The song 'Fortnight' by Taylor Swift and Post Malone tells a story about strong feelings, complicated relationships, and secret wishes. It talks about love, betrayal, and wanting someone who doesn't feel the same. The word 'fortnight' shows short-lived happiness and guilty pleasures, leading to sadness. It shows how messy relationships can be and the results of hiding emotions. “I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she kickstarts the song in the first verse with lines suggesting an admission to a hospital for people with mental illnesses. She goes in the verse admitting her lover is the reason why she is like this. In the chorus, she sings about their time in love and reflects on how he has now settled with someone else. “I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary / And I love you, it’s ruining my life,” on the second verse she details her struggles to forget about him and the negative effects of her failure. “Thought of callin’ ya, but you won’t pick up / ‘Nother fortnight lost in America,” Post Malone sings in the outro.
Late nights in Lake Park
I wait for you to see me
My eyes open, standing watch for hours
Wearing your favorite thing
I awoke pleasing you so slowly
I'm giving you time
The soft light
On your mad brow
I'm asking you to show me how, how
Show me now
Show me a second face
Show me how you make
Your second face
Fingers situate themselves in dark,
Moving the way that is so easy
And in summer bright your shout
On the surface, warm
I throw a box full of oranges,
Syrup seeping out
Searching for a season smell
I run from you then walk back to you
Who I don't know
Sniffing for a light
Show me now
Show me a second face
Show me how you make
Your second face
What did I do to make you feel so bad?
What did I do that you would make me feel so bad?
I wait for you to see me
My eyes open, standing watch for hours
Wearing your favorite thing
I awoke pleasing you so slowly
I'm giving you time
The soft light
On your mad brow
I'm asking you to show me how, how
Show me now
Show me a second face
Show me how you make
Your second face
Fingers situate themselves in dark,
Moving the way that is so easy
And in summer bright your shout
On the surface, warm
I throw a box full of oranges,
Syrup seeping out
Searching for a season smell
I run from you then walk back to you
Who I don't know
Sniffing for a light
Show me now
Show me a second face
Show me how you make
Your second face
What did I do to make you feel so bad?
What did I do that you would make me feel so bad?
Lyrics submitted by lisasonoda, edited by Zen Bird
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Fortnight
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Trigger warning
I'm not certain if this was Julia's intention, but her words remind me of an unhealthy relationship that I was in at one point in my life.
"My eyes open, standing watch for hours Wearing your favorite thing"
He always wanted me (demanded me) to wear certain items of clothing, and "my eyes open, standing watch for hours" reminds me of the constant vigilance that I had to maintain in order to ensure that he was always placated.
"Show me how you make your second face"
This line reminds me of his duplicity... One moment, he idolized me, and the next, he was unsatisfied or enraged with me. Additionally, whenever we were arguing, he made the appearance of being calm and collected in public, but would be angry and belittling the moment we were alone. In Julia's words, I can see her asking the subject of her lyric to show her (his/her) inner self, the "second face" hidden from the public.
"What did I do to make you feel so bad? What did I do that you would make me feel so bad?"
Fairly self-explanatory I think, but for me personally, it reminds me of all the times that he would manipulate me with the "silent treatment", leaving me to wonder what I did to "make" him feel so upset. After years away from him though, I now know that people are in charge of their own emotions, and that nothing I could have done would have been able to satisfy him ultimately.
Thank you for the lyric, Julia.