| James Blake – Retrograde Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Interesting song. In my opinion it is about loss, and pain, and trying to cope. The lyrics depict a conversation, possibly between two lovers, or two close people. But I like another idea better: I think that James is talking to himself. That this is some kind of a pep talk, he is in a bad place and he is trying to make himself feel better. ============================================== "Suddenly I'm hip" - this may be too obvious, but could refer to his overnight success last year (upon releasing his EP). It may not have been an easy experience. A lot of changes, a lot of expectations, a lot to deal with. The name of the album may also hint to that - "Overgrown". As if the young musician has been through a lot in a short time. Either way, this event that starts the 'story' of the song is abrupt, sharp, almost impossible to prepar to. And it hits hard. When the dust settles, things are not good. "Darkness". Emptyness. "Your friends are gone...". Nevertheless, he still hangs on to hope - "Is this the darkness of the dawn?..." he asks. He seeks reassurance that this is just the beginning (=dawn) and not the end. That it's going to get better. Comes the answer - the voice in his head telling him to hang in there - "Few more years to go, don't let the hurdle fall." Yes, this IS just the beginning. Have faith. But it's not going to be easy, so use what you have. "Be the girl you loved." She is someone you think highly of, so learn from her (her strength? Her patience? We'll never know...). She can be your inspiration in this journey. Just remember, James, when you go back out there, "You're on your own". You can't expect help from others, "Your friends won't come." You should not trust others, "Ignore everybody else." This is no longer your place. You need to get up and find a new place for yourself. "Show me where you fit." It will take time. But it's okay, "I'll wait". You have it in you. Now prove to me, to yourself, that you can move on. "Show me why you're strong." "We're alone now", he repeats to himself, like a mantra, until it will sink in. ============================================== The name of the song - "Retrograde" - could also support this interpretation. "Retrograde" - move backword, retreat, go back to an earlier condition. As if (very freely -) he needs to pull out of the race, to retreat to a safe place, so he can to gather his strength, so he can go back to being who he was before all this. Another definition (just discovered this now when I looked it up, and I love it :) ): "Retrograde motion" - to move opposite to something else (as in a satellite orbiting its planet opposite to the planet's rotation direction.) (Again, very freely -) you don't have to keep walking the same path as most of the others do. Even if that means that you'll be alone from now on, be true to yourself, be strong, ignore everybody else. Show me where YOU fit. |
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| St. Vincent – The Strangers Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I love this song. Annie Clark is awesome. Her melodies are delicate and sweet, and yet they have a dark side, something going on underneath the surface. A unique combination of her soft voice with guitar distortion. In my opinion, the song is about a woman and her relationships. Almost everything in the song is a metaphor or a symbol. ====== "Lover, I don't play to win, but for the thrill, until I'm spent" - "Lover" - she is addressing her partner, but he represents all her lovers. "I don't play to win" - winning is metaphor for a meaningful, loving relationship. She's clearly not looking for that, but just for a thrill. When she doesn't feel like playing anymore, it's over. "Paint the black hole blacker" -(whispering to herself) the black hole is her emotions, her heart, her relationships, the situation that she is in. Every meaningless relationship makes things worse, makes her emptier, heartless, and drives her further away from the possibility of a successful relationship. "I threw flowers in your face on my sister's wedding day" - Even when someone close to her is 'winning', she does not feel the need, or does not wish to experience it herself - she throws the flowers in his face (again a symbol that the relationship is meaningless...). "You showed up with a black eye looking to go start a fight" - A fight symbolizes a relationship. He'd been hurt before (= a black eye), in a previous relationship with someone else, but when he met her, he was willing to try again. "Playboys under your mattress, like I wouldn't notice" - She does not trust him. Even though he wants to be with her, she is being cynical, as if she knows it's going to go wrong, and doesn't want to get her hopes up. The woman had been hurt herself, in a previous relationship. That is why she does not trust men. That is why she compares a relationship to a fight. That is why she is not allowing herself to love again, or to feel anything, and declares in advance that her relationships are just for the thrill. "What do I share? What do I keep? From all the strangers who sleep where I sleep?..." - (to herself, not the lover) She is asking herself whether she is happy with this situation. The men in her life, the men who she shares her bed with, are just like strangers. They might as well be strangers. She does not allow herself to open up to them; she does not trust them, and keeps herself from feeling anything. "Desperate don't look good on you, neither does your virtue" - The guy is trying to make this work, but she does not appreciate his efforts. She thinks he's 'desperate' for trying to make it more than it is. She is also not impressed when he does something good; In other words, nothing is going to make her budge. "You showed up with a black eye looking to finish a fight" - The guy is giving up - this is the end of their relationship. He is hurt (just like he was before), and he wants to end it. "Lover, I don't play to win, but for the thrill until I'm spent..." - She, on the other hand, does not want to get hurt again. She acts as if it doesn't matter. She had told him at the very beginning, that she doesn't play to win - he should not have expected anything. ===== That's it... I don't know what Annie meant, but I had fun giving it some thought... :) |
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