You're Going To Want To Hear "The Thrill Of It All"
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You're Going To Want To Hear "The Thrill Of It All"

It's 49 minutes of your life that you're not going to want back

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You're Going To Want To Hear "The Thrill Of It All"
Billboard

Sam Smith released a new album on November 3, 2017, and for those of you who haven't heard it, what are you waiting for? The Thrill Of It All is Sam's sophomore album and it was without a doubt. Worth the 2-year wait. The songs on the album touch on multiple subjects including new love, breakups, religion, being LGBTQ+, and family. Every single song on the album can stand on its own and relays completely different messages than each other.

1. Too Good At Goodbyes

The debut single off of the album discusses the importance of moving on from a relationship for yourself. The chorus repeats, “Every time you hurt me the less that I cry and every time you leave me the quicker these tears dry. And every time you walk out the less I love you. Baby, we don’t stand a chance, it’s sad but it’s true," emphasizing that the hurt a relationship brings will eventually lessen, allowing you to walk away.

The line, "I'm just too good at goodbyes," highlights the full meaning of the song because it places the blame for leaving on the singer, but in reality, everyone knows that it was the partner's fault. In its entirety, "Too Good At Goodbyes" is a song that emphasizes that it's okay to break up with someone for yourself; that it's okay to not want to be with someone anymore solely for your own state of mind.

2. Say It First

"Say It First" reminisces about the fear you feel when you realize you're in love with someone, but they might not be in love with you yet. The song focuses on the love he feels for his partner and what they're relationship could be if only he would just "say it first."

My favorite line from the song is "If I run every time it starts, so I need to know if I'm in this alone. Come on baby, say it first." It reminds me of the fight or flight instincts, and clearly, the song emphasizes that he'll run if his partner doesn't feel the same way.

3. One Last Song (ft. The Dap-Kings Horns)

For anyone who isn't an avid Sam Smith fan, which I will assume is a lot of people, his last album was all about his partner in his last relationship. "One Last Song" is his last song that he's going to give to that man. "I know you don't want to talk to me, so this is what I will do. Maybe you're listening, so here's one last song for you."

The song stresses how he still cares about his ex and he'll always be there, despite how his ex feels about him now. It's one of the more personal songs on the album, but I think that makes it 10 times more relatable.

4. Midnight Train (ft. The Dap-Kings Horns)

The 4th song on The Thrill Of It All re-emphasizes that it's okay to leave a relationship for yourself. Despite the fact that he leaves, the song pushes the idea that he still loves his partner: "I'll always love you, but tonight's the night I choose to walk away. Love you so much that I have to let you go."

He loves his partner so much that he's actively losing a piece of himself when he's with him, and thus must leave for himself. So many people lose themselves in longterm relationships now that I think this song was desperately needed to reaffirm that it is okay to put yourself first sometimes, especially if you need to re-find yourself.

5. Burning

"Burning" was originally released as a promotional single off of the album a few days before the album released, but quickly rose to the top of the charts. The song details the aftermath of being broken up with and how much the pain consumes you. He says that the "fire replaced all the love" and now he's left with this burning pain in his chest after his partner left. I think the most relatable lines would have to be "Oh, if you ever called I will run straight back. Give you my forgiveness and the shirt off my back."

It illustrates the desperateness that many people have when they get broken up with, and makes you realize how awful it must be to be at someone else's beck and call, especially when they left you.

6. HIM

This song... There's only so much I can say when you haven't listened to it. The first time I heard it, I cried and was so emotionally awed that I couldn't find the words to even express my astonishment. It details the life of a young boy coming out to his church, family, and then God, and is so impactful.

I mean with a line like, “Don’t you try and tell me that God doesn’t care for us. It is him I love," there is no way to misunderstand the pain he feels. The song gives insight into the mind of a gay man but also emphasizes the cruelty LGBTQ+ people face from their families and the church. Smith, who's from England, uses the state Mississippi to further push the idea that the cruelty LGBTQ+ face is universal.

The last lines, "Holy Father, judge my sins. I’m not afraid of what they will bring. I’m not the boy that you thought you wanted. I love him," show the resilience the LGBTQ+ community needs to have when coming out. For someone to have the courage to go against their family and religion takes courage and bravery that I could never imagine.

The song holds so much inside of it, that when combined with Smith's voice and the gospel singers, it creates a musical masterpiece that transcends every other song on the album.

7. Baby, You Make Me Crazy (ft. The Dap-Kings Horns)

This upbeat song illustrates what someone goes through when rejected. Most songs of this nature are often ballad-y and super sad, but Smith manages to take this sensitive topic and turn it into an anthem. The lines,“What are you to do when the person that you love just says no? Boy, get yourself together. Move on with your life," seem to take the 'parental' side, which reminds me of Miranda Lambert's "Mama's Broken Heart."

When most people tend to feel insecure when rejected, Smith turns the rejection around by shading the person who rejected them by singing "Why do I always fall for the ones with no courage." The song is an anthem for anyone who needs that extra day to build themselves back up after a tough rejection or let down.

