She-she-she-she only ev-ev-ev-ev-ever walks to-to count-count her steps
Eighteen-teen strides and she stops to abide by the law that she herself has set
That eighteen steps is one complete set, and before the next nine right and nine left
She looks up-up at the blue
and whispers to all of the above:
Don't let me drown, don't breathe alone
No kicks, no pangs, no broken bones
Never let me sink, always feel at home
No sticks no shanks and no stones
Never leave it too late, does enjoy the taste of the great-great-great grey world of hearts
As all dogs everywhere bark-bark-bark-bark
It's worth knowing
Like all good fruit the balance of life is in the ripe and ruin
alt-J is one of my favorite artists; with an incredibly unique sound, they always write the most beautiful songs on diverse topics . I've almost always appreciated the near poetry of their lyrics, and the unusual yet stunning rhythm. Interlude 1, one their more eccentric songs, has much more vocals and a greater focus on the lyrics than their typical sound. Iv'e interpreted this particular song to be about a girl who struggles with OCD or a similar disorder, and is almost asking the world provide her some release from the burden she is feeling from how this disorder is effecting her every day life.
The song starts with how the girl "only ever walks to count her steps" in patterns of twos and fours just like stepping with her first foot and then the next. I take this to mean that she is walking feels just like a pattern to her, and she can never walk without counting the steps in her head. Apparently, eighteen strides is a complete set of footsteps in her head, and she has to stop every time each foot has stepped nine because her OCD makes it feel like it is a rule for her to count and stop. It it obviously not a real law, but one that "she herself has set," or her OCD, has.
She then looks up at the sky, and asks no one in particular to not "let me drown" in the weight of this, because she feels so alone and restrained. Yet this call in only responded by the familiar four barks of a dog. It has almost reached a balance here, and the sweetness of life it not just the good but the bad. This song is still very complex and hard to pick apart beyond what I interpret.
I like alt-j too, and I never thought of this song to be written about a girl with OCD. I liked how you analyzed the lyrics of the song and caught something that when usually listening to this song, would have just left the idea in the dust. To them it would have been a catchy beat that the artist was thinking of. I loved that idea.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you wrote this because I have listened to Alt-J songs before and I never really understand what the lyrics about (or what they even are sometimes), so I think this is really cool. I've listened to this song before and it's never occurred to me that it could be about OCD, but now that you've described it in that way it's really clear. I especially like the line "the law that she herself has set" because, as you mentioned, it's not a real law, its a law that only she abides from within her head.
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