Songs for Jacquette & Oscar: Music That Inspired Butterfly Games
My novel, Butterfly Games, follows Jacquette Gyldenstolpe, a young Swedish countess whose forbidden love affair with the heir to the throne sends shockwaves through her life and the fate of a rising dynasty. Based on a true story and set during the political storms of the early 1800s, the book is full of secret meetings, impossible choices, and the kind of slow-burn tension that builds every time two people who shouldn’t fall in love absolutely do.
Music helps me find the emotional heart of each scene. The right song can sharpen the characters’ pain, heighten their joy, or dial up their passion. Some songs on this playlist echo Jacquette and Oscar’s devotion, some capture the ache of longing, and others hint at the danger that threatens them from behind the palace walls.
🎧 Listen on Spotify
🎵 The Playlist
“Some Day My Prince Will Come” – Adriana Caselotti
This classic captures Jacquette’s early hopefulness—she’s a young girl with big dreams and a head full of stories about what her life could be.
“Love Story” – Taylor Swift
To everyone who has ever felt the pain of societal judgment because they followed their heart. “You be the prince and I’ll be the princess. It’s a love story, baby, just say yes.”
“Thank You” – Led Zeppelin
Written from the perspective of a 20-year-old with the world in the palm of his hand, this is one of my favorite love songs. It captures Oscar at his best, a young man whose thoughts have turned to love.
“Just My Imagination” – The Rolling Stones
This live version of the Temptations classic is about the pain of being caught up in an impossible love. The Stones, as usual, mine the dark side of that vibe perfectly.
“Illicit Affairs” – Taylor Swift
For every bad decision Jacquette makes, and every time she lets Oscar pierce her heart with pain, love is the reason. “And you know damn well, for you, I would ruin myself a million little times.”
“Watercolor Eyes” – Lana Del Rey
“Young love don’t always last forever,” sings Del Rey. This song speaks to the loneliness of togetherness and the way love can blur into anguish.
“Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” – John Mayer
The ultimate requiem to a dying love. Once you’ve felt that pain, you won’t easily forget it. “My dear, we’re going down, and you know that we’re doomed.”
“Saint of Me” – The Rolling Stones
This could be Oscar’s anthem, as I imagine the young prince in Butterfly Games. “He loved women, wine, and song. And all the special pleasures of doing something wrong.”
“Tears in Heaven” – Eric Clapton
The indescribable anguish of losing a child, captured by the high priest of guitar. By the time you finish Part Three of Butterfly Games, you’ll know why I chose it.
“Moonlight Mile” – The Rolling Stones
I love an album with a great closing song, and this one from Sticky Fingers is perfection. It’s all about loneliness and separation. I’d like to think that Jacquette grew into the kind of person who could walk that moonlit road, alone but happy.
Thank you for listening — and for stepping into Jacquette’s world through music. I hope this playlist adds another emotional layer to Butterfly Games.
