Björk – Joga

General CommentI 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.

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  @Kharyzmatiqq
  +2

  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.

  Flag familiarsighton July 31, 2012  

My Interpretationthe "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?

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  @ashpash588
  0

  pretty sure you're wrong. <3

  Flag cecebloomon June 21, 2009  

  +1

  Ashpash, while being hyper-verbose, has probably the best interpretation of this song I've seen.
  
  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.

  Flag jankouton July 15, 2009  

  +1

  @jankout and @ashpash
  I semi-agree with both of you. :)
  I definitely agree with her using multiple connotations of emergency.
  Also, (*obvious note*) this is an interesting song to analyze.
  <3

  Flag darkeweon August 26, 2009  

General CommentA "thank you for being who you are"-song to a soulmate.

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  @AgathaKavka

General CommentId 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.

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  @Vesper_Teen

Song MeaningI 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.

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  @MoOotas

General CommentI 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.

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  @bookends

General Commentmy 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.

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  @kaatrien
  0

  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:
  
  "All these accidents...Only with you"
  
  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.
  
  "You don't have...They puzzle me"
  
  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.
  
  "Then the riddle...want to be" (Chorus)
  
  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.
  
  "All that no-one...inside of me"
  
  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.
  
  

  Flag katamariblaseon December 22, 2008  

  0

  oops! :/
  didnt mean to post this as a reply
  sorry
  but maybe this could the universal meaning you were thinking about, hah

  Flag katamariblaseon December 22, 2008  

General Commentthis 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.

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  @ElectricDylan

General CommentI just generally think this song is about true love, and being completely smitten with someone. It's a gorgeous song <3

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  @missme

General Commentlet me tell you guys a little story about me and my best friend,a story that,in my opinion perfectly explains "coincidence makes sense only with you".one day my best friend had to give an exam for his driving license and he had to wait there all day long untill it was his turn to give the exam(we live in romania and things go slower around here...).so I told him that I could skipp school that day if he wanted me to stick around.he said there`s no need to and that I should stay in school better.So I went to school.and at around one o clock I got bored and I decided to go home,though I had an other class.on my way home I told to myself I`ll take a detour and just wander around the town .and ...for my surprise...I ran into my best friend infront of a huge buiding sitting in the cold and smiling at me."did you call?"I asked."yes."he said.
so...there is telepathy between two persons who care a lot about each other...and there`s no such thing as concidence when it comes to the two of us.and even though we`ve had some arguments in the past I can still feel him when he`s troubled and it`s the same to him.

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  @white fly
  0

  are u in love with your best friend? (i mean, 5 years ago you were)?

  Flag praychon November 05, 2011