Embedded Files
It's finally June, and Amber has one last batch of music to share with you and review before we all leave for summer break (Along with a shameless plug of some of their favorite songs at the end).
June Music Reviews
June Music Reviews
By Amber Medina-Montoya
By Amber Medina-Montoya
Happy June! The school year is almost over, and it is just about time for beach trips, late nights, and sunburns. June is also Pride Month, as I'm sure most of you know! This is the last issue of The Scroll for this school year. (The Scroll seniors literally make up our entire officer team and it is saddening to see them leave.) Let’s make this a good last few weeks, GPHS! :)
I have one last batch of music for you! Music really has a way of connecting people and there is pretty much a genre or even a specific song out there for everybody. This article is for me to review songs that were recommended to me and to give my own personal opinion on them, while also breaking down some lyrics to fully understand them more. In this month’s article, we have "Champagne Problems" by Taylor Swift, and "Boys in the Street" by Greg Holden.
“Champagne Problems” - Taylor Swift
“Champagne Problems” - Taylor Swift
Again, with the Taylor Swift requests! I don’t mind this one bit because, as I’m sure you know if you read the first article I published, I am a huge Taylor Swift fan. I also have not listened to this song in a while for some reason that I really do not know, but I’m glad this one was requested as it reopened my love for this song, so let’s get into it.
This song is track number two on Taylor’s ninth studio album, Evermore, which was the best-selling album of 2020 and also won Album of the Year at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards. Swift collaborated with William Bowery, which is the alias that her long-term boyfriend Joe Alwyn uses on this song. It is about a failed proposal that was turned down by a character that is portrayed by Swift. The song describes the opposite character proposing to Swift’s character, only for her to “drop their hand” while dancing and leaving them to bear the failure.
In the chorus, Swift sings, “Because I dropped your hand while dancing/ Left you out there standing/ Crestfallen on the landing”. This lyric describes how Swift’s character turned the proposal down and walked away, while the character who proposed was left to stand “crestfallen” after the failure. Ouch. (Fun fact; I had to look up what crestfallen means, and apparently it means “sad and disappointed". Yet again, my vocabulary expands thanks to Taylor Swift).
She goes on to say, “Your mom’s ring in your pocket/ my picture in your wallet/ Your heart was glass, I dropped it”. These lines portray how the proposer was so ready to pop the question, as they had a ring and even a picture of Swift’s character in their wallet, just for Swift’s character to drop the aforementioned “heart of glass” and turn them down. A little while after this, she says that the proposer had told their family that they were planning on proposing and that their family had prepared champagne to celebrate the expected engagement. The failed attempt inspires the line “No crowd of friends applauded”, showing that the plan didn’t go through, and there was nobody celebrating the expected engagement. The song also says, “Love slipped beyond your reaches/ And I couldn’t give a reason”, which could mean that she did not fully know why she turned it down, but that maybe it just didn’t feel right.
Later in the song, Swift sings, “One for the money, two for the show/ I never was ready, so I watch you go/ Sometimes you just don’t know the answer/ ‘Til someone’s on their knees and asks you”. This portrays Swift’s character as not knowing whether or not she wanted the relationship to continue, until her significant other was literally on their knees and proposing, and that was the breaking point in the relationship. The song is nearing its end when this line is delivered, and one of the last lines is Swift’s character saying that the proposer will find “the one” for them eventually, with the line, “But you’ll find the real thing instead/ She’ll patch up your tapestry that I shred.” The song closes with nearly the same lyrics as the beginning, but with the proposer's new person in her place instead, saying the new person won’t drop their hand while dancing or leave them standing crestfallen on the landing the way that she did. She also says that their mom’s ring will still be in their pocket, but for someone else now, and the new person’s picture will be in their wallet now, too. The final lyric in the song is “You won’t remember all my champagne problems.” What a way to tie it all together.
