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Who Is It? Lyrics

His embrace : a fortress
it fuels me and places
a skeleton of trust
right beneath us
bone by bone
stone by stone

If you ask yourself
patiently
and carefully:
who is it?
who is it?

Who is it - that never lets you down?
Who is it - that gave you back your crown?
and the ornaments are
they're going around
now they're handing it over
they're handing it over
handing it over

Who is it - that never lets you down?
Who is it - that gave you back your crown?
and the ornaments are
they're going around
now -- they're handing it over
handing it over (x4)

He demands a closeness
we all have earned a lightness
carry my joy on the left
carry my pain on the right

If you ask yourself
now patiently
and carefully:
who is it?

Who is it - that never lets you down?
Who is it - that gave you back your crown?
and the ornaments are
they're going around
and I'm handing it over
handing it over
handing

Who is it - that never lets you down?
Who is it - that gave you back your crown?
and the ornaments are
they're going around
now I'm handing it over
handing it over
handing it over
handing it over
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32 Meanings

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Cover art for Who Is It? lyrics by Björk

This song has always been inspirational to me because I want to live up to be the sort of man she speaks of in this song.

I believe this song is a dedication to inspirational people.

His embrace : a fortress it fuels me and places a skeleton of trust right beneath us bone by bone stone by stone

She starts off talking about someone that builds a strong structure. A foundation. Someone that gives you support.

If you ask yourself Patiently And carefully Who is it, who is it

Who is it That never lets you down Who is it That gave you back your crown

And the ornaments are They're going around Now there handing it over They're handing it over Handing it over

All this is Bjork asking you to think about who inspired you. Who do you turn to to pick up, keep you going. I believe all of Medulla had a theme of connected-ness. We are all linked. And humans must be close to one another to achieve peace. Your inspirational muse of a friend is the strongest link you can have. They give you a crown that makes you feel like you can rule the world. Just to feel that way. And then you hand it over to the next person and inspire someone yourself.

He demands A closeness We all have earned Our lightness

Keep close to your muse whatever and whomever that may be. You can achieve your own enlightenment.

So carry my joy on the left Carry my pain on the right

Balance: Yin-Yang

I love you Bjork, thank you for your words.

Wow, thank you for a beautiful interpretation! I think you're doing well on your path of strengthening already.

Cover art for Who Is It? lyrics by Björk

i think the song is about god and who he/she/it is. Its questionign our creator and why he made us.

Who is it That never lets you down?

because it's always there. I dont beleive in god as a he, she, or it who wants us to worship him, i beleive it is someone who doesent mind if we dont beleive. i doubt any real creator would make a law "thou shalt not worship any god but me.", i doubt our creator is that fucking selfish, to em, that is THE most selfish of all the ten commandments.

she doesnt like religion mivikudags!!! so your wrong

Not Valid

Good defeats evil. Every time. God = Good = win Everything else = evil = lose

The 10 commandments are there to show us what sin is. Sin is what prevents us from being saved. Worshiping something other than the winner (winner = God) will prevent you from being saved.

Now that being said, the 10 commandments are not there to save us. The only thing that can save us the grace, the love of God. The 10 commandments just shows us all the things we do wrong so we know how much we need the grace of God.

So really, that is a commandment made out of...

Not Valid

@Mivikudags @eevabo they are not necessarily wrong, as the song to them could be about God (the lyrics very much portray a conversation with a God). So they are not "wrong" in the sense that music is interpretative and this can easily be perceived as being about a god.

Cover art for Who Is It? lyrics by Björk

I think this song is about realizing, who loves you and who don’t. It’s about taking a look around you and focus on the ones that really mean something to you.

Cover art for Who Is It? lyrics by Björk

god isn't it's own entity, it's everything and nothing.

to me god is in nature and yourself, you're a reflection of each other.

"His embrace : a fortress it fuels me and places a skeleton of trust right beneath us bone by bone stone by stone"

this sounds to me like she is talking about earth which is also god.

