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Song Analysis #39: Two Door Cinema Club – Next Year

Song Analysis, , , , ,

Title: ‘Next Year’
Where to find it: ‘Beacon’ (2012, Kitsune [UK], Glassnote [US])
Performed by: Two Door Cinema Club
Words by: going to guess Alex Trimble, as I’ve never asked them who in their band writes the lyrics

My father was a scientist and he was away a lot when I was a child. I know a lot of this was unavoidable: he often had to go out into the field for one or another of his many expeditions, or he’d be called away to a foreign land for a scientific meeting or conference. I know these things, because even at a young age, with English as his second language, he’d ask me to review his slides and notes, making sure he was grammatically correct. Maybe that’s where my editing experience began?

I gave more serious thought to my father when my friends Two Door Cinema Club had to cancel their headline set at Latitude 2 weekends ago and a later planned appearance in Splendour in the Grass in Australia this past weekend. The reason for the cancellation is less important for the purpose of this analysis, though it struck me as intensely personal: singer/guitarist Alex Trimble collapsed on their way to the airport and needed immediate medical attention for “a chronic stomach complaint”. I met the lads in April 2010, upon their first visit to Washington; they opened for Phoenix, their American labelmates on Glassnote Records. We’d been writing about them for a while on There Goes the Fear and my cup runneth over with the prospect of seeing them live.

Four years later, I sometimes think it is insane that those three boys from Northern Ireland, so pleased to meet me and recognize me from my business card, are now huge stars with fans all over the world. I saw the terrible complaints from supposed fans upset with them pulling out from Latitude, and I reacted with same disgust as I had when fans in Europe hit out at them when they cancelled a string of dates in I believe Italy because they physically could not get to their next show because the roads had been blocked by a blizzard and it was too treacherous to travel. They’re human. What did you want them to do, wave a magic wand and be transported by fairy dust to your town?

Because of their star status, I haven’t actually talked to Two Door in person in a long while. But this lack of face time hasn’t changed my support of them; I know they appreciate me for what I’ve done for them as much as I’ve appreciated the music they’ve given to this world. This is where my thoughts of my father kicked in with the meaning of their song ‘Next Year’, and with that, the feelings I had when I had first heard the song became all the stronger.

Fans may complain that these three boys from Bangor have ruined their summer by not appearing at a music festival. But I wish those fans would stop and think for a moment who are they spending time away from all year long. Their families, their loved ones. These people, the silent, faraway, never wavering cheerleaders of these boys who I know work so hard for their dream of becoming rock stars. In that sense, ‘Next Year’ feels to me as the love letter, the Christmas card Alex, Sam, and Kevin write in their heads every time they have to be away from those they love.

People think being a rock star is the greatest thing in the world and it is in many respects the greatest job in the world. But I think the fans can lose sight of the fact that with great things come great responsibility. And great sacrifice.

First, the words:

Verse 1
I don’t know where I
am going to rest my head tonight,
so I won’t promise that I’ll speak
to you today.
But if I ever find
another place, a better time
for that moment,
I was never what I am.

Take to me to where you are,
what you’ve become,
and what you will do
when I am gone.
I won’t forget,
I won’t forget.

Chorus
Maybe someday,
you’ll be somewhere
talking to me
as if you knew me,
saying, “I’ll be home for next year, darling.
I’ll be home for next year.”

Verse 2
In between the lines
is the only place you’ll find
what you’re missing
that you didn’t know was there.
So when I say goodbye,
you must do your best to try
and forgive me this weakness,
this weakness.

‘Cause I don’t know what to say,
another day,
another excuse to be sent your way.
Another day,
another year.

Chorus
Maybe someday,
you’ll be somewhere
talking to me
as if you knew me,
saying, I’ll be home for next year, darling.
I’ll be home for next year.

And maybe sometime,
in a long time,
you’ll remember
what I had said there.
I said, “I’ll be home for next year, darling,
I’ll be home for next year.”

Bridge
If you think of me,
I will think of you.

Chorus
Maybe someday,
you’ll be somewhere
talking to me
as if you knew me,
saying, “I’ll be home for next year, darling.
I’ll be home for next year.”

