Dissecting the Lyrics- When I originally began commenting here on the Eurovision Times, I never imagined myself writing for the blog. However, when I was asked if I would be willing post this comment, I thought that there was no harm in giving this a try. If this post goes over well enough, I might even do a series where I look at the lyrics of various Eurovision songs.
To tell everybody the truth, there are very few songs in the history of Eurovision that I find as frustrating as Belgium 2012. Iris’ “Would You?” is everything that I personally hate in Eurovision. Her vocals were off-key, the composition is extremely formulaic, and the stage presentation was dull and awkward, but through all this, one element of the song shone through as the most-grating element of the entire three minutes: the lyrics. Go ahead and listen to them yourself:
Let’s begin by looking at the most obvious issue with the lyrics. The chorus includes the lyric: “What would you do when my house was empty?”
What exactly does that mean? It’s not even a properly-composed sentence. “What would you do when/if my house is empty?” is more likely to be correct, although I’m still dubious as to whether that either the when- or the if-statement is absolutely correct. Getting past the poor sentence structure, the statement still has absolutely no meaning. Where is the direct object of the sentence when her house is empty? What relationship does this direct object have to her? To find the answer to this question, most would try to find out what information has already been given to them, yet, before this lyric, we’ve only managed to get a garbled semi-statement of relationship between the two.
Come and find me, I’ve been hiding from you
Come and get me, running from you
It’s been easy, easy for you
To believe me when I say I love you
This verse has managed to give me a mixed signal as to the relationship between the two subjects. She’s hiding from him and running from him, yet at the same time, he’s being charged to find her and get her (by her, nonetheless). If she really wanted to make it easy for him, she wouldn’t be running from him but to him. Despite all this, we are still supposed to believe that it’s been extremely easy for him to believe to believe her confessions of love. I find it hard to believe that he found this cat-and-mouse relationship with Iris, in any way, convenient or easy, and after this first verse, it almost seems like she’s the antagonist in this relationship. It seems that she is the one at fault for causing this relationship to become as strained as it clearly has.
This leads us back to the question, “What would you do when my house was empty?” If she’s hiding from him and running from him, why would he even think about checking her house? More importantly, if she hates this relationship so much, why does she even care what he’ll do when she is gone?
The rest of the refrain follows:
My life in a bag and away from you
You took my love for granted, would you really miss me?
Any other guy would do, but would you?
My first question here is, “What love is he taking for granted?” Still, all we know is that she’s running from him and hiding from him emotionally. If that really is the case, how is he taking her love for granted? If anything, she is taking his love for granted. My next question is that if it is true that any other guy would do, what does it matter what he would do? In that matter, what exactly is she asking with that final ‘would you?’ anyway? Is she asking if he will do as a romantic partner? Because if that is the case, she seems to have already answered that by avoiding him. If she is asking what he would do, what does it matter? If she is asking what he would feel about her leaving, I again go to the idea, what does it matter? She has yet to really show any care for him in the lyrics of the song, and to the contrary, her actions seem to show a minor disdain towards him.
The next verse goes:
It’s a secret and a question for you
Where I’m at now, what are you gonna do?
If you run here and look for me now
Are we done here or starting somehow?
At this point, I’m inclined to say that the entire song amounts to nothing more than word filler. This is no comprehensive idea in either verse so far beyond she wants to escape from him and has been checking out emotionally for a while, yet, for whatever reason, she expects him to take fault for the disintegration of their relationship. Even that little bit of an idea is extrapolated through the use of heavy analysis. All a casual listener is getting to hear thus far is gibberish. However, I do want to point to the last couplet and highlight the absolute incomprehensible gibberish that question is. I can’t even extract anything coherent from that.
Passing over a repeat of the refrain, we come to the bridge:
It’s a two-way street and I know that
But don’t look back
Still I wonder, still I wonder
Here, we have her admit to something that her actions in the song have disproved. She has consistently shown throughout the two verses that she expect him to take all the blame despite evidence that points to her having a far-more significant role in the destruction of this relationship. Beyond that, she is taking no steps to improve any aspect of the relationship and is actively making it more difficult for him to correct their course together. Besides the first line of this bridge, we have more lyrical fluff that amounts to nothing in the context of the song.
This leads to a slightly different refrain at the end, where the third line of the refrain (“You took my love for granted, would you really miss me”) has changed to “But when I’m at your door, will you say you missed me?” The only thing I can bring out from that is that she realizes her fault (finally) in distancing herself from the relationship. However, she still seems to want to blame him for not loving her back, with a repeat of the line “Any other guy would do, but would you?”
