For my poetry anthology, I have decided to analyze a song from each 1975 album, starting with their first album titled "The 1975" going to their most recent, "Being Funny In A Foreign Language."
They are an extremely important band that I have been with throughout my whole high school career. Although all of the songs except for the first that I chose address social issues, they have many other great songs that mean a lot to me which are amazingly written and performed. This project does not give the band enough justice for how much their music has impacted people.
So Far (It's Alright) - The 1975 (2013)
Yeah so far, it's alright, alright, baby (4x)Yeah it's the way we are
We were smoking by 11 and knocking 'round town
Beat 'em ups on my arm
We were never good at selling
Couldn't cut down
And I stay with my father, while his friends die of heart attacks
He's got a heart made of stone but he never gets cold because the sun's always on his back
I used to think you were cool and I believed you had a wonderful vision,
But I soon found out you're a terrible friend and your mother's on the television
Give's a go on your bike, how you getting along with your life
It's alright, yeah it's alright
Yeah so far, it's alright, alright, baby (4x)
"Oh well I'm coming to the end of 23" she said, "is that alright?"
"And it's coming to the end of you and me" she said, "is that alright?"
And how can you complain about life and talk about being bored
So Far (It's Alright) is a personal favorite song of mine (hence the tattoo and yearbook quote), it is an upbeat song that reflects on the highs and lows of living life as a young adult. I find myself relating to a lot of the lyrics, and some make me nostalgic of memories that I’ve never actually experienced. I like that the song doesn’t hold back from mentioning the use of drugs or the familial issues. It’s easy to understand what kind of lifestyle Matty Healy was living in his early 20s, the honesty of his bad decisions and strained relationships while keeping a positive outlook on his life is why I enjoy it so much. It reminds me that while you may be making memories and possibly doing things you’ll regret for the rest of your life, everything will be alright in the end.
If you just sit at Pete's house playing video games, doing sniff that you can't afford?
I can't be picking up in the town
So get me one off Adam if he's sorting you out
I don't really care what all your friends are about,
I was always looking for a way to get out,
A true reflection of the size of your house,
A silver spoon and a zoot in your mouth
But you're alright, yeah it's alright
Yeah so far, it's alright, alright, baby (4x)
So here we are, it's quarter to 11
We're knocking 'round town
Pushing in, in the bar, you can cry until 11, it's a quarter of an hour
And why stay if you hate it so much?
You think you're well cool,
You just write about sex and killing yourself and how you hardly ever went to school
Don't you wanna take me up in the clouds,
Pretend that I'm the one and you can show me about,
She was talking marriage so we had to get out,
Now he's making up for it by sleeping about
The ultimatum's a ridiculous joke
I'm gonna pick the option that allows me to smoke
But I'm alright, yeah it's alright
Yeah so far, it's alright, alright, baby (4x)
If I Believe You - ILIWYSFYASBYSUOI (2016)
I've got a God-shaped hole, that's infected
And I'm petrified of being alone
It's pathetic, I knowAnd I toss and I turn in my bed
It's just like I lost my head (lost my head)And if I believe you,
Would that make it stop if I told you I need you?
Is that what you want?
And I'm broken and bleeding, and begging for help.
And I'm asking you, Jesus: show yourself.I thought I'd met you once or twice,
But that was just because the dabs were nice
And opening up my mind
Showing me consciousness is primary in the universe
And I had a revelation
If I Believe You is a slow gospely song about struggling with belief in religion. This song is very relatable for me, as I have a complicated relationship with Christianity. I’ve found myself in a similar position of turning to religion out of desperation but having no real outcome. To me, I can really feel the despair in the lyrics. It’s a very powerful song that ironically almost gives a feeling of (what I assume is) a religious experience. It’s difficult to explain the kind of anger you feel when it gets to a point of such helplessness that you reach out to an invisible entity (who you’ve been raised to believe in) and receive no response.
I'll be your child if you insist
I mean, if it was you that made my body
You probably shouldn't have made me atheistI'm a lesbian kiss
I'm an evangelist
And "If you don't wanna go to hell then, Miss,
You better start selling this."And if I believe you,
Would that make it stop if I told you I need you?
Is that what you want?
And I'm broken and bleeding, and begging for help.
