There is no reason I should connect with this song.
At first, I didn’t. I didn’t even notice it or pay attention to it when it first came out. Until one day I listened to the lyrics because I was curious. What is she singing about? I thought. Oh, she’s singing about alcohol abuse from the perspective of an alcoholic. Yeah, I can’t relate.
But then I listened to it again and something resonated within me. What could it be?
Is it the fact the narrator is crying out for help so very loudly and clearly? Yet, she is asking in such a beautiful manner that it reminds me beautiful things can come from the darkest of hours. The depths of pain can create art and splendor. Even though none of us want it, pain is a part of life and life is meant to be this wondrous journey we are on. The brushstrokes may not always be pleasant but hopefully the overall picture of our life will be a work of art worth looking at.
I may not connect with the story of this song but I can connect with the emotion. For me it’s this: let’s take the pain, weakness, and darkness of this life and make it the most insightful, beautiful we can. That is something I can try to do. That is something I wanted to do after listening to this song. There was an intensity in me to create something that can connect with other people.
Or am I connecting with the performance of this song at the Grammys? I watched the official music video and don’t understand it. But that’s me; I don’t get modern dance. To be honest, I think it’s silly and a waste of my time. No offense to any dancers out there. I just don’t understand because it’s never been translated to my language so that I can appreciate it. So I watched the video once and then read all the criticism regarding it.
But it was the performance at the Grammys that I paid attention to. Not the dancing but the singer in the corner facing the wall and never turning around. By her body moves I could tell she sung her heart out. How strange. A singer with a popular song that never showed her face and hid from the accolades at the pinnacle of awards for singers. That made the pain in the song even more real. Life is not about hiding away it’s about living it. Trust me; I know what I’m talking about here. If you’re going to sing a song, turn around and face the audience. Granted, if she had done that I probably would not be mentioning it here.
In the end, I think the melody of the song was pretty. That’s all. I connected with the catchy tune of the song and ignored the lyrics. The fascination I had for it is already fading. Something that fleeting surely had a superficial foundation.
I’m including the video for the Grammys performance here. If you’re like me, you’re going to have to ignore the dancing and watch the singer in the background. See what you think.
ck's days 
I think many people connect to this song for different reasons. I first connected with the song partially because I liked the melody and also because I like other songs of Sia’s as well. But on a very personal level the little girl dancing her heart on in that empty flat (official video) I found beautiful and also emotional. I used to dance with that much energy when I was little, and later was involved in a lot of drama – it was what I wanted to do. But a severe illness took all that away from me when I was eighteen. I don’t talk about being ill on my blog, because it’s not something I want to focus on – it’s way too negative. I have legs, although limited, I can walk and I’m not dying any more than any well person is, I’m just limited in some physical ways. That’s why I enjoy blogging so much, because it is ‘something’ I can do. Anyway, the little dancing girl reminds me of who I was, and I find that emotional, but also very beautiful.
Not sure what I think of the Grammy Award stage performance – it’s not my favourite version. But the song is something else, and being an alcoholic party girl is not my experience either. Maybe my illness prevented me something worse, because it made me grow up very quickly and I short cut all the crazy stuff I could have got into. My Dad was a low level alcoholic (didn’t drink all the time, but was addicted to some extent) but not really a party man. So I can relate to someone trying to block out whatever it is they need to block. I think my Dad had a tough childhood (nothing like mine) he learned to drink at an early age. So for that reason I can identify with this song through his emotions. It’s good to be able to see things from a different perspective, and I’m glad to hear that you did too!
On Sia hiding her face – which she seems to do a lot of these days. I sort of agree with her intense dislike for being the celebrity on every newspaper or website out there. That is quite nuts, and no need for any of that. She claims she has a better quality of life because of it. And also, I don’t know if you’ve heard this before, but she suffers from an illness called Graves Disease which can cause her face to swell like a balloon sometimes. I wonder if this is also why she hides her face – you know what the media is like with any kind of body changes in celebrities? 😦 She also suffers from Bipolar, panic attacks and depression. It’s amazing the woman is even doing anything creative at all!! I don’t blame her for not wanting to be a public face with all of those problems going on. I admire her for finding a way through it all and still doing what she wants to do
Whatever happened to appreciating the ‘voice’ of a singer instead of their face? 😐
Something else that might interest you is a version of that song sung by Karen Gillan (ex Dr Who girl) who’s been appearing in Selfie. Don’t know if you have seen any of it? I’ve only seen some of the episodes, my brother has seen them all, and says despite the fact that it is a comedy it’s got some deep moments too. This is quite good, and very much the messed up party girl. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1sRO9wAWD0
Thanks for this! I learned things.
I think it’s the mark of true art – whatever the medium – that it can connect with so many different people with varying stories. Everyone brings their own perspective into everything and it’s through that perspective we see the world and try to make sense of it all.
It’s actually amazing, when you think of it, that we connect to the same art at all. That really is the beauty of life 😃