Thursday, November 26, 2020

If I Was A Priest, a Bruce Springsteen lyrical analysis from his new album Letter To You

If I Was A Priest, a Bruce Springsteen lyrical analysis from his new album Letter To You




I LOVED this song by Bruce Springsteen when I first heard it and I really enjoyed the lyrics so I wanted to talk about it here. Bruce is hosting SNL next month with Timothee Chalamet and I just love the juxtaposition of that! It's like the exact intersection of my interests. 

I believe "If I Was A Priest" is about questioning the religious rules that we have been taught and following your heart instead.

There's a light on yonder mountain and it's calling me to shine
There's a girl over by the water fountain and she's asking to be mine
And Jesus is standing in the doorway in a buckskin jacket, boots and spurs so fine
He says, "We need you son tonight up in Dodge City
'Cause there's just too many outlaws trying to work the same line"

The song starts off with Bruce Springsteen dreaming about his future. He wants to follow his passions (music, where he shines), and he wants a beautiful love story. He wants to follow his dreams but Jesus is in the way, dressed like a sheriff, telling him, "no, you need to do this." Jesus is the authority figure. When Jesus says, "there's just too many outlaws trying to work the same line," he means there are so many people who don't follow the religious path, and so Bruce shouldn't be an outlaw like them.

Plus, the song is titled, "If I Was A Priest," and priests definitely give up love with another woman and other worldly dreams so they can be truly engrossed in religion. 
Well things ain't been the same in heaven since big bad Bobby came to town
He's been known to down eleven, then ask for another round
Me I've got scabs on my knees from kneeling way too long
It's about time I played the man, took a stand where I belong

Bobby drinks too much (which is a vice! and too much alcohol can cause sin!) and is described as being "bad." But the key thing to note is that Bobby makes it to heaven! Meanwhile, Bruce has been super devoted to his religion, getting scabs on his knees from praying. He is doing so much but will probably make it to the same place as Bobby - heaven! This makes Bruce think that he doesn't want religion to constrict him. He wants to live the life he dreams of.

Well there's a light on yonder mountain and it's calling me to shine
There's a girl over by the water fountain 'cause she's asking to be mine
Jesus is standing in the doorway, six gun drawn and ready to fan
Said, "We need you tonight son up in Dodge City"
Told him I was already overdue for Cheyenne

In this verse, Jesus tells him to continue following his religious rules (go to Dodge City), but Bruce finally tells him, he actually needs to follow his dreams instead (go to Cheyenne...a city in Wyoming...but also a woman's name?).

There's still too many bad boys trying to work the same line
I interpreted this line two ways. The first I talked about earlier in this post - Jesus saying there are too many people straying from religion. But you can also interpret this line through Bruce's point of view. Bruce can say, "there are too many people who appear religious but are actually bad." They are all "working the same line" as in, "going through the motions" of religion.  

Thanks for reading! I chose not to analyze every lyric - just the ones that spoke to me.

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    Thursday, August 13, 2020

    Vote For Your Favorite Song Off Fine Line, a Harry Styles Album

    Wanted to make sure this poll doesn't fall off the radar. Vote for your favorite song off of Fine Line! I'll keep this poll up until a month after I finish analyzing the last song. Then I'll reveal which song wins.

    Click here to see which song won for the poll for Harry Styles' first album.


    What is your favorite song off of Fine Line - Harry Styles' new album?

    Golden
    Watermelon Sugar
    Adore You
    Lights Up
    Cherry
    Falling
    To Be So Lonely
    She
    Sunflower, Vol. 6
    Canyon Moon
    Treat People With Kindness
    Fine Line

      Thanks for voting! Check out my analyses of these songs and more in the following blog posts:

      Adore You, a lyrical analysis from Fine Line, a Harry Styles album


      Adore You, Song Meaning and Lyrical Interpretation




      Adore You is such a sweet song - and it is what we'll be discussing today. Before I begin, I wanted to shout out Harry Styles for getting his first number one hit with Watermelon Sugar! This has been a summer of watermelon and sugar - mostly because of quarantine and there isn't much to do xD.
      Walk in your rainbow paradise (paradise)
      Strawberry lipstick state of mind (state of mind)
      I get so lost inside your eyes
      Would you believe it?
      Adore You is, simply, a love song. I think it's a really good one that should go down in history (but I don't think it charted too high). It's got classic rock elements that give it an old-schooled solid love song vibe. "I get so lost inside your eyes," could be considered a cliche in love songs but it's a good one! I'm a sucker for people in love getting lost in each others eyes.

