okay, but can we please talk about mr. bright side. can we talk about how it was the killer's first song they released as a single? how it was created in such a short frame, and the beat was just one recorded on a tape, and everything went from there?
i understand it's kinda a meme, but it's such a classic song. it's one almost everyone knows, and honestly so recognizable. we all talk about the g note and other memes of the sort, but i feel like no other pop-punk song (especially one released in 2004) started out so iconically. it's one that is long enough to grab you, but short enough to not lose the hype.
the lyrics though are what makes it. it's so ambiguous, but also so clear. it's obviously one that comes from a deep place. you can hear that in his voice, and even though he doesn't hit high notes or things like that (unlike other very iconic well known songs like welcome to the black parade) or has a very rich style (bohemian rhapsody), it still has this sense of reality. a passion behind his words, and i never not feel what flowers felt. pain, betrayal and envy. he's hurt. and he conveys that in his own way
there's some things that stand out very well to me. one thing is how he says "just fine"; there's such a hidden spite in here. even more so the second time around. him detailing how he's seeing and imagining his lover being with another person.
there's such unique phrasing with it. a lot of breakup songs sound the same because they use the same words over and over. never is the word "hurt". never the words "i miss you". but you can imagine it still so perfectly. he shows you, not tell. it's such a narrative almost
"i just can't look, it's killing me/and taking control" is an underrated lyric. it's such a great way to capture thinking about any sort of struggle or pain. not just a breakup. of course the chorus is what everyone knows. the borderline nonsense to some folk (seriously, google mr brightside. half of it is "hi what the fuck is he talking about") but even if you don't understand it's comprehensible. and it is all up to interpretation, so i may be wrong. but my take is this;
"jealousy/turning saints into the sea"
how someone who's normally a healthy minded person, someone who's rational, gets overcome with a wave of anger and hurt.
"swimming through sick lullabies/choking on your alilabies"
remembering all the lies that his former s/o took from him. all the sweet nothings and being strangled by what he used to take as truth turning out to be lies
"but it's just the price i pay/destiny is calling me"
what an idiot i am! falling in love and blindly following through everything. i deserve this
that sort of line of thinking. feeling foolish and that he was almost waiting for this "gotcha!" moment.
"open up my eagar eyes/'cuz im mr. bright side!"
he's putting on a facde. he has to do this. he has to be the bigger man, he has to live with this in his heart and mind. you can take this as him moving forward too, him overcoming this painful experience, but i always saw it as this
and the end. the end wraps everything so well. the beethoven rock melody, the build up, and the simplest lyric in the entire song. "i never". he never deserved this. it's him realizing he never did anything. he never hurt his s/o. he never dared do this. it's so empowering.
this song has such a deep emotional bond with me. i understand the jokes and memes, but also can we acknowledge just how beautiful it is? please? It's not the best song ever written but god it's something that'll be remembered for the ages
