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Jason Baker(from Sci-fi and Fantasy SE) was kidnapped, and is in a cell where he cannot discern dislocation. His kidnapper, who has a fondness for exclamation marks, left him a very long, confusing note:

Hahaha!!!! This is what you get for know so much about Tolkien, captured in a cell in the middle of nowhere!! Solve this riddle! If you do, you will know what your, well, torture ail bee if you don't. Ta!(This is only for flavor)

Actual Puzzle

Are you in over your head?

Are you in water so deep you're drowning?

Don't blame it on the sunshine,

Just remember your ABC's

Now go back to the roots.

Primarily, take what you get,

Break it up and regroup slightly differently.

Have you got a nice little dessert? Use what's left over.

Next up, use what is primary-

Yet not in the same way as before-

From your roots(which are slightly different now),

A nice ole line for y'all.

I wish there was another you, another way,

'Cause you got me in chains

Though you are, you are, you are, my freedom

I'd like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly.

Hands up, when the music drops, we both put our hands up.

And I'm gonna swing from the chandelier.

So wake me up when it's all over

'Cause I wanna be your left hand man.

Next, gather the same ingredients as before,

and take the last of the first(or the first of the last?) among them.

Probably the latter.

If they don't stand for something, they will fall for anything(side note, this one's a bit ambiguous, probably others as well. This is not part of the clue)

Though the best things in life are not things.

So go instead there is not path and leave a trail.

Without music, life would be a mistake,

And though all stories are true, some never happened

You should be yourself, everybody else is already taken.

Now everything is in order,

but wait right there!

It's the water, not the sky. Ironically.

P.S., you know the computer? If you use it, then you must solve this riddle for the password.

This goes for you Puzzler too. Here it is:

It's been a long day, Hedwig. When I'm gone, I'll throw my hands up in the air sometimes. Solve like the second section of the clue.

Simple enough.

Now, when Jason finally figured out the password, he posted it on Puzzling, of course. After that, he couldn't post anything, or send out signals. Just watch the answers and comments come in. The computer started a timer when he logged on, from one week. Can you save him from the torture?

Hint to get rid of ambiguity in the second line of stanza seven:

Americans are just realizing it.

Another hint to get y'all started

Primarily, hm?? Where can you get numbers from?

Edited to add the trivia tag. Now that I think of it, it is extremely relevant. Lots of trivia (or googling) necessary.

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  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Most of the lines reference song lyrics, but I haven't got any further than that right now $\endgroup$
    – LowIntHighCha
    Commented Jul 23, 2015 at 10:14
  • $\begingroup$ @LogicianWithAHat You might just be on to something vital... $\endgroup$
    – AJL
    Commented Jul 23, 2015 at 20:49
  • $\begingroup$ I told Jason about this puzzle in the Mos Eisley chatroom, but he still hasn't joined Puzzling to upvote it :-/ $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Aug 10, 2015 at 11:39
  • $\begingroup$ Hahaha, I didn't think it would encourage him very much… Being kidnapped, of course. $\endgroup$
    – AJL
    Commented Aug 10, 2015 at 14:24

1 Answer 1

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Partial Answer

Even though I honestly did not look at the comments before I made the connection, I must give some credit to LogicianWithAHat

Are you in over your head?
Are you in water so deep you're drowning?

Both of the lines above relate to Listen to the Sound by Building 429

Don't blame it on the sunshine,

Blame it on the Boogie by the Jackson 5

Just remember your ABC's

ABC by the Jackson 5

This stanza contains directions for the first stanza. Roots leads me to think about square roots and Primarily leads to prime numbers. We know that no perfect square can ever be a prime number (except 1). The last line is slightly more confusing; could it be talking about division/multiplication?

Now go back to the roots.

Primarily, take what you get,

Break it up and regroup slightly differently.

Have you got a nice little dessert? Use what's left over.

This stanza contains directions for what to do with the next two. I'm inclined to believe we want to use the second primary number. Roots must not imply square roots here.

Next up, use what is primary-

Yet not in the same way as before-

From your roots(which are slightly different now),

A nice ole line for y'all.

I wish there was another you, another way,

Another You by Against the Current

'Cause you got me in chains

Chains by Nick Jonas

Though you are, you are, you are, my freedom

Alive by Hillsong Young & Free

I'd like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly.

Fireflies by Owl City

Hands up, when the music drops, we both put our hands up.

DJ Got us Falling in Love by Usher

And I'm gonna swing from the chandelier.

Chandelier by Sia

So wake me up when it's all over

Wake Me Up by Avicii

'Cause I wanna be your left hand man.

Riptide by Vance Joy

Directions for the next stanzas. We may want to use the same numbers here.

Next, gather the same ingredients as before,

and take the last of the first(or the first of the last?) among them.

Probably the latter.

The lines in this stanza are quotes, not song lyrics.

If they don't stand for something, they will fall for anything (side note, this one's a bit ambiguous, probably others as well. This is not part of the clue)

Peter Marshall

Though the best things in life are not things.

Art Buchwald

So go instead there is not path and leave a trail.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Without music, life would be a mistake,

Friedrich Nietzsche

And though all stories are true, some never happened

James A. Owen

You should be yourself, everybody else is already taken.

Oscar Wilde

Following the directions of two stanzas before:

The last of the first (last name of the first) is Marshall; the first of the last (first name of the last) is Oscar. I'd like it to be the last of the last, so we'd get Wilde, which is very close to the word wild. After all, the clue says "probably the latter"; this could be taken to mean we want the first of the last or we could think more (probably too much) and take the latter of the last.

Now everything is in order,

but wait right there!

It's the water, not the sky. Ironically.

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  • $\begingroup$ The first two lines of the first stanza belong together. The stanza after it is directions for it. The third stanza is directions for the two next stanzas. All the songs are right except the first. The quotes at the end, I think, may be a bit hard. After all, they are attributed to different people. $\endgroup$
    – AJL
    Commented Aug 12, 2015 at 18:16
  • $\begingroup$ Can you tell me which song it is for the first line of the second stanza? $\endgroup$
    – Moose
    Commented Aug 12, 2015 at 18:28
  • $\begingroup$ That whole stanza is solely directions. $\endgroup$
    – AJL
    Commented Aug 12, 2015 at 18:29
  • $\begingroup$ So that means there are no song references? $\endgroup$
    – Moose
    Commented Aug 12, 2015 at 18:30
  • $\begingroup$ Yes, and I think it's a bit like cryptic clues and what not. Maybe? $\endgroup$
    – AJL
    Commented Aug 12, 2015 at 18:31

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