¿?sick beats?¿ LBTL 4

Designed by: Poh En Xi (20-E3)

If I could ride a bike - Chevy w/ Park Bird

If I could ride a bike

I’d zoom around the world

With you sitting there behind me

I’d take you to places

Pass several faces

Just living life so carefree

If I could sail a boat

I’d cruise across the seas

A sweet adventure for us two

I’ll be Jack and you Rose

Just please don't let me go

Cuz I’d be nothing without you

Oh when you call me

I'm drifting on clouds like I'm dreaming

But in the morning

I wake up and see that you’re stuck here with me

If only you knew

What I would do for you

I'd jump up and hold you so tightly

But i will never be

Able to do these things

So i'm just left imagining

‘If I could ride a bike’ tells the tale of a man and his significant other. His disability leaves him unable to use his legs, as well as his voice. Hence, he is unable to do the most simple, commonplace things, just as the couple is unable to do things that typical couples are able to do. This painful reality can be seen to be continuously eating away at him.

The song starts off with a cheery and dreamy melody, where the man narrates what he would have done if he could do simple things such as riding a bike, or sailing a boat. He details the adventures that he would go on with her.

In these paragraphs, the two lines, ‘Just living life so carefree’, and ‘Just please don’t let me go, cuz I’d be nothing without you’, hit me like a train. These two lines expose the insecurities the man faces, as he feels like a burden, being an additional worry weighing his significant other down. He feels that because of his disability, his significant other may leave him, leaving him broken mentally.

In the final stanza, the pace slows to a grinding halt, and you can hear the pain which the man feels, as he leaves dreamland, and is shoved back into his painful, daily reality. The mood turns dark, as he voices how he feels that she’s ‘Stuck here with me’, further emphasising how he views himself to be a dead weight.

Through all this, he continues to assert his continued love for his significant other, telling her what he would do for her, if only he could. However, he cannot, so he can only imagine such scenarios, albeit knowing that it would never become a reality.

This is how you fall in love - Jeremy Zucker, Chelsea Cutler

Sun in my eyes, navy blue skies

You are the reason I can survive

We turn off the phones to just be alone

We'll draw the curtains and never leave home

I had a nightmare (oh)

But now that I'm not scared

This is how you fall in love (uh)

Let go and I'll hold you up (uh)

So pull me tight and close your eyes (uh)

Oh, my love, side to side

"What's easy is right", my mother's advice

You are the reason I never think twice

Wherever we go, what glitters is gold

You'll be my best friend until we grow old

I had a nightmare (oh)

But now that I'm not scared

This is how you fall in love (uh)

Let go and I'll hold you up (uh)

So pull me tight and close your eyes (uh)

Oh, my love, side to side (uh)

Oh, my love, side to side (uh)

Oh, my love, side to side (uh)

Oh, my love, side to side (uh)

Oh, my love, side to side

This is how you fall in love

Let go and I'll hold you up

So pull me tight and close your eyes

Oh, my love, side to side

This slow and gentle song brought by the Internet’s favourite indie pop duet — Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler - examines the rawness of romance and how two kids in love can rely on each other for emotional support amidst all the teenage angst. 

Jeremy begins the song on a soft note, singing ‘you are the reason I can survive’ while gentle acoustics play in the background, allowing listeners to just appreciate his raw vocals. This reflects how he presents his vulnerability in front of his lover as he pours his heart out to her. He explains that she was ‘the reason’ that he could still ‘survive’ and live through the pain that life brings, conveying that there was only one singular person that could bring him so much happiness to balance out all the hardships — her. 

Then, he proceeds to describe how they act around each other, where they ‘turn off the phones to just be alone’. In a time where most teenagers have ridiculously high screen times and an over-reliance on connecting via the net, the fact that they are willing to disconnect and live in their own world, albeit for a short period of time, exemplifies their overflowing amount of love for each other. 

Chelsea then takes over with ‘“What’s easy is right”, my mother’s advice’. This is an alarming statement; the advice given by her mother is not very helpful when she is facing tough decisions because some right decisions are hard to make. It allows us to peek into the inadequate parental guidance she received growing up, emphasising the importance of her lover’s emotional support for her. She then echoes Jeremy in a previous verse when she sings ‘let go and I’ll hold you up’. ‘Hold’ yet again indicates a form of emotional support that she will provide for him, revealing their relationship dynamic of being present for each other through painful times. 

The two then come together to repeat the chorus with the instrumentals at an increasing volume, reflecting the growing passion of the relationship. The song then ends off with the same soft tone as the beginning, once again presenting the lovers’ vulnerability when it comes to their love.

