Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
All these accidents
That happen
Follow the dot
Coincidence
Makes sense
Only with you
You don't have to speak
I feel
Emotional landscapes
They puzzle me
Then the riddle gets solved
And you push me up to this
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
All that no-one sees
You see
What's inside of me
Every nerve that hurts
You heal
Deep inside of me
You don't have to speak
I feel
Emotional landscapes
They puzzle me confuse
Then the riddle gets solved
And you push me up to this
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
Emotional landscapes
They puzzle me
Then the riddle gets solved
And you push me up to this
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
State of, state of
How beautiful
Emergency
Is where I want to be
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
That happen
Follow the dot
Coincidence
Makes sense
Only with you
You don't have to speak
I feel
Emotional landscapes
They puzzle me
Then the riddle gets solved
And you push me up to this
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
All that no-one sees
You see
What's inside of me
Every nerve that hurts
You heal
Deep inside of me
You don't have to speak
I feel
Emotional landscapes
They puzzle me confuse
Then the riddle gets solved
And you push me up to this
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
Emotional landscapes
They puzzle me
Then the riddle gets solved
And you push me up to this
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
State of, state of
How beautiful
Emergency
Is where I want to be
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
State of emergency
Is where I want to be
State of emergency
How beautiful to be
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
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Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I believe this song has to do with the exhilirating insights that you can reach when you discuss life with intimate friends. These incidents that happen seem unrelated, but when you relate them to a close friend, he can see that all these "accidents" are actually tied together by you, perhaps a pattern of behavior you unconsciously carry out because of an unrecognized characteristic or childhood event. When your friend speaks this golden nugget of truth, instantly all the pieces begin to fall together; everything begins to make sense. It's one of those unforgettable moments in life that brings a physical and emotional high, a beautiful "state of emergency". In using the word "emergency", she may have not been referring to its denotation. I feel she may have been referring to its root word, "emerge", or to rise up, to appear, basically, to move vertically. Interpreted this way, she may be saying that this interaction with her intimate causes her to "emerge" from her current state, now having a much better angle to look at her current situation. From higher ground, one can more easily make out exactly where someone is; when you're smack dab in the middle of it, you don't have a clue.
Definitely think you hit the nail on the head here! Great catch with the use of "emergency" - I came here hoping to learn what that meant, and what you've said makes it all make sense together. The song reminds me of when my best friend/fiance and I have rough times, like something about us or something we did that we can't accept and end up feeling pretty low over, but when we get each other through to the other side we're better for it, we conquered what happened. It's always been that way. A testament to having someone that close to your true self and how only you can do what you do for each other. Very relatable, personally touching song.
A "thank you for being who you are"-song to a soulmate.
the "state of emergency" is, i think, a sort of mania, but the good kind of mania. meaning, in said state, she is free of the stress and anxiety exerted in her emotional conflict. we all know the feeling of relief, and i think that she is saying that she is relieved, but to such an extent that she reaches a place where she is overloaded with creativity, with the need to do things, or to think, or to make music. it might even take her to a level of heightened spirituality, or human understanding, or just like, figuring out the meaning of life. or something.
one dictionary defines a state of emergency as "a condition of urgent need for action." the common connotation of this definition is negative, as though it is a bad thing to urgently need to take action. but Bjork seems to have come up with her own interpretation of this and sees that need for action to be a good thing. that need motivates her to do the things i mentioned above, whether it be to create things, or maybe to take action in her life - to pull herself together, make a necessary change, whatever. or, you know, again... discover the meaning of life.
as for the "emotional landscapes" verse, it is clear that she is pushed to this state because her friend helped her clear up her confusion over an "emotional landscape." if one is interpreting this as a song for a lover, that "landscape" could be something along the lines of "are we in love?" or "how do i feel about you?" or whatever you want it to be. but as a song for a friend, i think it means that her "emotional landscapes" are really just about anything concerning emotion, but not about an emotional conflict/landscape with the friend. so, she goes to the friend to talk out the situation, and since really only your best friend knows you well enough to solve the riddle, she gets that solution.
alternatively, maybe Bjork meant to use a different word than emergency, and it was lost in translation from icelandic?
the last 25 minutes i've spent interpreting this have strangely had a huge impact on my way of thinking. not only does Bjork make the usually negative "emergency" into a positive ideal (thanks for the optimism, girl), but the "state of emergency" that i have interpreted seems like such an incredible place to be. for example, after my two tests today and a third one on friday that have been paired with quite a lot of stress and anxiety, i may jut reach that state of emergency. i may draw, or write music, or volunteer at a homeless shelter, or, if i'm lucky, figure out the meaning of life! discovering Bjork's ideal of emergency will, i think, change my routine of sleeping-for-5-days-after-final-exams to that state of relief, of appreciation, and inspire me to do the things i love - like create.
thoughts?