"Who is it - that never lets you down? Who is it - that gave you back your crown? and the ornaments are they're going around now they're handing it over they're handing it over handing it over"

nature never lets you down because its not a conscious being like humans that have emotions and ego tied to us which is i believe is original sin. it doesn't think, it acts.

we started as pure creatures until we bit the apple of knowledge and we lost what's important. through nature. you can find that light and regain your crown again. it's funny that kings and queens wear crowns as a vain physical representation of spirituality. crowns are your halo/crown chakra that can radiate once truly one with yourself(god).

as for the "ornaments", i have no idea. i thought she was saying the elements. the only guess i can think of is when we gain our crown(ornaments) we can share that light/love with others, handing over our crown.

"He demands a closeness we all have earned a lightness carry my joy on the left carry my pain on the right"

god is not only around us but in us. in some aspect in life's lessons we've gone through, we seen god(not physically)and let in the light. it's not only makes us look outwards in life but inwards. god is like the taijitu, you have the yin and yang. you wouldn't know happiness without grief. it's two parts to a whole.

that's what i believe the song is singing to me.

to also add,

i think the song is more of question to the listener than to herself.

Not Valid
Cover art for Who Is It? lyrics by Björk

i think i figured it out. who is it? the earth, it fits with the lyrics. the following part..

and the ornaments are they're going around now -- they're handing it over handing it over (x4) >>

orbiting moons and planets.

gaia is our fortress, something we all share, something that unites us. but we're all given this crown, and a crown implies responsibility--we all share responsibility for our life system that we came from.

there's a skeleton of trust, right beneath us. we have to overcome this as a species...

Cover art for Who Is It? lyrics by Björk

Ithinksthisnthat, Gwepoi amd particularly Mangusu got close to the true meaning of the song, in my opinion. I watched an interview in which she talked about this song almost as a conversation between Pinocchio and the Talking Cricket. The Talking Cricket is that conscience in you which tells you to behave yourself, Pinocchio is the very human part of you which makes you live making a lot of mistakes. So "who is it?" is as if she were asking "how am I gonna get this right?". I think the answer is "carry my joy on the left, carry my pain on the right", as Mangusu said, yin-yang.

P.S.: guys, inform yourself before saying this is about god... Björk has claimed herself atheist and pagan (religious towards Nature).

Song Meaning

@Undefined90 it can still be about God in their interpretations. It very much comes across as a conversation with a God (irrelevant of the musician's beliefs it could still be a conversation that they had that shaped their beliefs ... or taken from the point of view of someone else, i.e. artists like to interpret and think about subjects from other's perspectives).

Cover art for Who Is It? lyrics by Björk

to me, the actual meaning of the lyrics is rather irrelevant. i think it's an amazing song particularly because it never fails to make me inexplicably and exceedingly happy. just listening to "who is it" makes me want to get up and laugh and dance.

omg yes! happy to be alive. grateful!! =D

Not Valid
Cover art for Who Is It? lyrics by Björk

He demands a closeness We all have earned a lightness So carry my joy on the left Carry my pain on the right

The difference between these actual lyrics and the posted lyrics is essential to it's meaning. "I" don't solely carry my joy and pain, it is shared with that person or community of persons and therefore the heavy burden of pain is lessoned - we have EARNED a lightness through opening up to being close with another.

Cover art for Who Is It? lyrics by Björk

The bells do not appear in the album version of the song mainly because the concept of the album is based (with very few exceptions) entirely around the human voice, and bells would contradict this concept. They would detract from the soundscape.

Cover art for Who Is It? lyrics by Björk

The music video for this song is so odd. Very surreal (as if anything by bjork wouldn't be) Her voice on this track is just amazing. I still can't think of any person out on the popular music scene these days that has the ability to just blast through the high notes she hits and just leave her own signature on each one. That coupled with the almost gutteral sound she gets sometimes, Bjrok is something special indeed.