      "Strawberry lipstick," is a call back to Harry's love of fruits that is seen throughout this album with Watermelon Sugar and Cherry.
      You don't have to say you love me
      You don't have to say nothing
      You don't have to say you're mine
      This verse shows that Harry loves unconditionally. It is very sweet because he doesn't expect anything back from this other person. Harry is willing to give love freely - there are no expectations. What can be more self-less and romantic?
      Honey
      I'd walk through fire for you
      Just let me adore you
      Oh, honey
      I'd walk through fire for you
      Just let me adore you
      Like it's the only thing I'll ever do
      It looks like Harry's love interest isn't reciprocating, but Harry doesn't mind. He is asking her to accept his love, because he'll protect and adore her, always. "Like it's the only thing I'll ever do," is Harry's dramatic way of saying that he's fine with his life even if the only thing he accomplishes during it is to love her.
      Your wonder under summer skies (summer skies)
      Brown skin and lemon over ice
      Would you believe it?
      I've said this before, and I will say it again, Fine Line is a summer album!! "Brown skin," could be saying that his lover has a tan due to the sun (though, of course, she could always just be not-white). "Lemon over ice," is talking about lemonade which is a summer staple! Lemonade quenches the thirst built up by the heat of summer.

      Maybe Harry is having a summer romance. But I wouldn't be quick to say so - this song talks about serious love. A love that is all-encompassing, unconditional, and sweet.

      Do you agree or do you interpret these lyrics differently? Let me know what you think in the comments below.


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      Watermelon Sugar
      Harry Styles Lyrical Analysis MasterpostLights Up

      Vote: What is your favorite song off Fine Line?

      Saturday, May 23, 2020

      Save Bless This Mess From Cancellation - please Hulu, Netflix, NBC - anyone!!

      I also want to give a shoutout to Bless This Mess! It was also such a wholesome show! Seeing New Yorkers starting a farm? As a New Yorker myself I loved it! I loved all the women making fun of Rio for being a fake feminist because she can't drive!! I loved how both the man and woman changed their last names as a signal for equality. I also loved how Rudy was such a weirdo character but he found love! Sitcoms can sometimes treat the weirdo character as just a nuisance. They can sometimes treat the weirdo character as not being human. Rudy was though! You could see Rudy's emotions, his heart - and that is why his love story was so great!

      Please sign this petition: https://www.change.org/p/abc-bless-this-mess-deserves-another-season/psf/promote_or_share



      I don't want to be too greedy but it would be so great if both Bless This Mess and Single Parents could get saved! Please TV providers! Save these shows.

      The cast: I love how everyone on this show has different looks. We see people with different body types, different facial features - and yet everyone is good looking because you see their personality! 

      The wholesomeness: Wasn't it heartwarming to see Rio and Mike become friends with Kay and Beau? Wasn't it heartwarming to see Rudy and Constance fall in love! To see Jacob being his teenager self for comic relief. Another heartwarming show cancelled! Why do people not want joy in their lives!

      The romance: Rio and Mike, the main characters, are already married which is fresh and unique. Usually the main characters find love on a sitcom. Rio and Mike are already in love and we see them navigate that. It's great! I love to see what happens after a wedding! I wanted to see them have a baby! I've already mentioned how Rudy and Constance are such different people but you still go on their romance journey with them! And of course Key and Beau - I loved seeing them become better people.

      #saveBlessThisMess

      Save Single Parents From Cancellation - please Hulu, Netflix, NBC - anyone!!