And I'm asking you, Jesus: show yourself.If I'm lost then how can I find myself? (9x)
Love It If We Made It - ABIIOR (2018)We're fucking in a car
Shooting heroin
Saying controversial things
Just for the hell of it
Selling melanin and then
Suffocate the black man
Start with misdemeanours
And we'll make a business out of them
And we can find out the information
Access all the applications
That are hardening positions
Based on miscommunication
Oh! Fuck your feelings
Truth is only hearsay
We're just left to decay
Modernity has failed usAnd I'd love it if we made it (4x)And poison me, daddy
I got the Jones right through my bones
Write it on a piece of stone
A beach of drowning three-year olds
Rest in peace Lil Peep
The poetry is in the streets
Love It If We Made It has been named a “social anthem” that incorporates many current societal issues currently going on in the world. It addresses things like systemic racism, problematic political figures, and digital media. I think this song really gets the intended message across and makes a real statement; however, it is a bit difficult to give a full personal response as the subject matter isn’t something that I have much knowledge about, and I cannot relate to most of it as a white woman. I do think that either way, the song at least gives people the chance to think about and reflect on the issues that are mentioned.
Jesus save us!
Modernity has failed usAnd I'd love it if we made it (6x)
Tell me something I didn't knowConsultation degradation
Fossil fuelling masturbation
Immigration liberal kitsch
Kneeling on a pitch
"I moved on her like a bitch!"
Excited to be indicted
Unrequited house with seven pools
"Thank you, Kanye, very cool!"
The war has been incited
And guess what? You're all invited
And you're famous
Modernity has failed usAnd I'd love it if we made it (3x)
Tell me something I didn't know
And I'd love it if we made it
People - NOACF (2020)Wake up, wake up, wake up
It's Monday morning and we've only got a thousand of them left
Well, I know it feels pointless and you don't have any money
But we're all just gonna try our fucking best
Well, my generation wanna fuck Barack Obama
Living in a sauna with legal marijuanaWell, girls, food, gear
I don't like going outside, so bring me everything herePeople like people
They want alive people
The young surprise people
Stop fucking with the, fucking with the (3x)Wake up, wake up, wake up
We are appalling and we need to stop just watching shit in bed
People is a song quite similar to Love It If We Made It, it was their first (and only) hard rock song that mostly focuses on politics, generational gaps and climate change. The difference is that People gives an obvious “wake up” call with a more angry and heavy approach to the topics, the message is clear. I believe that this song has a bigger impact on people as the tone and content of the lyrics deliver more of a shock when reading or listening to it.
And I know it sounds boring and we like things that are funny
But we need to get this in our fucking heads
The economy's a goner, republic's a banana, ignore it if you wannaFuck it, I'm just gonna get girls, food, gear
I don't like going outside, so bring me everything herePeople like people
They want alive people
The young surprise people
Stop fucking with the, fucking with the (6x)People like people
They want alive people
The young surprise people
Stop fucking with the kids
Looking For Somebody (To Love) - BFIAFL (2022)Somebody running for the field
Somebody should have stayed home
Somebody picking out the body of somebody they were getting to know
Somebody lacking in desire
The type you just don't fuck
A supreme gentleman with a gun in his hand looking for somebody to loveLooking for somebody to love
Looking for somebody to loveI wanna show him he's a bitch
I wanna fuck him up good
I wanna smash the competition, go and kill it like a man should
"You gotta show me how to push
If you don't want a shove"
Are the words of a young man already damned looking for somebody to loveLooking for somebody to love
Looking for somebody to love
Oh, they ran, oh, they ran, you should have seen how they ran when
I was looking for somebody to love
You should have seen it, man, I was all, "Bang, bang, bang, bang!"
Looking for somebody to love
Looking For Somebody (To Love) is another upbeat yet dark song addressing mass shootings and toxic masculinity through the perspective of a shooter with sarcasm and stereotypical responses to men’s behavior. This song may be problematic because of the execution (no pun intended) of the lyrics since the topic is quite sensitive, but I think that a humorous attempt can be as effective as a serious one if it’s done respectfully.
Oh, they ran, oh, they ran, you should have seen how they ran when
I was looking for somebody to love
You should have seen it, man, I was all, "Bang, bang, bang, bang!"
Looking for somebody to loveSomebody lying on the field
Somebody crying on the phone
Somebody picking up the body of somebody they were getting to know
Maybe we're lacking in desire
Maybe it's just all fucked
But the boy with the plan and the gun in his hand was looking for somebody to loveLooking for somebody to love
Looking for somebody to love
Oh, they ran, oh, they ran, you should have seen how they ran when
I was looking for somebody to love
You should have seen it, man, I was all, "Bang, bang, bang, bang!"
Looking for somebody to loveLooking for somebody to love