Chandelier

I think many who have struggled with destructive coping mechanisms such as drugs, alcohol, sex, etc might be with me in what I believe Chandelier means.

It's about turning towards destructive outlets to deal, whether it's to forget about what's going on, to chase the high, or just to feel something, anything, that let's us know we're alive. Yet there's a frenzy when you're circling the rabbit hole, and sometimes the people around associate us with the "fun" facade they see, an attraction to the energy that's masking what is really happening inside. Even inside, there's something pushing us to keep doing it, though our mind and soul are saying, "Stop, when will you learn?"

Sia talks about the devastating feeling of guilt as everything is happening, but the rush of it, the high as we're flying through the night - it dries our tears and we keep going until we're lost in the moment - like tomorrow doesn't even exist - like we won't have to deal with anything or any consequences, because for now, its' only tonight. There is no tomorrow, or at least that's how we feel.

And then there's the fall....

It's the moment when we come back down. When we wake up the next morning. When we realize what just happened and the awful decisions we just made. And sometimes we're in denial about it. We try to run from it like it never happened, but we know it happened - it's shameful. It's humiliating.

In the end, it's like we're holding onto this rope for dear life, but we're too afraid to open our eyes and look down because we know we'll see how bad of a situation we've gotten ourselves into. We feel the shame, the resentment, the self-loathing. So we keep our eyes closed and climb higher up the rope, throw 'em back, and fly higher into the night, knowing we'll feel the same way tomorrow, but ignoring the feeling because we're in the now - we're just holding on for tonight.

From my point of view, Chandelier portrays an attempt to escape from a broken heart through alcohol. The way Sia sings the lyrics "I'm gonna swing from the chandelier" sounds desperate and hopeful. She wants so badly to not appear broken, but instead glorious and happy. She puts on a show, in hope that the show will truly become her life. However, the love this party girl feels from the people blowing up her phone, taking shots with her, and sleeping with her, will not replace the love that she craves from another person, and ultimately, when the sun comes up, she will have accumulated shame, and an engorged sense of emptiness.

I heard a theory that it's actually about suicide and that the line "I'm going to swing from the chandelier" is a double entendre.

Swinging from the chandelier could mean having a good time, nothing holding her down. But it could also be suicide, literally swinging from the chandelier. Sia has had a history with depression and contemplating suicide.

The song deals with alcoholism: "1, 2, 3, drink" "throw em back till I lose count"

Feelings of depression and trying to avoid suicide: "Here comes the shame" "I'm holding on for dear life" "Won't look down, won't open my eyes" "Cause I'm just holding on for tonight" (the most repeated phrase in the song).

It's interesting that the content of the song is relatively dark, but the music itself is very upbeat and hopeful. This could symbolize the facade that she puts on. She wants the people around her to think that she's fine, that she's happy. But in reality, she is actually broken.

Wow....I mean, whoa. This is Umbrella's effed up, party-girl, black sheep half-sister. She feels pain and guilt but refuses to let that stop her from self medicating with partying and alcohol. Carpe diem until you wake up on the carpet.

IMHO the meager apartment with the family pics on the wall, the bedroom with the bed, the kitchen with a table, etc was purposefully laid out...probably from the authors past. I detect a cry in her voice and the auther suffered some sort of abuse as a child and that is why a child dancer was selected to awkwardly dance around as she probably did in both reality and in her mind when she was escaping the abuse. She was probably left home alone often and would dance and dance maybe without any music and was left to sing to herself. The awkward faces and gestures are so sad and out of place like a child that has so much pent up inside and no one to tell anything to but then performs and bows repeatedly a frozen face. No chandelier was shown in the video but I feel like she may be integrating sublte meanings into obvious lyrics. For example, I wonder if the drinking was done by her abuser and she fantasized about a chandalier when he was on top of her, she says "'I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down won't open my eyes" and "gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry". Of course, many children of sexual abuse become very sexual active and seek love anywhere they can find it, often become alcoholics and suffer major depression so those aspects of the lyrics can apply to the mature child as well. I hope I am wrong but sadly it happens way too often and children need to know they should tell someone the first time they are touched. Thats my real opinion.