      I recently learned that Single Parents, one of my favorite sitcoms, has gotten canceled. It DEVASTATED me as I started watching this show right after the pandemic started. It brought me so much joy and was so wholesome. It was a gut punch to learn that it wasn't coming back. Hulu, Netflix, NBC, if you are listening - please consider saving this show!!



      Please sign these petitions if you agree with me:




      The Cast: The cast of Single Parents was amazing. Leighton Meester is hilarious as a comedic actress. I saw someone comparing her to Nick Miller and I agree! She is the Nick Miller of this new generation. She's SUCH a delight to see on screen. Secondly, I was charmed by Kimrie Lewis-Davis as Poppy. She is so charismatic and stylish on the series. These two ladies add so much to the cast! Taren Killin is also great as the sweet dad. We need more sweet dads on TV! It's so wholesome to see!! ugh....how can you replicate a better cast?!?! C'mon networks - how? I assure you - if you pick up this series, you'll get some of the best ensemble comedies of all time. The kids are also so cute. Are you telling me I will never see Graham's cute face again? 
       
      The Wholesomeness: We need wholesomeness for the whole family. THEY ARE A VILLAGE!! A bunch of friends who love each other? It brings me the same joy New Girl brought me, the same joy Friends brought me.

      Romance: Angie and Will have so much potential! I want to see more of their story. They are such a sweet slow-burn couple. The season 2 finale brought me so much job how they both love each other! And how they both found out. so sweet...SO SWEET.

      #saveSingleParents

      Monday, April 27, 2020

      BJ Novak's Lookalike & Crazy Ex Girlfriend Similarity - Netflix's Never Have I Ever

      Thoughts on Netflix's Never Have I Ever

      Mindy Kaling's new show just came out on Netflix called, "Never Have I Ever" and I LOVED it.  It was funny and touching and made me cry at times. I recommend everyone give it a try and watch it!

      Here are some thoughts I wanted to share with the world:

      1) I think it is HILARIOUS how Mindy Kaling named the Jewish character with big, blue/green eyes "Ben" after BJ Novak (The B.J stands for Benjamin Joseph). Mindy and B.J. have been linked romantically for quite some times and their characters were a couple in The Office!

      bj novak never have i ever Ben
      The 2 Bens!!


      2) This show reminded me of Crazy Ex Girlfriend. Here is how:

      • Girl is obsessed with boys because she is going through some trauma
      • Girl is self-centered and ditches her friends constantly because she is obsessed with a boy
      • Girl has a therapist who is constantly overwhelmed by her crazy-ness
      • Girl's mother is controlling
      • Love triangles galore!! 
      3) The scene where Devi falls into the pool is a call back to the Mindy Project where Mindy also falls into a pool.

      4) Team Paxton or Team Ben: I have no idea which team I am on!!

      5) Mindy Kaling tends to make her enemies-to-lovers men really mean in the beginning. This was seen in The Mindy Project where Danny was horrid in the first few episodes. I thought Ben was also super mean to Devi in the first episode, but his solo-episode narrated by Andy Samberg humanized him!

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      Let me know if you have any interesting thoughts on this show you'd like to share! Or any thoughts about my thoughts lmao.

      Saturday, April 25, 2020

      Watermelon Sugar, a lyrical analysis from Fine Line, a Harry Styles album

      Watermelon Sugar, Song Meaning and Lyrical Interpretation


      Watermelon Sugar is a chill song about comparing the feeling of eating watermelon on a hot day to being infatuated with someone.

      Tastes like strawberries on a summer evenin '
      And it sounds just like a song 
      I want more berries and that summer feelin' 
      It's so wonderful and warm

      This is a beautiful verse. You can just imagine it being a hot, summer day and taking a bite out of a really nice fruit and savoring every taste and moment. Summer is a gorgeous season. The sun is in the sky, you can feel the warmth on your skin, you want to feel cool things like ice cream and watermelon. Personally, I LOVE watermelon - it is one of my favorite fruits.