7 Years - Lukas Graham

Once I was seven years old, my mama told me

Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely

Once I was seven years old

It was a big big world, but we thought we were bigger

Pushing each other to the limits, we were learning quicker

By 11 smoking herb and drinking burning liquor

Never rich so we were out to make that steady figure

Once I was 11 years old, my daddy told me

Go get yourself a wife or you'll be lonely

Once I was 11 years old

I always had that dream like my daddy before me

So I started writing songs, I started writing stories

Something about the glory, just always seemed to bore me

'Cause only those I really love will ever really know me

Once I was 20 years old, my story got told

Before the morning sun, when life was lonely

Once I was 20 years old

(Lukas Graham)

I only see my goals, I don't believe in failure

'Cause I know the smallest voices, they can make it major

I got my boys with me at least those in favor

And if we don't meet before I leave, I hope I'll see you later

Once I was 20 years old, my story got told

I was writing 'bout everything, I saw before me

Once I was 20 years old

Soon we'll be 30 years old, our songs have been sold

We've traveled around the world and we're still roaming

Soon we'll be 30 years old

I'm still learning about life

My woman brought children for me

So I can sing them all my songs

And I can tell them stories

Most of my boys are with me

Some are still out seeking glory

And some I had to leave behind

My brother I'm still sorry

Soon I'll be 60 years old, my daddy got 61

Remember life and then your life becomes a better one

I made the man so happy when I wrote a letter once

I hope my children come and visit, once or twice a month

Soon I'll be 60 years old, will I think the world is cold

Or will I have a lot of children who can warm me

Soon I'll be 60 years old

Soon I'll be 60 years old, will I think the world is cold

Or will I have a lot of children who can hold me

Soon I'll be 60 years old

Once I was seven years old, my mama told me

Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely

Once I was seven years old

Once I was seven years old

The song first released in September 2015 and it instantly became a smash hit, topping the UK singles chart for 5 weeks. A large reason for the commercial success of the song is due to how the song wonderfully encapsulates the journey of life, from when he was 7 years old all the way till he reaches 60 years old. As the Danish group puts it, the song covers nostalgia from ages 7, 11 and 20, before moving on to ponder about their lives in the future when they have kids or a wife. 

The song starts off with ‘Once I was seven years old, my mama told me go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely’. The line stems from the lead singer Lukas Forchhammer's childhood, when his parents often told him the importance of finding a good friend in his life, as friends are the family you keep in your life who are  able to accompany you through the hardships of life. 

In Verse 1, ‘It was a big big world, but we thought we were bigger. Pushing each other to the limits, we were learning quicker’. The lyrics talk about how Lukas relied on the companionship of his friends to push himself, often out of their comfort zone to further develop themselves. 

In Verse 2, ‘I always had that dream like my daddy before me. So I started writing songs, I started writing stories’. This verse talks about how Lukas’ father was his main inspiration behind him pursuing a career in music, Unfortunately for Lukas, his father passed away in late 2012, before he could witness his own son receiving success from his music career. 

The bridge of the songs talks about how when they are 30 years old, the band would have achieved success when going on tours around the world and how he is still continuously trying to learn about life, and tell stories to his children throughout the songs that he has written. The subsequent line ‘Most of my boys are with me. Some are still out seeking glory. And some I had to leave behind, my brother I’m so sorry’. This line pays tribute to the friends that he has lost along the way on his road to an adult, be it due to drug overdoses or trouble with crimes back in his hometown. 

Finally, the song wraps up with Lukas pondering about how he would be like at 60 years old, when he has kids and a family. Growing up with his dad dying at a young age, Lukas remains hopeful and is optimistic about his life ahead as he treasures the relationship he has had with his father.

Everybody’s Changing - Keane

You say you wander your own land

But when I think about it

I don't see how you can

You're aching, you're breaking

And I can see the pain in your eyes

Says everybody's changing

And I don't know why

So little time

Try to understand that I'm

Trying to make a move just to stay in the game

I try to stay awake and remember my name

But everybody's changing and I don't feel the same

You're gone from here

Soon you will disappear

Fading into beautiful light

'Cause everybody's changing

And I don't feel right

So little time

Try to understand that I'm

Trying to make a move just to stay in the game

I try to stay awake and remember my name

But everybody's changing and I don't feel the same

So little time

Try to understand that I'm

Trying to make a move just to stay in the game

I try to stay awake and remember my name

But everybody's changing and I don't feel the same

Everybody's changing and I don't feel the same

Released in 2004, this hit by Keane flooded the world with contemporary slow rock, especially in the UK. It is a moving, impactful piece by the band recognised for this song and another hit “Somewhere Only We Know”. This song is about someone struggling to adapt to changes around them, particularly their friends who are growing up, moving away, and losing interest in things they once shared with the singer. It is a song that many of us will be able to relate to, especially in a school context, where the friends we love come and go as we continue in our education pathways, and values, beliefs and personalities change.

In verse 1, ‘You say you wander your own land, but when I think about it I don’t see how you can.’ This depicts the situation where people whom we know of try to lead their own path, away from conventional forms, but at the same time this action also ignites a sense of worry in us. This shows we might overestimate ourselves and change for the worse instead of changing for the better, and where the mistake in the change is seen by everyone else but the beholder.

In verse 2, it says ‘You’re gone from here, soon you will disappear, fading into beautiful light, cause everybody’s changing and I don’t feel right.’ The ‘here’ could mean the present, where one ‘is fading into beautiful light’. This means that one transcends into something bigger or better, whether it be a personality change, or changes in lifestyle, which is in symphony with the main crux of the song, which is about losing someone whom you know.

In the chorus, ‘Trying to make a move just to stay in the game’ and ‘everybody’s changing and I don’t feel the same’, which could mean that the author is making an attempt to adapt to changes around him, but he fails as he does not feel the same anymore. This portrays his difficulties in coping with everybody whom he used to know changing, and how he is unable to stay in touch with such changes, hence losing sight of himself in ‘I try to stay awake and remember my name’.