I think She & Him's summery, feel-good sound often distracts from the darker underside to Zooey's lyrics. (Example: In The Sun--> "we all feel ashamed, sometimes every day") Brand New Shoes, to me, doesn't seem like it's about heartbreak or a relationship but the general idea that one realizes more and more as one gets older that even when we get them, our desires don't give the fulfillment we hope they will. It seems like Zooey might be talking about fame and success, something she may have dreamt about as a little girl. Now, having attained it, she realizes that it's "nothing at all." It's a bleak statement but it's delivered with such honesty that it really adds to my respect for Zooey as a songwriter. The simple guitar part and the verse lyrics ("We are all made of air, there's stars in my eyes and there's sun in my hair") also strike me as extremely powerful.
I think She & Him's summery, feel-good sound often distracts from the darker underside to Zooey's lyrics. (Example: In The Sun--> "we all feel ashamed, sometimes every day") Brand New Shoes, to me, doesn't seem like it's about heartbreak or a relationship but the general idea that one realizes more and more as one gets older that even when we get them, our desires don't give the fulfillment we hope they will. It seems like Zooey might be talking about fame and success, something she may have dreamt about as a little girl. Now, having attained it, she realizes that it's "nothing at all." It's a bleak statement but it's delivered with such honesty that it really adds to my respect for Zooey as a songwriter. The simple guitar part and the verse lyrics ("We are all made of air, there's stars in my eyes and there's sun in my hair") also strike me as extremely powerful.