Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) // Funeral (2004)
If you look in the inside booklet of Funeral you’ll see the nine departed family members that the album is dedicated to. ‘Tunnels’ captures this sense of celebration of life and sadness of loss perfectly.
Although upbeat in nature, with its fast paced piano riff and gospel delivery of the wordless refrain of “woos” and “oohs”, ‘Tunnels’ is another track with a heart-rending nuance of death and loss of those close to the band. Without a doubt, the contrast of the lyrics and the riffs make this track an Arcade Fire classic. A further juxtaposition arises in the song with the hints of romance within the song with the beautiful imagery of “You change all the lead sleeping in my head to gold”, highlighting the thriving love between Win and Régine, even during the tragedy of loss.