pretty sure you're wrong. <3
Ashpash, while being hyper-verbose, has probably the best interpretation of this song I've seen. <br /> <br /> Bjork wants to be in a state of emergency aka a state of readiness aka a state of action. Her friend challenges her and pushes her forward (like a muse maybe). It's the painful, sweet, anxiety riddled need for creative outlet. She is obviously linking this state and her friend and herself into the Universal Consciousness. He friend brings her higher than a puzzling (and ego driven) emotional landscape and back into the state of emergency linking back to the Universal Consciousness. If we were all linked back into the UC like Bjork we'd see that we should be in a state of emergency. a state of action, of doing because at any second we could be dead. How's that for a state of emergency. Each moment of each minute of each day could be our last. If we dwell in the now we see the need to act in the now.
@jankout and @ashpash<br /> I semi-agree with both of you. :) <br /> I definitely agree with her using multiple connotations of emergency. <br /> Also, (obvious note) this is an interesting song to analyze.<br /> <3
Id never heard about the best friend thing. I thought it was a celebration of Iceland's geographical/emotional landscape (one in the same to her I think), like the beauty in its force; delicacy and destruction. Its the typical Bjork thing of embracing contradiction as beauty. I think these comments are more relevant to the video than the song now I think about it, but sound and visuals bleed into one with Bjork, so its all good.
@Vesper_Teen im pretty sure her best friend is actually names joga! I forgot where i read or heard this and im just realising this comment is older than me
I can't fucking believe I had never heard this song before. I feel so ashamed, since I call myself a music lover. Anyway, just by the verse "coincidence makes sense only with you, you don't have to speak, I feel" I can tell that it's about a friend. I mean, that's what I think. When I was 4, I moved to a new apartment and I met my best friend, who lived in the same building. We were the same age and we used to play together all day long. We went to the same school, sat side by side in class, walked home together everyday. When we were about 12, my mother and his mother were talking and we found out we went to the same daycare (or whatever you call a school for babies) when we were one year old. We both had freckels and blondish hair, and the same laugh (because we were together all the time, the sound of our laughs became alike). We used to make these beads bracelets, and the lady from the store where we used to buy the beads thought we were twins. He taught me how to swim and I taught him maths. I also punched him in the nose once, and it bled. Later that day we were best friends again. I'm sorry for this little story. I'm just so shocked with myself for never hearing this song before, and at the same time I'm happy for listening to it now. I'm in a state of emergency, I'm gonna listen to it all night long. Oh, and the video is incredible, too. Björk is fantastic, what a talent.
@bookends Are you still friends with this "twin"?
I just generally think this song is about true love, and being completely smitten with someone. It's a gorgeous song <3
I personally think that "State of emergency" stands for that feeling of feeling awake or aware to all of these little coincidences in life or maybe in a relationship.
I think this song is about emotional landscapes, that puzzle her.
@Matsebond i think so too! this song always had such a special meaning to me...and just recently learnt why....∞
my favourite song of all time.i have no other favourites. i love the violin/strings in this song.state of emergency how beautiful to be.bjork said this song was about her best friend joga.but im sure it has a universal meaning.
This is my own personal interpretation, not what Björk intended, but just thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth. To me, this song is about God, Allah, Fate, or whatever supernatural force may have created and looks over the world. It might sound preachy, I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, only writing how the song corresponds to my own beliefs:<br /> <br /> "All these accidents...Only with you" <br /> <br /> When you look at the coincidences in your life, and think about how they connect to your life and to each other, you can see the pattern. How everything is connected and everything happens for a reason, that the seemingly ordinary coincidences in your life are leading you in a direction. Without this belief, nothing makes sense in life and its impossible to sort through.<br /> <br /> "You don't have...They puzzle me"<br /> <br /> Though "God" does not speak to us, it's not important, because simply by seeing the beauty of the Earth and its landscapes we can understand and feel how "God" thinks and feels, the emotions of the very Earth and its creator. Its confusing and puzzling to try and see things through "God's" perspective.<br /> <br /> "Then the riddle...want to be" (Chorus)<br /> <br /> Once believing and understanding these things, you forget about the trivial things and instead feel how short your life is and how urgent it is that you make the most of it, potentially turning a life you once found ordinary and dull into something precious and beautiful.<br /> <br /> "All that no-one...inside of me"<br /> <br /> Ultimately, "God" is the only thing that knows everything about you, and thus knows exactly what role you were created to play in this life. Belief in some kind of higher force or some kind of values/ethics/morals is the only thing that can heal you and put you back on track when life gets tough.<br /> <br />
oops! :/<br /> didnt mean to post this as a reply<br /> sorry<br /> but maybe this could the universal meaning you were thinking about, hah
this song is actually about bjork's best friend who also happens to be a massuse and just also happens to be named joga. i like to think about my best friend when ever i hear this song because we are just that close.