submissions
| Belle & Sebastian – Dress Up in You Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
To me this song is about two old friends/frienemies. The narrator of the song is talking to the other friend. It begins where the narrator is boasting of her status. She’s saying she’s better (“I’m the singer” “You’re the loser”). She says “I won’t dismiss you out of hand cause you’ve got a beautiful faith. This makes me think of, like, how some self-aggrandizing someone would compliment someone they believe is less successful in a pitying way. Like how she says “but Oh you know you just keep believing in yourself! You’ve got such a good spirit!” It’s seems to me like a mocking sort of sarcastic compliment. Then, the friend starts to become successful as an actress and it seems the narrator is dismissive of her friend’s success (“You couldn’t act your way out of a paper bag”). She is refusing to believe she could’ve become more successful so she insults her to make herself feel better. She blames it on luck (“You got lucky, you ain’t talking to me now”) as if to say that the only reason she’s become successful is pure chance because she doesn’t want to accept that her friend has put her in the place that the friend used to be in. Instead of being happy for her she seems to think it’s a competition and is insulted that she has lost it. With the lyric “Pluck your eyebrows fro the crowd, get on the airplane” she’s saying like “Go on, do those things for your fans and act like you’re famous and interesting but you’re not.” It’s mockery of sorts. Then, my favorite lyric, “You give me stomach pain, I wish that you were here.”, is a complete contradiction, and that is because the narrator is having a conflict in her head. As much as she wants to be the spiteful loser she misses her friend and wishes she could get past the conflict she caused by competing and having a petty jealousy rather than being happy for your friend. After the chorus the attitude fully changes. The narrator is now happy for her friend and jealous. She’s ingratiating herself now because she’s accepted this idea that she’s now below so she’s kissing-up to the now successful one. This shows how petty she’s being and how as soon as the roles have switched she changes fully. The lyric “I always loved you, you always had a lot of style.” fully contradicts the start of the song. The she says “You’ve got the essence dear, If I could have a second skin I’d probably dress up in you.” She’s so jealous she wishes she could be her and she’s letting her old friend know how much she envies her as a possible way to win her back. The final stanza before the final chorus is a comparison of the two friends’ lives. She talks about how she is so pathetic compared to the other friend’s interesting life. The line “I’ve got a boyfriend, I’ve got a feeling that he’s seeing someone else, he always had a thing for you as well.” is a perfect show of jealousy. Overall, the song is a story about jealousy and friendship. If you let it, jealousy will rule your life. This isn’t just about a competing dynamic between old friends, but the narrator shows that deep down they just miss their friend. |
submissions
| Belle & Sebastian – Dress Up in You Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
To me this song is about two old friends/frienemies. The narrator of the song is talking to the other friend. It begins where the narrator is boasting of her status. She’s saying she’s better (“I’m the singer” “You’re the loser”). She says “I won’t dismiss you out of hand cause you’ve got a beautiful faith. This makes me think of, like, how some self-aggrandizing someone would compliment someone they believe is less successful in a pitying way. Like how she says “but Oh you know you just keep believing in yourself! You’ve got such a good spirit!” It’s seems to me like a mocking sort of sarcastic compliment. Then, the friend starts to become successful as an actress and it seems the narrator is dismissive of her friend’s success (“You couldn’t act your way out of a paper bag”). She is refusing to believe she could’ve become more successful so she insults her to make herself feel better. She blames it on luck (“You got lucky, you ain’t talking to me now”) as if to say that the only reason she’s become successful is pure chance because she doesn’t want to accept that her friend has put her in the place that the friend used to be in. Instead of being happy for her she seems to think it’s a competition and is insulted that she has lost it. With the lyric “Pluck your eyebrows fro the crowd, get on the airplane” she’s saying like “Go on, do those things for your fans and act like you’re famous and interesting but you’re not.” It’s mockery of sorts. Then, my favorite lyric, “You give me stomach pain, I wish that you were here.”, is a complete contradiction, and that is because the narrator is having a conflict in her head. As much as she wants to be the spiteful loser she misses her friend and wishes she could get past the conflict she caused by competing and having a petty jealousy rather than being happy for your friend. After the chorus the attitude fully changes. The narrator is now happy for her friend and jealous. She’s ingratiating herself now because she’s accepted this idea that she’s now below so she’s kissing-up to the now successful one. This shows how petty she’s being and how as soon as the roles have switched she changes fully. The lyric “I always loved you, you always had a lot of style.” fully contradicts the start of the song. The she says “You’ve got the essence dear, If I could have a second skin I’d probably dress up in you.” She’s so jealous she wishes she could be her and she’s letting her old friend know how much she envies her as a possible way to win her back. The final stanza before the final chorus is a comparison of the two friends’ lives. She talks about how she is so pathetic compared to the other friend’s interesting life. The line “I’ve got a boyfriend, I’ve got a feeling that he’s seeing someone else, he always had a thing for you as well.” is a perfect show of jealousy. |
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