In the end, we have a story that doesn’t come to an end but rather stops. At the end, the listener still knows nothing about this guy or why she tried to distance herself from such a (interpolated) hardworking (assumed) boyfriend in the first place. All we have is meaningless words and a skeletal (at best) understanding of the situation as a whole. The song sounds little more than the first poem written by a pre-teen girl where almost every other word is unnecessary.
Thanks so much! And please do a series!!! ^^
Yay! Finally a site caring for lyrics in ESC!
Please do a series on the best lyrics too like France 1962, Portugal 2008, France 2009, BiH and Estonia 2012 and so many others.
And I forgot … almost all Portuguese songs in the 70s …
France and Belgium 1968 are fantastic too.
Going to bed in jubilant mood.
Hi Toggie
I wanted to let you know that I read your review 
great as usual, keep up the good work 
Oh it’s me the original mer maid
I’ll be needing some help, at points. While I can definitely write articles over France 2009, BiH and Estonia 2012, etc. I’ll need your help with many of the songs from contests before 1995, as I still have not found the time to go back before then (and the recent ESCToday hack caused my rankings of 1995-2011 to disappear with it…). I’m not necessarily familiar with many of distinguished entries of the first forty years of the contest yet.
Bosnia 93, France 69… also a case should be said on Norway 95 and Belgium 03 their good results beingmostly due to that “new” way of dealing with esc lyrics (regardless what wethink of them)… with my job and my big love for lyrics, Id be glad to help… I’m already working on a history of France in esc that I’ll ask Manuel if I can post it here (since I can’t do esc 2012 without the split results)
I am looking forward to your history of France in ESC. I cannot do one for Germany because the years 1985 to 2003 (perhaps excepting 1986 and 2001) would have me hospitalised in a mental unit in no time …
I guess that most fans from the UK feel the same about the years 1999 to 2012 …
i will link it mostly to the cultural history of France (May 68, New Wave) and the political background behind the channels who were up to organize esc for France! It will hopefully help people understand French entries better.
Wow! That sound really cool! and of course I will post it ^^ just send it to me… All of you: If you have something that you think may profit others here just tell me! No need to just post it as a simple comment. Work like that should be valued in a seperate post!
YES! Please continue this series! For a while I really thought I was the only one who was judging any songs based on lyrics. (I could write a novel on how much I hated Finland’s lyrics last year!) For the record, I totally agree with your assessment of Iris’ song.
Oh. My. God.
I don’t know if I could write a novel, but I could write a decent-sized essay on how much I disliked Finland 2011′s lyrics.
Me too. We could start an essay competition …
Can I be the judge to that?
You guys are smart, you’ve got this analysis down to an art.
Actually, I just want to say I LOVED this review – funniest thing I’ve read in quite some time! I know it’s not really the effect you’re going for, but still. It’s just the intense dissection which tickled me pink. I’d definitely love to see more of these.
I have to say myself, I interpret the lyrics rather differently. I see it from the perspective that this guy has been neglecting her in their relationship, so “Come and find me, I’ve been hiding from you” is like saying to him “I want to know just how much you care for me, so I’m hiding or running to see if you’ll come and get me”. “It’s been easy, easy for you to believe me, when I say I love you” is like saying “you don’t question our relationship, you just get the answers you want from me and you’re satisfied.”
“What would you do IF my house was empty” (which is what it should be) is like asking him how he’d react if she left him. So hopefully now the line about taking her love for granted makes more sense.
But hey, what do I know? This is just my interpretation. If I was going to tear a set of lyrics to shreds I’d probably start with Turkey.
Well, I am not sure about the idea. Lyrics are different from poetry, you don’t have to have each line to be meaningful, 99% of people who watch Eurovision don’t even notice what the lyrics say.
I look at song as a whole, which includes words, melody, production, vocals and so on.
I doubt Iris didn’t get to the final because of lyrics. Show me someone who would say “The lyrics don’t tell a complete story, therefore I am not going to vote for it”.
Most people probably forgot about the song in the end of the night because some other songs (like Russia) were more memorable, stood out more, were in a style of music that appeals more to the masses. Many people who are into this kind of music probably liked the song despite it didn’t answer questions you were pointing out. But why does the song need to give a complete story?
