Stay in the middle, like you a little.
Don’t want no riddle, say it, ditto.
Its honestly enchanting. The synth beat is like so entrancing, and it gives this idea of almost listening to music in a dream or a memory. Funny enough, i noticed in the production of the song that all of the vocals have a similar effect to listening to music from outside of the party when they go into prechorus with “i got nothing to lose” and it holds through out except for the “Ra-ta-ta” and this is like honestly genius to me. The music engineer of this song essentially lead us through emotions without the music being there, only through effects by starting us in a disconnected state with the vocalizations of the “oohs” and then weaving it in and out to make us feel like we were disconnected from the music in some way with subtle reminders at the heartbeat. Love that!
The more present beat of the song through the verses and the chorus get you sucked back into the present though and the lyrics.
Do you think about me now yeah? All the time? All the time.
I’ve got nothing to lose, i like you.
For the younger listener these lyrics (generally this is the theme) are relatable in a way that it is more straight forward. It evokes a fast paced emotion, an excited flutter in the stomach, a rush of adrenaline over your crush. You’re so close, you know they like you. They’ve been flirting with you for weeks over text and at lunch, he’s cracking jokes and half smiling, she’s laughing a little bit easier and pretending to be embarrassed.
But these lyrics were (mostly) written by adults, so they have a little bit more duality to them than just the upfront lyrics. When you pair the engineering of the instrumental with the lyrics, I feel a sense of nostalgia like many others, but like i’m dreaming. Like the REM has altered my memory with a rose colored lens and my memory is warped and almost rushed. I’m going to wake up soon, I know I have work soon and I have to get into my daily rut, but for these three minutes I’m still dreaming, in a deep soothing sleep.
The regenerative nature, for me, comes from the lyrics right in the beginning. They translate to “the memories that we’ve made have grown so much, but summer is over and autumn is here, I’ve been wanting to know if you like me” essentially with the words Summer and Autumn specifically being used. I think this is so telling in a metaphoric way referring to life. Autumn is the closing of the cycle, the last chance before winter and we’re in our final cycle of life. I’m currently in the “autumn” of my life and I’ve been spending more time reflecting on my decisions in high school between my friends, girlfriends and eventually boyfriends and it makes me wonder about the guy friends i was especially close with i guess. But then the lyric “do you think about me now” really strikes me because it brings me into my later teen years when i started to more seriously date guys and fall in love. I’ve been changing a lot physically and mentally recently and it makes me wonder what they think of me, the people who shaped me and this lyric really simply encapsulated that feeling.
This song, for me is a love song to myself, to my current boyfriend, and to the men who made me who i am today, lyrically.
Now for the video (Side B first and then Side A).
SIDE B:
I would say that my interpretation is that i’m a high-schooler starting to fall in love for the first time. I’m also getting distant from my best friends over a guy for the first time. I’m heartbroken over him not saying he likes me back yet, and my friends try to be there for me but i shut them out and they end up moving on as a friend group without me eventually.
SIDE A:
What if? What if i had just ignored the various boys at the various stages of my life when I could have been focusing on myself? What if i had grown closer to my friends and made a tight bond? What if? And then I wake up. It was all a dream, and I’m alone now. I’m happy now, but it was a harder road without my friends as close. This version of the video is honestly the one i like less and its because when i watch it i do wonder, and i mourn the loss of my time and growth and connections.
Song: 10/10 i’m in love
Videos: 10/10 haunting like a dream you hope will still be there when you wake up.
BunniesTaglist