Maybe sometime,
in a long time,
you’ll remember
what I had said there.
I said, “I’ll be home for next year.”

Maybe someday,
you’ll be somewhere
talking to me
as if you knew me,
saying, “I’ll be home for next year, darling.
I’ll be home for next year.”

Now, the analysis:

The first time I heard this song, when I was reviewing ‘Beacon’ for TGTF, I thought it was about leaving behind a girlfriend for the road to live the life of a rock star. Then over the last couple of months, I listened to it more frequently on the drive to and from work and came to the conclusion that it encompassed far more people than just a girlfriend. Now I’m convinced it’s a song to all of Two Door’s family and friends, the people who they miss while they’re pursuing their dream life, yet even in their young age (they’re merely in their mid-twenties right now), they realise they’ve had to give up another part of their lives to make this dream happen.

The first half of the first verse describes their whirlwind existence. As a music editor now with lots of friends who are either musicians or support staff to musicians like managers and roadies, I often hear stories of confusion owing to too little sleep and too much travel. The opening bars “I don’t know where I / am going to rest my head tonight, / so I won’t promise that I’ll speak to you today” are honest: the singer has no idea where he is so he is earnest in saying, “I’m really sorry, but I can’t promise you I’ll ring you from where I am, because I don’t know where we are going.”

Then comes “But if I ever find / another place, a better time / for that moment, / I was never what I am”: this is an acknowledgement that if he finds himself suddenly free to ring this person, “for that moment, / I was never what I am”, it means he’s had take himself out of this place where he is a rock star. This is one of several lines I find in this song absolutely heart-breaking. He knows who he is, at least in regards to his public persona, and even if he can get away from that persona for just a moment, it’s like he’s pretending he’s someone he’s not.

He is, however, adamant to want to be in this person’s life. “Take to me to where you are, / what you’ve become, / and what you will do / when I am gone”: he wants to know what goes on even in his absence, and even vows, “I won’t forget.” These lines indicate to me that he’s well aware of what his absence is doing to his loved ones. Very sad too.

If you haven’t broken yet by this time in the song, just wait for the chorus. “Maybe someday, / you’ll be somewhere / talking to me / as if you knew me, / saying, “I’ll be home for next year, darling. I’ll be home for next year.” This first chorus seems to be spoken by the loved one; he/she is hearing him say that he’ll be home for next year. If a full year has to pass before the next chance of this event, we could be talking about a birthday, Christmas, New Year’s, anything really, and I am sure due to their busy schedule, Two Door has missed loads of happy occasions (maybe some sad ones too) that took place in their family and friends’ lives.

When the chorus comes back around after verse 2, it is a two-parter. In the second half of the chorus, the point of view flips back to the voice of the song, “And maybe sometime, / in a long time, / you’ll remember / what I had said there.” There is a weariness to these lines – “sometime”, “in a long time” – as if he’s not sure if the other person is aware of the toll his life is taking on him.

But I’m going to go back to verse 2 for a moment for some more heartstring-twanging moments. “In between the lines / is the only place you’ll find / what you’re missing / that you didn’t know was there”: I read this as referring to the multitude of interviews the band does all over the world. It must be very strange to be reading the words of your boyfriend / son / nephew / etc. in a newspaper halfway around the world. At times it must feel a bit of a shell shock, like “he’s famous!” but also “I don’t know him anymore!” when things are revealed in these interviews with strangers that even they didn’t know. The loved ones are clearly missing them but these disembodied “lines” are their only connection until the next time he can pick up the phone and ring them. “So when I say goodbye, / you must do your best to try / and forgive me this weakness, / this weakness”: the weakness I suppose is in their job and the nature of their job, for they have to pick up and leave for a tour, or a festival, or to do into the studio and record.

More heartbreak occurs in the lines before the aforementioned second chorus. “’Cause I don’t know what to say, / another day, another excuse to be sent your way”: the loved ones must receive emails and voicemails with apologies about not being able to attend birthday and anniversary parties, weddings, etc. “Another day,
another year” is a resignation that this is their life. And it’s not going to change or end any time soon. (Not that they’d want it to, mind.)