8. No Peace (ft. YEBBA)

This song combines the female and male vocals of Smith and Yebba to create a dual-inspection of being at someone's beck and call because of how much you love them.

While I think vocally the chorus is superior to the pre-chorus, the lyrics for the pre-chorus are stunning and perfectly capture the meaning of the song: “Will you show me the piece of my heart I've been missing? Won't you give me the part of myself that I can't get back? Will you show me the piece of my heart I've been missing? 'Cause I'd kill for you. And darling you know that."

The piece emphasizes how much you would do for someone you love, and how awful it feels when they take advantage of it and hurt you. The combined vocals take the song to another level and allow you to see that it's a two-way street when you love someone; that both people involved can feel this way.

9. Palace

The beginning of the song creates a metaphor for the singer's love and a ruined palace; that it was once a beautiful palace, but now lays in ruins. He emphasizes that he still cares for his ex, but knows their relationship was a mistake, even though he doesn't regret loving him.

The lines, "I’m gonna miss you. I still care. Sometimes I wish we never built this palace. But real love is never a waste of time” relay the entire meaning of the song nicely. Overall, the song is beautiful and pushes the idea that despite how a relationship may end, true love will always be worthwhile.

10. Pray

"Pray" was another single released off of The Thrill Of It All. And I think it is one of the most personal, impactful songs on the album. He spoke with Billboard about his recent trip to Iraq and how it prompted him to write "Pray."

“I spent five days in Mosul and came back ­embarrassed that I had known so little about the world and other people’s lives. I went back to that great Nina Simone quote, that it is important to speak about the times you live in. I hadn't done that; I’d just written a bunch of songs about love. So I wanted to write about how I’m now starting to open my eyes, at 25, to what is going on in the rest of the world, and that it’s not always pretty.”

The song in its totality creates such a powerful response to religion and answers some questions that Smith himself must have had.

MY favorite line throughout the whole piece is "everyone prays in the end," which I take to mean that at the end of their life, everyone prays. The song is just so powerful and impactful that the recording doesn't do it justice. Smith performed it on Saturday Night Live (here) and it made me appreciate the song 10,000 times more. It's one of those songs that needs every single piece of your attention so you can get everything out of it.

11. Nothing Left For You

If you've ever been super emotionally unavailable and had to turn someone down because of it, this song is for you. The song can be summed up in the lines, “'Cause I gave, my heart, to a goddamn fool. I gave him everything. Now there’s nothing left for you.”

The song is a beautiful summation of what it's like to try and love after being in a bad breakup, where you can't seem to move on despite not being with that person anymore. While the song is addressed to a person who the singer can't be with, you really get the feeling that the song is about the ex and what they took from the singer. The backup/gospel singers that grace parts of the song give it such an other-worldly feel.

12. The Thrill Of It All

Finally, the song the entire album was named after. The song reflects on Smith's last album, In The Lonely Hour, and how he got lost in "the thrill of it all." That "all" being the emotions that he felt during his relationship and then the fame and fortune he received for In The Lonely Hour, which led to the destruction of his relationship.

The chorus reads like a page from a late-night reflection singing, "And I guess you were goddamn perfect 'cause every single time you call, I remind myself of what I lost that night, my love. In the thrill of it all." He knows that despite what he got from the album, he lost love because he chose the fame and fortune he received from the album instead of his lover.

He chose to disclose their most personal affairs to the entire world for the sake of his music, and that cost him his love.

13. Scars

"Scars" is a tribute to parents who've gone through hardships whilst trying to raise their children. Of course, this is meant for Smith's own family, but the sentiment that he expresses is a universal thought from children to their parents. The most repeated lines in the song are, “I hope you’re proud, Mother [/Father], of what you’ve done. It’s a lifelong lesson and I’m not pretending when I say, "'you cleared up my scars'.”

Smith is able to express how thankful he is for his parents' triumphs and ability to love him and his siblings despite how hard it was for them to parent effectively during Smith's childhood. The last line, "you cleared up my scars," really hits home for the song because it's showing that his parents' effort wasn't in vain, and through their triumphs, they were able to raise their child in an environment that eventually gave him the ability to be who he is today.

14. One Day At A Time

I think this last song on the album truly encompasses what Smith was trying to get at through the rest of the album. Because the album touches on such sensitive topics that often take a lifetime to deal with and understand, Smith offers the solution of taking it "one day at a time."

The lines of the 2nd verse truly emphasize this: "Every day is too long for you. You are sworn to your fate, but we got everything we need, baby. In the memories we make, in a world of reinventions, it's never too late." It comes off as a comforting line to a lover, that it is okay to have bad days, and taking it "one day at a time" will help.

This solution is even one I hold true to myself because sometimes you just need to take it slow, so your mind can work effectively despite how anxious or scared you might feel.


So, all I need to ask you now is, why haven't you listened to the album yet? It's only 49 minutes in its entirety and is more than worth it. It reached #1 on the Billboard's Top 200 list and was written about by Billboard and Rolling Stone.

And on top of it all, Sam Smith is a genuinely good person that just wanted to use music as his personal outlet. Seriously, get listening.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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