I really enjoyed talking about my Top 5 Halsey Songs last month and analyzing the content of the music. So I thought that I'd try something a little different for today's post. I wanted to analyze a song that I've recently come across, "Lightning" by British girl group, Little Mix, whom I've been obsessed with lately. This song has so many different components to it, from its initial slow start to the surprise trap/EDM beat in the chorus to the Latin chanting in the bridge.
Listen to the song here:
Let's start with the lyrics (from HERE) with who I think is singing each part:
Jesy:
I'd cross a desert and an ocean
To get away from the pain of your storm
I chased the sunlight, been running from your shadow
So that I could heal and I didn't feel
Leigh-Anne:
That zig-zag shooting through my heart
That zig-zag hit me like a dart
Electricity, electricity
Oh, this love's tearing me apart
I been running like the light from the dark
Electricity keeps on hitting me
Oh, lightning strikes twice
And it burns like ice
I wish I didn't love you again
Lightning strikes twice
And it burns so nice
I wish I didn't love you,
But I do
But I do
Jade:
Those eyes, one look and I'm enchanted
Your voice a serenade, and it sings to my heart
One kiss, turned the skies to grey
I'll never get away, no shelter from the rain, oh
Perrie:
That zig-zag shooting through my heart
That zig-zag hit me like a dart
Electricity, electricity
Oh, this love's tearing me apart
I been running like the light from the dark
Electricity keeps on hitting me, oh
Leigh-Anne:
Lightning strikes twice
And it burns like ice
I wish I didn't love you again
Lightning strikes twice
And it burns so nice
I wish I didn't love you,
But I do
But I do
All:
O Fortuna
Velut luna
Statu variabilis
Semper crescis
Aut decrescis
Vita detestabilis
Jesy:
Every time that I hear your name, oh
Baby you're the pleasure, the pain, oh
Perrie:
Lightning strikes twice
And it burns like ice
I wish I didn't love you again,
But I do
But I do
All:
O Fortuna
Velut luna
Statu variabilis
Semper crescis
Aut decrescis
Vita detestabilis
But I do
The song starts with the sounds of a storm, which is the metaphorical basis for the meaning of the song. "Lightning" discusses the feelings of someone who continually goes back to a person they've had a relationship with, even though that person has caused them pain in the past. The emotions felt in the song can be compared to the chaos of a storm. The lightning can be seen to symbolize the part of the other person that they still love, or the part that attracts them and brings them back to the person that hurt them.
I found it clever and deceptive of the writers and producers of the song to start the song slowly, making it sound like a slow ballad, which it essentially still is, but as the song reaches the pre-chorus and then the edge of the chorus, increases in speed and energy. The pre-chorus, which was the part that hooked me onto the song ("that zig-zag..."), builds up to the chorus and once it reaches the "but I do," explodes in a way that is similar to lightning cracking. When I first heard this song as I previewed it on iTunes, I was shocked. Pun intended ;). I didn't expect the beat to drop the way that it did. I originally didn't like the trap, EDM, sound that they used, thinking it too cacophonous, but when I kept listening to it, I realized that it sounded harsh and discordant so as to mimic the chaos that the person might be feeling in the song and replicate the disorder of lightning. Lightning strikes in many different directions, which is what the sound recreates. I picture in my head a pinball zig-zagging all around in the machine, leaving a lightning trail like The Flash (which is a great show, btw, highly recommend) when he runs.
I like the comparison of lightning burning like ice rather than fire in the chorus. Granted, it might just be for rhyming purposes, but I've always found it odd that those opposing elements can both "burn" and inflict pain.
One of the most interesting elements of the song is the inclusion of a fragment of the Latin poem, "O Fortuna" towards the end of "Lightning." The poem, according to Wikipedia (Yes, I'm aware this might not be the most reputable source, but this ain't no formal paper. Also, Wikipedia hasn't really failed me yet lol), is "a complaint about [the Roman goddess of fate,] Fortuna" and the "inexorable fate that rules both gods and men." The segment of the poem in "Lightning" translates as follows:
I like the comparison of lightning burning like ice rather than fire in the chorus. Granted, it might just be for rhyming purposes, but I've always found it odd that those opposing elements can both "burn" and inflict pain.
 |
| A note with part of "O Fortuna" written on it. Jesy Nelson posted this on Little Mix's Instagram when the girls were working on their "Get Weird" album. (Source) |
One of the most interesting elements of the song is the inclusion of a fragment of the Latin poem, "O Fortuna" towards the end of "Lightning." The poem, according to Wikipedia (Yes, I'm aware this might not be the most reputable source, but this ain't no formal paper. Also, Wikipedia hasn't really failed me yet lol), is "a complaint about [the Roman goddess of fate,] Fortuna" and the "inexorable fate that rules both gods and men." The segment of the poem in "Lightning" translates as follows:
O Fortune
Like the moon
You are changeable,
Ever waxing
And waning;
Hateful life
Geez, homegirl (or homeboy) in the song must've been really screwed over by this person if she's talking about a "hateful life." Girl, you don't need that in your life. Walk away from the storm. Lightning doesn't need to strike a third time. Third time's not the charm in this scenario.
"O Fortuna," was adapted to fit music by Carl Orff, a German composer. Orff's work on the poem has apparently become very popular and is found in numerous pieces of classical music and has been used in works of popular artists such as Ozzy Osbourne and Michael Jackson. Anywho, I think the chanting of the poem adds an epic feel to the song. If the girls ever made a music video for this song, I picture them as these dark witches casting spells in a dramatic storm. I imagine them wearing fierce outfits similar to the ones they wore in the "Salute" music video. Wicked.
I just really like this song and think the different parts of the song work really well together to create a unique sound.
Well, I hope you liked this analysis of the "Lightning" by Little Mix. This is something I've never written about before. It's a new thing for me. If you'd like to see more thoughts on my favorite music, please let me know in the comments and maybe I'll do some more!
xx