Party girls don't get hurt Can't feel anything, when will I learn I push it down, push it down

(she/he is trying to push down the depression and stay above it to try and have a good time by maybe turning up music full blast or partying)

I'm the one "for a good time call" Phone's blowin' up, they're ringin' my doorbell I feel the love, feel the love

(he/she doesn't really have friends so he/she creates fake images of people because he/she is so used to being alone)

1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3 drink 1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3 drink 1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3 drink

Throw em back, till I lose count

(the 1,2,3 part are the handfulls of pills and he/she has to swollow them down with a drink, he/she loses track of the amount of pills or drink he/she has taken)

I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist Like it doesn't exist I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier

(he/she is gonna hang from the chandelier by the neck and swing back and forth. He/she wants to forget about the next day as if it doesn't exist incase the suicide attempt doesn't work. When he/she dies they'll turn into a bird or an angel and fly off, while hanging the body was hanging there with tears falling from crying.)

And I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down won't open my eyes Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight Help me, I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down won't open my eyes Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight On for tonight, on for tonight

(He/she is holding on for dear life hoping that things will change the next day. She/he won't look down as they're cutting their wrists. They want help, but nothing seems to work so they need to keep their glass full because they think acholol will help them get through the night.)

Sun is up, I'm a mess Gotta get out now, gotta run from this Here comes the shame, here comes the shame

(It's morning time and he/she is all messed up from the drinking and the pills. They need to get of the mess they are in, but instead they get worse. "Here comes the shame" is the puking from the drug and acholol abuse.)

1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3 drink 1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3 drink 1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3 drink

Throw em back till I lose count

I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist Like it doesn't exist I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier

And I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down won't open my eyes Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight Help me, I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down won't open my eyes Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight On for tonight, on for tonight

(same as before)

As I'm just holding on for tonight No I'm I'm just holding on for tonight On for tonight, on for tonight As I'm just holding on for tonight As I'm just holding on for tonight No I'm I'm just holding on for tonight On for tonight, on for tonight

(in the video I took this as the girl trying to see her "imaginary party friends" again, but this time she realizes she's standing infront of a mirror which she thought was a door and she can't just drink or take pills or party to hide the pain because she's left in reality. In reality she's just left with all the pain that she's feeling inside.)

I believe this song is actually about the battle we go through every day.

The internal battle between our self and that little goblin. The battle between our self and that little goblin which just insists on covering everything in BBQ sauce, regardless of what it is you are actually eating.

I recently saw Sia perform this song on television, and I must say, coming from someone who had never before heard of the singer or the song, I was blown away - by her voice, by the lyrical content of the song, and later (when I found it on YouTube) by the video as well.

Here is my take on it.

First of all, I agree wholeheartedly with one of the posters who pointed out that "swinging from the chandelier" can have a double entendre and in this case, that is a very incisive observation. Does she want to swing from the chandelier because she's having such a wild and crazy time with her life, or does she want to swing from the chandelier because she's contemplating suicide?

The lyrics speak of a "party girl" who is seemingly all about having a good time, but the desperate quality of the lyrical performance underscores the fact that the partying is nothing more than a means of masking something very dark underneath.

And I know from whence I speak.

My childhood best friend was one of those "party girls." She was always "up" and the life of the party. Could drink with the best of 'em. She would be at the disco (back in the day) dancing the night away, and lost several jobs because she couldn't get up for work the next day. Long (and very sad) story short: She ended up committing suicide. With her manic "fun" persona she had fooled everyone (including me) into thinking that she was this happy, high-energy person, when in reality she was "just holding on for tonight" until she could hold on no longer. This is what Chandelier represents to me.

I think gilbag nailed it.

It's like YOLO gone wrong, and you're so far down that path you can't just drastically turn back. Especially when you LIKE it. It's a bitter, endless cycle.

I love this song!! Beautifully sung and written. I believe this is song is a true alcoholics or drug addicts point of mind. Its pretty self explanatory. It's like a reoccurring thing where you do drugs or drink and like you're so happy when your messed up nothing can touch you-but ones in a fog. Then next day feel like s*** . Then you got to do it all over again. She's escaping living her life she's numbing her pain through alcohol.