meta analysis of Extraordinary Things because I have no life
Your gaze lights the fire.
Pretty straight forward, Geraltās cold attitude and words combined with his gold, āfieryā eyes.
They say keep on playing nice
This I feel like is a reference to his bisexuality, being told to conform to the typical standards of relationships, or perhaps to accept his nobility as it reflects on his romantic affairs. Play nice and keep in line. But thatās not who he is as a person and he has no desire to pretend like heāll ever fit that mold.
Fairly straightforward as well, heās tired of the fancy wordplay and the double entendres of noble life. He doesnāt want to dance around the way he feels or conceal his emotions. Why waste time with talking around how you feel when you can simply accept it. Which is very fitting as he is very open with his romantic life.
Itās not a want, itās a need
To what others say to sing
Another reference to his orientation, however I also feel like this might be a small reference to the line in Her Sweet Kiss āIām weak my love, and I am wantingā which could be an indicator of his feelings for Geralt adapting and evolving over time. Theyāve deepened into a need to simply be around Geralt, even if his role in Geraltās life isnāt quite was he desires. Geralt matters just that much to him.
The greatest songs are made up
Of unspoken words of love
Okay this line I feel like is the most damning, but possibly not for the reasons people might think. Thereās a lot of focus on the āunspoken words of loveā section of this line, but I was more focused onto this reference of his music. Heās saying that of the songs he has written, he has embedded his love for Geralt in every line. In particular, the his romantic ballads. He keeps his love songs inconspicuous, switching around pronouns and never revealing a name. Those are expressions of his āunspoken works of loveā.
Of them Iāve had enough
This is where we get angsty. His tone gets defeated and exhausted singing this line. Heās tired of being so desperately in love with someone who will never be able to share that love in the same capacity. Heās had enough of feeling like heāll never be enough. Radovid has made him feel like he can be enough for someone, but thatās not quite what he needs either (with unintentional foreshadowing to Radovidās manipulation). He wants to be enough for himself, in his own right, without relying on other peopleās perception of him.
Your heartās beating too loud
The fairytaleās and little lies
Canāt drown out all the sound
So Iāve seen this be translated as foreshadowing for him and Radovidās relationship, but considering that he would have only known Radovid for a couple of days at best, I feel like this interpretation is a little too loose and abstract. We know he writes his ballads about events heās experienced in his own life, and he doesnāt tend to write about abstract concepts or future events. I feel itās more likely that this is a reflection of the fact that Jaskier very much knows that Geralt is aware of his feelings. We know that Geralt can canonly hear heartbeats. Jaskier knows that no matter how many pretty ballads he sings and excuses he gives, he canāt hide his feelings, and Geralt will never address them, whether to protect Jaskierās emotions or their friendship. Itās a feeling of defeat and almost a bit of self-flagellation. Like heās shaming himself for daring to have these feelings, using a slightly mocking tone while singing these lines.
In this, Jaskier is tossing aside these feelings. Heās willing to let his heart be broken and his hopes be dashed to be by Geraltās side because he sees that Geralt has a destiny and a purpose. Heās willing to go through the pain of never having Geralt in the way he needs because he knows that Geralt has a greater purpose, and heās devoting himself to seeing this purpose play out.
Itās not a want, itās a need
It is paying no heed to what
The greatest songs are made up
Of unspoken words of love
Of them Iāve had enough
In short, I feel like this song is very clearly an expression of Jaskierās feelings of hopelessness towards his relationship with Geralt. Heās desperately in love with a man who he knows in his heart that he will never be enough for, whether due to orientation or feeling like Geralt has a far greater purpose than Jaskier could ever hope to understand or fulfill. He wants desperately to be enough for someone, and to feel like anybody could be enough to fill the hole that Geralt has left inside him. Enter Radovid, who sees this weakness and immediately exploits it to his advantage. But my rant on the cinematography of the scene indicating Radovidās calculated manipulation and Jaskierās emotional vulnerability will come another day.
Thank you Joey Batey for another total masterpiece of a performance and a song that will haunt me till I die. š„¹š