I Will Follow You into the Dark

In this song, the singer talks about his love for his girlfriend and how they will meet again after death, whether that is in heaven or hell. The lyrics contain hints of irony in the Catholic religion.

Frontman Ben Gibbard told VH1's Storytellers that he penned the song in a burst of creativity at a Seattle studio, which he kept solely for songwriting. "One day, I went to work, had my lunch all packed, because I bring my own lunch, and I sat down to attempt to write a song," he explained. "I wrote this next song in about 15 minutes and I kinda took my lunch and put it back in my bag and went home because I realized there was no point in working the rest of the day.
When people ask me about this song, I never feel like I can claim that I wrote it because you should never be able to write a song in 15 minutes, because I feel like I channeled the song but I didn't necessarily write it. Thankfully, I was able to put my name on it."

Ben Gibbard discussed the song's meaning during an interview with NME: "Death is an ever-present fear. If not a fear, then an impending reality in our lives. We like to think that when people leave this life, we will see them again someday. Writing a love song that deals specifically with the inevitable death of one's partner and that you will follow that person into whatever the afterlife is or is not, that's something that people can relate to."