This song is absolutely beautifully written lyrically. It is the story of someone being unsure about a relationship until one of the most critical moments in that relationship, and the feeling of guilt after turning it down. It is not portrayed as toxic, and instead just explains how relationships sometimes do not work out as expected, which is something that really does happen with real-life relationships. While that is a sad fact, it really ties the whole piece together and can end up making a lot of people relate to it. This piece has such a pretty, yet melancholy tone to it that really encapsulates the listener. If you need something new to listen to, I fully recommend this song.
"Boys in the Street" - Greg Holden
"Boys in the Street" - Greg Holden
This song…oh my goodness. This song is pretty sad, but the story is beautiful. The story in this song follows a guy whose father never accepted the fact that he was LGBTQ until he was literally on his deathbed. I want to get into this one because there is a lot to unpack here.
The song starts off with the singer explaining how, when he was young, his father grew upset over him loving other boys. The lyrics “You’re the last thing I wanted/ The last thing I need/ How am I gonna answer when my friends tell me/ My son was kissing boys in the street” really hit hard personally. It should not matter who you love, and a lot of people can, unfortunately, relate to the idea of a parental figure telling them that they do not want them. The singer also explains that his father tried to “change him” which is extremely upsetting, as that sort of thing is not exactly something that can just be reversed with the snap of a finger, or at all, really. In that same verse, there are hints of manipulation from the father, saying, “We’ve worked hard for our money, we put you in school/ Is this how you repay us?/ Do you think this is cool?” which also really strikes a nerve because trying to manipulate someone for something they cannot control is such a low blow.
Coming to the middle of the song, it seems the singer’s relationship with their father has started to somewhat improve, saying, “Now that I’m older/ My daddy’s heart’s a little warmer/ But he still won’t hold me like my brother”, which signifies the father’s mind slowly starting to come around, but he is still leaving such a negative impact on the singer, especially since the singer says that their brother gets more affection from the father. Later in this verse, the line “The way you act isn’t good for your health” comes up, and this is frustrating, because, honestly, unless you are in that situation, you don’t really have any right to say what is good and what is not, considering the father already caused the singer so much pain already.
Concluding the song, the story takes a sharp turn with the lyrics: “My daddy’s dying/ And he’s finally realized I’m not lying”. It is saddening that it took so long for the father to come to terms with how his son wants to live his life but, at the same time, good that he finally came around. The last line: “He’d say/ There was no way of knowing/ ‘Cause all I was taught/ Is men only love women/ But now I’m not sure/ My son, keep kissing boys in the street” is the father admitting that he was raised on the older views of romantic relationships and masculinity. And while that is not necessarily an excuse, as people who love each other shouldn’t concern anyone but those people in the first place, it is relieving that he admitted he was in the wrong, and told his son to keep loving who he loves.
This song deals with such a serious topic but, it is something that I would love to address and I’m glad I got the opportunity to write about this song, especially since June is Pride Month. Also, this is the perfect time for me to say that who you love shouldn’t concern anyone but you and you’re still a human being no matter what. Love is love, y’all. And if you are bothered by who other people like, then go busy yourself with something else because it really doesn’t affect you. This song is so heavy but so beautiful at the same time. Thank you for taking the time to read my take on it.
Alright, since it is my last review article for this year, I want to just give a shameless plug of a bunch of my favorite songs at the moment to recommend to you all, as I do not have the time or energy to write full-length reviews on all of these. Here we go:
“The Middle” - Jimmy Eat World
“Take Her to The Moon” - Waterparks
“no body, no crime” Taylor Swift
“gold rush” - Taylor Swift
“Violet!” - Waterparks
"I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz
(I have much better music in my Spotify, but I have to keep things non-explicit here, so this is what I have to offer.)
Again, as I cannot make full-depth articles on these songs, due to time constraints, this is the best I can do here. I put a lot of effort into these reviews, so thank you for reading my take on multiple different songs this semester. This is the end of this article, and the end of my articles for this year. I hope you all have a great summer and, as always, leave some songs you would like me to review in the form below! (I will need material when we come back, so please give me suggestions.) I will see you all next year! <3
Have some songs you want me to listen to and possibly feature in the first issue of the 2022-23 school year? Leave them in the form below and have a good summer!
Page updated
Report abuse