The last bit I want to leave you with is the bridge: “If you think of me, I will think of you.” As I was a child before Skype, smartphones, and technology of that ilk and long distance phone calls were often prohibitively expensive, I had to wait until my father returned from his trips before I could speak to him again. Kids these days don’t know how good they have it, to be able to video conference in their parents and relatives from far away. After my father died, my mother showed me the contents of a briefcase he took on his travels. Inside were arts and crafts my brother and I had made as young children, including a yarn bracelet with plastic charms I’d made as a Brownie and string art on a piece of a cardboard I’d made a couple years later. I had no idea he’d been carrying these things with him all over the world, but he must have been looking and fingering these pieces and thinking of us when he was alone in a non-descript hotel room far away from home.

The bridge of ‘Next Year’ makes it obvious to me that Two Door are, like myself and my own father, very loving and sentimental folks. As I mentioned earlier, it’s been some time since I’ve been lucky enough to sit down with the guys and chat over a beer, but I still feel connected to them when I hear songs like this, because I remember the times we shared before they had hit it big and a song like this tells me they haven’t changed and they’re still the same lovely Irishmen I met years ago. Sometimes I think about how I wish I could give them a hug and tell them how proud I am of them and all their successes in person instead of telling them through social media. But then I stop and think that their free moments are best to be given to their loved ones, not me.

While ‘Next Year’ is a sad song, I think those words in the bridge save it from being an elegy of abject sorrow. The bridge serves as a reminder to all that even when it’s impossible to be physically in the same place with the ones you love – whether that be here on earth, or beyond if you believe that Heaven and an afterlife exists – thinking fondly and often of those people you don’t have can preserve that love within you.

Lastly, the song, in its live performance promo video. For less sensory overload, watch the band play a stripped back version of ‘Next Year’ at Coachella 2013 here.

Song Analysis #4: Two Door Cinema Club – Sleep Alone

Song Analysis, , , ,

Title: ‘Sleep Alone’
Where to find it: ‘Beacon’ (2012, Kitsune [UK], Glassnote [US], in early September)
Performed by: Two Door Cinema Club
Words by: guessing Alex Trimble.

Both Delphic and Two Door Cinema Club’s debut albums came out in 2010, and I adore both. I liked Delphic’s a tick more, because the content felt more intellectual to me. Well, the tables may have been turned, as Two Door has revealed the first single from their second album, ‘Beacon’, and it’s miles away a better song lyrically than Delphic’s London 2012 Olympics single ‘Good Life’. Unlike the previous analyses, I’m going to group my thoughts under headings to make the analysis a little easier to digest.

First, the words:

Verse 1
Know, my only goal is to see
When I’m only fast asleep
It takes more than strength to find
This peace of mind

So I’ll hold, hold, hold
Hold it close to my heart
Beating with every step
Hold, hold, hold it close

Chorus
He sleeps alone
He needs no army where he’s headed
‘Cause he knows
That they’re just ghosts
And they can’t hurt him if he can’t see them, oh
And I may go
To places I have never been to
Just to find
The deepest desires in my mind

Verse 2
We, we only know what we see
‘Cause we’re always fast asleep
Is it so hard not to believe
That we’ll never know

Oh, hold, hold, hold
Hold me close
I’ve never been this far from home
Hold, hold, hold me close

Chorus
He sleeps alone
He needs no army where he’s headed
‘Cause he knows
That they’re just ghosts
And they can’t hurt him if he can’t see them, oh
And I may go
To places I have never been to
Just to find
The deepest desires in my mind

Bridge
It’s in my head
And I have said
That I must be like him now
He sleeps alone
He sleeps alone
And one last chance
To make sense
Of what has long escaped us
He sleeps alone
I sleep alone

Final chorus and outro
He sleeps alone
He needs no army where he’s headed
‘Cause he knows
That they’re just ghosts
And they can’t hurt him if he can’t see them, oh
And I don’t know if in the morning I will be here
And if so
Let it be known
That I was worthy, I was worthy, I was worthy, I was
Oh….

