We all have those days where we listen to music that makes us feel. Sometimes specific songs make us feel conflicting emotions at the same time. I wanted to share five of my favorite songs to listen to when I want to confuse my emotions. Now, I don’t necessarily know the true meaning to these songs, but I find mixed feelings in the way that I interpret them.
1. "Vagabond" by the Misterwives
This song is just so pretty. To me, it symbolizes not knowing where you are in life, but also finding your way. The song starts by talking about a person being in a low spot of their life, not knowing where to go, “pretending to not feel alone.” Then it seems to get a bit happier when the lyrics turn into the person walking tall in their life, even if they are still pretending to not feel alone (I relate to this song too much sometimes).
2. "Hospital Beds" by Cold War Kids
I get super mixed feelings with this song. On one hand, it is upbeat and sounds light and fun. On the other, the song is literally talking about being stuck in a hospital with a bunch of sick (possibly terminally ill) people. Talk about depressing. There isn’t much hope in this song-- even though they say, “the joy and misery [in the hospital]," I'm not sure what joys they are talking about. Possibly babies? And maybe when people get to go home? But they also mention “we got no chance of recovery.” Yikes.
3. "Don’t You Dare Forget The Sun" by Get Scared
A bit more on the “post-hardcore” side, this song seems like a message to someone struggling to love themselves. The message is asking the person (like the title says) that they don’t forget the sun. To some, the sound of this song is off-putting, but when you listen to the lyrics, you can see that the message is one of hope. It's a message to keep going. They ask that the person breathes with them and that, in their darkest of times, they don't forget the sun (or in my mind, things that are good).
4. "Favorite Liar" by The Wrecks
Another very upbeat song that seems pretty darn happy, but the lyrics are also a bit sad. It is obvious that the song is about a past relationship, and that the artist misses the person he used to be in a relationship with. But what makes the song sad to me is that, even though he wants to be there for his past lover, the relationship was seemingly unhealthy. And those kinds of relationships are never good to be involved with. He calls his past lover a liar (again, the title) and talks about how they fought every weekend. He also mentions a bloody lip he received, never a good sign. So while this song makes me happy when I sing alone because it's fun to sing along to, the lyrics give me too many feels for bad relationships.
5. "Breezeblocks" by Alt-J
This song caught my attention because when I first listened to it, I had absolutely no idea what was happening. I only caught half the words, and they hardly made sense. But I liked it-- I really liked it. And then, when I watched the music video, things clicked in my head almost immediately. I was pulled in by the intensity of the music video (and the existing love for the song), but as the music video finished, I was more puzzled than I was when I started. I still only have my beliefs on what the music video represents in relation to the song (it seems like a husband is fighting off some woman that locked his wife in the closet and attacked him, or like he has women locked up and one fought back.) Honestly, I’m still not sure what I even think. I’m not even sure why this song gives me such mixed emotions, but it does, and I absolutely love it.
Music, to me, is already a way to express your emotions and learn something new about yourself. That being said, music that can incite more than one emotion at a time is just brilliant. I hope you enjoy these songs as much as I do! I'm sure my interpretation is different than what the artist had in mind, but that's part of the art.