      Summer can also be synonymous with abundance. Many fruits have been harvested or many are about to be harvested. Strawberries, berries, watermelon - these are all fruits that quench your thirst in a healthy way on a summer day.

      Harry Styles is trying to say this feeling of love or infatuation, feels like chilling with some strawberries on a nice summer day.

      Breathe me in, breathe me out
      I don't know if I could ever go without
      I'm just thinking out loud
      I don't know if I could ever go without 
      Watermelon sugar high
      The "Breathe me in, breathe me out," line reminds me of mindfulness and meditation. Mindfulness is all about savoring the present moment. Harry wants to truly savor the feeling he is feeling right now.

      What is "Watermelon sugar high" ? I think it is everything he is describing in this song. It's the joy you feel savoring a beautiful summer evening.
      Strawberries on a summer evenin'
      Baby, you're the end of June
      I want your belly and that summer feelin'
      Getting washed away in you
      "I want your belly and that summer feelin'," is an interesting and weird line. I like to imagine him and his lover at the beach and he is resting his head in their lap. "Getting washed away in you," also alludes to the waves of a beach.



      Other thoughts


      • Many people would say this song is actually about sex. That probably is it LMAO. But thanks for reading my very PG analysis of this song! xD
      • I really like this song! I think I will love it even more in the summer. Interesting how Harry released this album in December but the first two songs both are Summer songs!  Golden is about the sun and Watermelon Sugar is about watermelon - both essential ingredients to a great Summer!!
      Harry tweeted this catchy saying! And yeah, I can kindof see it. I love how both songs are about fruits! However, the two songs are very different in their messaging. Kiwi is about a crazy woman and being super excited and feeling intense about love. Kiwi is such a rock anthem. Watermelon Sugar is chill and more wholesome.

      Do you agree or do you interpret these lyrics differently? Let me know what you think in the comments below. 


      Previous Lyrical AnalysisAll Harry Styles AnalysisNext Lyrical Analysis
      GoldenHarry Styles Lyrical Analysis MasterpostAdore You

      Vote: What is your favorite song off Fine Line?

      Friday, April 24, 2020

      Golden, a lyrical analysis from Fine Line, a Harry Styles album

      Golden, Song Meaning and Lyrical Interpretation


      Golden is a nice, mellow song about equating love to hope.
      Golden, golden, golden as I open my eyes
      Hold it, focus, hoping, take me back to the light
      I know you were way too bright for me
      I'm hopeless, broken, so you wait for me in the sky
      Brown my skin just right
      You're so golden
      Harry Styles is creatively talking about the sun here. The sun is a symbol for hope. The sun brings warmth and energy that allows all living things to stay alive. The sun peeking out from the sky also represents a new day where things can change and good things can surprise you. 

      Harry may have been heart-broken by a love gone wrong. Maybe he thought he would never see love again. "I know you were way too bright for me." He couldn't accept the sun's hope before because of how broken he was. But now he can finally accept the hope the sun has given him - that he will fall in love again. "Brown my skin just right." He is really taking in all the hope the sun can give him - so much so that he is getting a tan. The ending sentence of this verse, "You're so golden," implies that he has found a person who is his sun, his hope, and his love.
      You're so golden
      I'm out of my head, and I know that you're scared
      Because hearts get broken 
      I don't want to be alone
      I don't want to be alone when it ends
      Don't wanna let you know
      I don't want to be alone
      But I can feel it take a hold (I can feel it take a hold)
      I can feel you take control (I can feel you take control)
      Of who I am, and all I've ever known
      Lovin' you's the antidote
      Golden
      Harry and his lover are both scared of getting their hearts broken again. But the love, the hope and light are enough for him to dispel these fears. The cure for his fears of loneliness is to love. The antidote is to embrace all that he feels for the object of his affection.

      "I know that you're scared because I'm so open." This is one of my favorite lines from the song. When you love someone, you have to be open and vulnerable and show them everything that you are. This can, once again, bring up feelings of being scared that you might be rejected and alone. But Harry is really soaking in the sun. He is really embracing love. So he will give everything that he's got.

