Maybe it’s the lit major in me — or just years of overanalyzing everything from Shakespeare to Springsteen — but I can’t help myself. Every now and then, I take a peek at the Billboard Hot 100 to see what the kids are singing (or screaming) along to these days. Are the lyrics secretly profound? Or are they just catchy chaos wrapped in glitter and Auto-Tune?
This week, I scrolled through the Top 10 and did a quick lyric check. Here’s my take:
10. “I Cry” – Flo Rida
I didn’t really understand one word of this rap song until I watched the video. The singer is looking back over his life and struggles, as well as some of the nation’s. The song is about a dysfunctional couple who fight hard, throw things and slam doors. The guy keeps saying he’s going to leave, but he can’t break free from the sexual relationship. He prays he’ll only stay one more night, even though he’s said it a million times.
9. “One More Night” – Maroon 5
The song is about a dysfunctional couple who fights hard, throws things and slams doors. The guy keeps saying he’s going to leave, but he can’t break free from the sexual relationship. He prays he’ll only stay one more night, even though he’s said it a million times.
8. “Scream & Shout” – will.i.am & Britney Spears
There should be a disclaimer on this song warning people not to listen to it if they don’t want its simple, repetitive phrases lodged in their brain for several days. The words: “I wanna scream and shout and let it all out. And scream and shout and let it out” are repeated over and over, until the next day, you’re driving in your car, and you literally want to scream and shout and let it all out of your head, but it won’t leave. The words just stay there. Takes two Tylenol and about three days for the effects to wear off.
7. “Beauty and a Beat” – Justin Bieber featuring Nicki Minaj
Back in the day, Prince wanted everyone to party like it was 1999. Then 1999 passed, and I guess Justin Bieber decided we should start planning to party a millennium from now with the line: “We gonna party like it’s 3012 tonight.” Just how do these people know whether or not any of us will be partying a thousand years from now? Isn’t it a bit presumptuous to plan a party that far in the future? The message of the song is that all Bieber needs is beauty and a beat, or a woman and dancing. Sounds very Fred Astaire.
6. “Home” – Phillip Phillips
The singer is taking a relationship journey with someone and reassuring them that he’s going to make a good home and future for them, leaving the bad things behind.
5. “Thrift Shop” – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz
Occasionally, I have to watch the videos to figure out what the heck the song is actually about. Thrift Shop is apparently a parody about thrift shopping. I couldn’t really discern whether or not the guy singing was a fan of saving a buck at the Goodwill or a not.
4. “Ho Hey” – The Lumineers
This song seems to convey the message that two people belong together.
3. “I Knew You Were Trouble” – Taylor Swift
Taylor says she fell hard for a boy who didn’t care about her, and now realizes she’s to blame because her instincts told her he was trouble from the beginning. Now he’s moved on, and she’s just another notch on his belt.
2. “Diamonds” – Rihanna
Rihanna sings about a bright, shining relationship with another.
1. “Locked Out of Heaven” – Bruno Mars
Mars has met the woman of his dreams and calls his sexual relationship with her a spiritual experience. He’s never had much faith before, but he’s “born again” every time they are in bed. It’s paradise, and compared to his past experiences, he now realizes he’s been locked out of heaven until now. I‘m not sure, “Open up your gates, cause I can’t wait to see the light” is a very romantic line.
And there you have it—today’s Top 10 in all its poetic (or perplexing) glory.
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