of their own group, they stop treating each other as the friend they know.
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03
Learned distance
Across the Street
At seventeen, Daniel and Eli still live opposite each other, but no longer speak. Daniel can see Eli's room from his home; approaching his door feels increasingly difficult.
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04
The cost of separation
The Boy in the Photograph
Months later, Daniel finds a photograph of a teenager who has died. He is told the boy was 'one of them'. Looking at the image, he begins to wonder about the life that label prevented him from knowing.
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05
The cost of separation
No One Wins Here
Loss reaches Daniel's own home too. One morning the kettle finishes boiling, and he needs only one cup where two used to be prepared.
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06
The cost of separation
Your Mother Waits Too
Daniel knows his mother's fear as she waits for him to return. One night he sees Eli's mother behind a curtain and recognises the same concern.
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07
Seeing each other again
When I Saw Your Face
Daniel turns a corner and finds Eli a few metres away. After years of looking from a distance, they must recognise each other without a street or window between them.
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08
Seeing each other again
The Other Side of Us
Weeks after their first meeting again, Daniel and Eli see each other and talk. They do not remember everything in the same way, but decide not to keep treating each other as anonymous enemies.
Read and listenListen to the whole story
The sequence follows Daniel and Eli's changes from childhood to their second meeting. You can hear the full album on YouTube and return to any chapter through the index.
Listen to the album