      Other thoughts


      I really love how smooth and effortlessly Harry rhymes golden and broken. At first glance, it doesn't look like it's a rhyme but it works!

      This song definitely reminds me of some other songs from my favorite artists. 

      Kacey Musgraves: I think Kacey definitely influenced Harry during the time they were on tour together. Firstly, Harry has mentioned that he was on mushrooms when he wrote this song. And this song is supposed to be a smooth, mellow song. What does this remind me of? Slow Burn by Kacey Musgraves. She admits she was doing drugs when she wrote that song AND that song is also a cool, mellow jam.

      Secondly, this song reminds me of Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves! (I say this with excitement even though in my track-by-track listing, I ranked Golden hour last lmao). In both songs, the artists compare their love to the sun. They both talk about how they feel hope, warmth, love from the sun and their lover!!

      Taylor Swift: Harry Styles released this album 4 months after Taylor's album Lover so I doubt Harry could have copied Taylor - but they were both on the same wavelength! Taylor Swift has a song called, "Daylight" where she says she thought love was "red" but it is really, "golden." Harry Styles and Kacey Musgraves agree! Love is golden to all three of these artists!! (At most, Taylor could have copied Kacey?? Also, when I say "copy" I mean it kindly. Maybe I should use the word "inspired"??)

      Personally, I think it is super cool how Harry Styles, Kacey Musgraves and Taylor Swift all see love as Golden.

      Do you agree or do you interpret these lyrics differently? Let me know what you think in the comments below. 


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      From the Dining TableHarry Styles Lyrical Analysis MasterpostWatermelon Sugar




      Sunday, April 5, 2020

      RIP Adam Schlesinger: songwriter for Crazy Ex Girlfriend

      Coronavirus has taken Adam Schlesinger, a man I always heard about when I went into my Crazy Ex Girlfriend deep dives. When I heard the news, I felt really sad because he helped make my favorite show. He helped the music stay at such a high quality. His work was loved by many - especially me. This tweet by one of the creators of the show, highlights some of his musical accomplishments for the show:

      I can say I loved every single one of these songs (and trust me, there are CXG songs that I think are boring and lame but none of these are).

      I liked how good of a songwriter Adam Schlesinger was. I would describe myself as a "lyrics" person. I love to focus on lyrics, I love to analyze lyrics, and I love smart and witty lyrical writing. I can tell he was the same due to his commitment to writing amazing songs. I am sad to see such an amazing talent leave this world.

      RIP Adam Schlesinger

      Adam Schlesinger Rachel Bloom

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      A Coronavirus Return

      Hello everyone! I am back to my blog - you can deduse why....the United States is under orders to social distance and so I have some time on my hands. I do live in NYC where it is the hardest hit so it is a scary time. However, my family and I are safe and sound and able to social distance. I have been working from home so I am still busy! But today's the weekend so I had some time and I wanted to revive my blog!!

      Why did I leave the blog for about a year? I'm not too sure but giving myself those Crazy Ex Girlfriend deadlines made it seem like a chore? This time around I will write for fun! And guess what my next project will be?!?!?!

      You guessed it - I am going to be analyzing every song off of Harry Styles' new album Fine Line!! I know, I know - it is a little late since the album came out on December 13, 2019 (Taylor Swift's birthday - why is he like this?). However, I'm still excited to share my thoughts on the songs! Check back for updates for when my analysis blog posts are released. Also, please vote in the below poll!!!

      I also wrote about a key member of the Crazy Ex Girlfriend creative team who died of coronavirus recently: RIP Adam Schlesinger: songwriter for Crazy Ex Girlfriend


      What is your favorite song off of Fine Line - Harry Styles' new album?

      Golden
      Watermelon Sugar
      Adore You
      Lights Up
      Cherry
      Falling
      To Be So Lonely
      She
      Sunflower, Vol. 6
      Canyon Moon
      Treat People With Kindness
      Fine Line
      Created with Quiz Maker



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