I agree, lyrics aren’t as important as the melody. And while some composers actually put a lot of effort in the lyrics so that they are complex and meaningful, there are also some who only use the lyrics to complete the song, and for the singer to have something to say. Sure, I’m not crazy about Belgium 2012 either, but it’s more about the song than the lyrics.
Nevertheless, this could be a nice series. It would be interesting to see a review on the lyrics of Finland 2006.
So you are basically saying that we should not discuss lyrics because all those yobbos dominating televoting around Europe couldn’t care less?
We can discuss lyrics (especially in such a well-done analysis), it’s just we need to keep in mind that lyrics alone don’t sell the song. In a poem you need to express yourself with words, in a song words is just one element, often not the most important one.
In Eurovision in particular, words are not important usually – you have 20 or so songs back to back and most people will not be able to pay close attention to lyrics. This is a light entertainment show and in my opinion, we need to accept it as it is. If you go to a classical music concert, you are probably not going to ask why they don’t play rock or dance music.
Well done, Patrick!
PS: I always wanted to make a list of my fav esc songs based only on their lyrics, but i guess that it would demand a great ammount of time. For the time being I’ll only say that there are many songs with great lyrics in eurovision; UK 73 and France 79 for instance come to my mind. And as Togravus has said, some of the portuguese lyrics during the 70′s really “rock”. Greece 76 is my all time fav greek entry when it comes to lyrics.
Turkish entries had great lyrics when our songs were in Turkish ( one of the best is “Deli” imo) but they totally lose effect when they are translated into English which is a pity!I don’t want to talk about English lyrics we sent, they are generally cheesy!
I agree that the lyrics of ‘Deli’ are very strong. Well, the song is in my top 10 of ESC 1956-2011 anyway.
Did you read that I read your review of 2012 above? It was fantastic my dear :*
Yes, I have read it. Thanks a lot.
Another cheers for the series!
Lyrics are just as important as melody, instrumentation and vocals are. I try no to judge the songs based on the lyrics because I do not understand them all. Sometimes, I wonder if that is not a blessing in disguise, given the fact that several of the lyrics that I do understand are bad, lazy and vaguely crass. That said, Belgium 12 is one of those anonymous songs (much like Germany 12 and the Danish songs of recent years) that fails to make a lasting impression. Paying attention to its lyrics is depressing (they’re meaningless). However, I think that this new series is a valid idea and I shall join it whenever I have something to say about what is being discussed. Turkey 12 is an example of a song ruined by silly and lazy lyrics.
P.S.: France 69 and 79 and Portugal 84 have excellent lyrics, imo. ‘Quietly’ (German NF 2012) has good lyrics too as does ‘Comme ça’ (Austrian NF 12).
This is what Can had to tell about the lyrics.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF5ydG7_tWU&sns=em (starting at 1:20) I’m almost sure he had to give in to those who think English language is a must to do better in Eurovision :/ I think the opposite!
I thought the same when I watched the ESCToday interview. Can felt pretty uncomfortable and seemed to be almost a bit embarrassed about the lyrics of ‘Love Me Back’, emphasizing that he always writes his lyrics … but in Turkish.
It was his first song written in English and one can clearly see that, unfortunately.
I really do wonder why someone would be bothered that much about a simple teenage love song like “Would you ?” is and care much more to criticize it like that…Anyway each to his own..The idea is good as to analyzing the lyrics but that’s not what I would have in mind, I would prefer something more objective.
?????
That is a pretty objective analysis. In fact, it is almost a close reading (which is a central term and practice in the methology of literary studies …)
With the very slight difference that this is a song written by a teenager to be sang by another teenager…How long has it been since you were a teenager ? The article accuses the whole song of being unstable as far the feelings of the persons involved are concerned (who is chasing who, who takes love for granted, who loves the other more) and claims that there is a controversy and contradiction throughout the song when it comes to feelings when that is exactly the nature of a teenage romance..Uncertainty, change of heart and mind from one minute to another (I am running from you but do you love me ? I want you but then I am angry and claim that another guy can offer me what you can’t, then I change my mind again etc)…Don’t tell me no one has ever experienced that..And that’s exactly why I do not consider the whole analysis objective..The only valid point IMO is the Structure issue on “What would you do when my house was empty” where an “if” would be more accurate in the place of “when”. That’s my opinion.
