Reminiscing & Reflection
It is rare to come across an artist whose music strikes a nerve in the core of your soul. In a way that is inexplicable; you enjoy their music even if you feel there is so much about it that you don’t understand. You are consistently coming up with new ideas and feelings the more you listen. Lisa’s music is that for me; the way she weaves words together with such elegance. I wish I had the ability to miraculously bend and shape words to my will in the same way.
It is probably true that I say this too much, but it is only because it is true. The depth of this track's meaning is like the Mariana Trench, ostensibly endless. Which is why I have been slowly adding to this write up for several months.
I get a great deal more than feelings of hindsight from this track, it speaks of a deep realization that something you took for granted was truly irreplaceable, reminiscing about a place and/or time in your life and wishing that you could go back and appreciate it all the more. It’s also about the metamorphosis which life puts us all through; we are more than just the time we have spent plus the experiences we have had. Rather we are the time we have spent multiplied by the experiences we have gone through. The song sees someone going back to their hometown after a long absence. Recalling a time when life was simple and the little things that brought such happiness. It is also about questioning why you have allowed yourself to no longer get the same satisfaction from those things and perhaps not appreciate the small things as you once did. This return is bringing back all these memories, specifically an old friend, and the things you used to do.
When I look back at my life, I tend to focus on all the things I did not know and understand or the moronic decisions I made but there are also good aspects of youth and that is what the beginning of this track is celebrating. That free spirited, carefree outlook on life. The desire and willingness to try new things regardless of the consequences as you are not thinking about them anyway.
I want to highlight just a few sections of the track that I found immensely meaningful. There are some repeating lines which have a truly thought-provoking progression to them, and I have found them occupying my thoughts at random moments throughout my day as I’ve been working on this analysis.
“Time won’t credit me the same
Like it did with you and I
Life is just a foreign play
Subtitles that I can’t find”
“Time won’t credit me the same
Like it did when I was young
This feels like a foreign play
Translate what's been going on”
“Now time won’t credit me the same
Like it did when I was young
Love is just a foreign play
All the subtitles are on”
This describes embarking on a compelling sojourn and it is exceptionally captivating within the context of the story being told. These lines are also what inspired my idea that the song is an allegory which elegantly illustrates the journey of life and the way our understanding and perspective changes both as we grow older and have new experiences.
It’s haunting, taunting why am I always wanting more
~
It’s haunting, taunting why am I always wanting more ~
“I feel lost and I feel bound
To forever walk this town
Head held high and hand on ground
But I don’t know, I know right now”
The contrast between “lost” and “bound” used here is intriguing and for me it mimics the themes present in the song. Whether emotional or physical being lost is aimless, its wandering and being bound is limiting and restrictive. The message of the song involves interesting contrasts. One part speaks about joyous reminiscing and reflecting on the past. Then it is revealed that the reason for this trip home is a tragic one. With someone in hospital and not doing well and that is the catalyst for the reflection that is happening.
“Now she’s sick it's why I’m here
The doctors talk but it's unclear
And every tube inside her chest
Is making me now second guess”
This track speaks of being both elated and anguished simultaneously. The expedition we go on as we are taken through the narrative is remarkably profound and for me it is relatable in the most exquisite way as my life has felt this way before. I am moved by the way this track ends with no concrete resolution just as struggles we face often cannot be resolved or at least not right away.
Check out the track below and if you enjoy it you can get it on Bandcamp which I linked at the top.