Now, the analysis, with my thoughts grouped by topic category:
Reaching enlightenment
Don’t laugh, but this is what verse 1 first said to me. Seeing when you’re fast asleep – and in another consciousness – is something yogis do. Knowing the guys though, I doubt this is what they were trying to convey. It’s just come out that way. “Know, my only goal is to see / When I’m only fast asleep / It takes more than strength to find / This peace of mind”: it’s hard to clear your mind of things and get to a zen state. It is also very difficult to think when your life is running a mile a minute. Or when you’re on drugs.

Mortality
The start of the chorus: “He sleeps alone / He needs no army where he’s headed / ‘Cause he knows / That they’re just ghosts” – need I say more? This could be viewed as someone who had died or is in the process of dying. If you believe in the idea of heaven and afterlife, you’re alone from the point you die until you make it through the pearly gates. He needs no protection (the “army”) because there is no danger passing from the physical living world to the spiritual one.

This theme is repeated in the second half of verse 2: “Oh, hold, hold, hold / Hold me close / I’ve never been this far from home” – this person has left the life he has known on earth, to somewhere entirely different.

The human condition
I’m on the fence on the way the first chorus ends. “And I may go / To places I have never been to / Just to find / The deepest desires in my mind”: has he ended his life to see if he can transcend what it means to be human to find spiritual enlightenment? Or, is this “desire” more human, like being in love with someone?

War / Soldiers
The following line “And they can’t hurt him if he can’t see them, oh” is less convincing. Reminds me of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fame, but also points to the fact that this person being described is some kind of soldier. The thinking that the enemy can’t hurt you if you can’t seem him/them is naive at best; of course the enemy can hurt you even if you don’t see them. Land mines? Snipers?

Social consciousness
The first part of verse 2 is just fab. “We, we only know what we see / ‘Cause we’re always fast asleep”: the admittance that we’re just sheeple. We’re “asleep”, on auto-pilot, we don’t *do* anything of value. Then we get to the line “Is it so hard not to believe / That we’ll never know”. This reinforces the idea that this idea is about mortality, god, and what happens after we die. No one knows really what happens after we die, right?

Changing point of view
Here, in the bridge, Two Door is doing a reversal of roles. It feels now that it’s a woman speaking to a man. It sounds to me that the woman is realising in order to understand her man fully, she has to take the same path as he: in this case, the search for enlightenment. Alternatively, it could mean someone trying to understand someone else’s mental illness, like a war vet with post-traumatic stress disorder, in order to try and help this person.

“It’s in my head / And I have said / That I must be like him now / He sleeps alone” represents wanting to comprehend what the other is thinking and feeling. If it is the boyfriend/girlfriend case, the lines “And one last chance / To make sense / Of what has long escaped us / He sleeps alone / I sleep alone” indicate the girlfriend’s willingness to “sleep alone” in order to find “what has long escaped us” in the hopes to salvage their relationship. If it’s the mental illness case, the lines point to the person’s heartfelt desire to help this person.

Suicide (double suicide?)
“And I don’t know if in the morning I will be here”: this is the part of the song where I can feel my heart breaking. If the person who is described as “he sleeps alone” is so out there and can’t be saved (and maybe will be die?), perhaps the only solution to leave, either physically to another location (or to also die). “And if so / Let it be known / That I was worthy, I was worthy, I was worthy, I was / Oh….”: doesn’t this sound like something someone who is deeply religious would say?

In short? This song ‘Sleep Alone’ is far more complicated than I’d guess 99% of the people listening to it even begins to realise. Somehow, the “he” in “he sleeps alone” is unreachable; whether he’s in a good or not so good place isn’t clear. Neither is whether he’s gotten to this place because of something out of his control (like mental illness) or he had a direct hand in getting there (like becoming a drug addict). But it’s very evident the song doesn’t have a happy ending: “let it be known / that I was worthy” is a goodbye. The fact that I could write this much about “a mere pop song” says so much about what great songwriters Two Door Cinema Club. If this is what the rest of the album is going to be like, ‘Beacon’ could be the album of the decade. ‘Sleep Alone’ is just brilliant.

Lastly, the song, with handy lyrics provided by the band themselves. Not a fan of the over the top image of a woman’s backside and her frilly knickers (I’ve never ever seen knickers with ruffles like that!) but next time I see the band, I will say to them, “boys. album cover. LAD.”