(P.S. Expected answer : I did not understand anything from this so well made detailed analysis and I am once again being the bad one. – just to get you out of trouble)
1. The analysis of lyrics (or any other fictional text) is about aesthetics, not morals or ethics. It is an analysis of form and not content first and foremost (aisthesis vs. theoria vs. praxis as the wise Greeks put it so many centuries ago …)
2. I never published my diary when I was a teenager. As soon as you go public, it is not a private affair anymore but a work of art that can (and must) be judged objectively.
And no, you are not the bad one … but you are a physics student if I remember correctly. Perhaps someone who has studied and taught literature at university knows a bit more about fictional texts than you do. I would never try to prove you wrong if we discussed physics because I have no formal qualification to analyse or understand much of its laws or logic. That does not mean that I want to censure your taste though. Taste is one thing, and artistic quality is a totally different matter. And as I have said before, I sometimes love pretty bad stuff too while being bored or annoyed by quality. We are all human affter all, even humble me.
I don’t think I talked about morals or ethics. Of course it is a work that has gone public thus vulnerable to criticism. But in order to be objective imo it should be judged in the frame of what the author (of the song) wanted to achieve. Moreover the mentality of the described situation and the persons involved in what is described should be taken under consideration as well. There is not a standard set of criteria for every lyrical work imo since the background of the authors differ and so does the purpose behind the writting. I do not claim to be an expert in literature but I doubt you need to be one to have an opinion on the lyrics of a song such as “Would you ?”. Plus I did not get into a detailed analysis about the writing virtues of the lyricist, I just stated that I do not consider fortunate the prespective under which the lyrics where judged. The same with the song, an article published on a forum is a work open to any kind of opinions and criticism. If the author of this certain work did not want it to be criticized (no matter how off the point he/she considers the criticism or how much he/she cares) he/she could have kept it private or in a form of a comment as it was. By the time it is published I think I have the right to state my honest opinion, even if I am not a literature expert. I applaud the initiative to have such a topic, I just disagreed on this certain realization of the idea.
Of course you have every right to voice your opinion and criticise. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t talk to you at all. But then you must accept criticism too once you go public with your criticism …
Obviously. That’s why we are discussing this certain issue. If we all agreed on this certain issue (or any other) it would be terribly boring.
I would also like to ask the owner of the blog if tht kind of analysis would be published as an article regardless of the member writing it and regardless of the song analyzed in it. It’s an interesting initiative and it would be good if we could all participate (with whatever knowledge each has that is..)
I realy dont understand why people are being snobish towards the Belgium entry it was well sung and to me the lyrics where meaningful enough. The lack of perfect grammar in her song can possibly help to reflect how she is naive in the relationship with her partner, she is still learning in the world of love and music! As long as it sounds nice to listen to I dont see the problem, this isnt the worst example of poor songwriting I am sure. UK 2010 “That sounds good to me” Czech Republic 2008 “Have some fun” Switzerland 2010 “Il Plus de le or” excuse my poor French I never paqssed my GCSE French
.
“she is still learning in the world of love and music”
She is still learning English too … like so many artists participating in ESC. It is a shame.
What is wrong with the lyrics of “Il pleut de l’or’? My French is not as good as my English but they seem pretty good to me. The costumes and live vocals of Switzerland 2010 are a totally different matter unfortunately. If you decide to do retro-camp, you need to be spot-on. Otherwise it looks and sounds pretty lame.
Singing about gold to me just seems rather silly realy, the song just doesnt seem to make much sense, compared to this. I dont understand why people dont like this entry really, I suppose I can relate more to the entry in terms of age I guese, and the stroy behind the song. But going back to Switzerlands entry in 2010, it was a rather camp and dated entry besides the poor song writting. And I didnt like the repeated “Il pluet de l’or” all the time.
I would like to read analysis of “Zaleilah”, “Aphrodisiac”, “Party for everybody”, “La la love”, “Love is blind” and “When the music dies”. :p
The Azeri entry would be interesting to analyise, considering the melody of the song is partly stollen, or you can definetly see the singer/ song writters inspirations for the song. To me “When the music dies” sound more like Jamelia’s “Stop” from Bridget Jones Edge Of reason.
even though the lyrics are not so good, i still enjoy the song
but ja it makes sense what you say
well done, it was very nice to read… !
Wow, I’ve been gone for a couple of days and when I return to this site, I find this wonderful article. Great to see someone finally focusing on the lyrics, I’ve always felt that analysing texts about Eurovision lack that part. As a lyrics freak, I can say that I appretiate this very much.
And yes, please write more about this. Some studies about classic Eurovision lyrics. And can’t the literature experts on this site give us their all-time top 10 ESC lyrics?
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