essay about phoebe bridgers song: waiting room !!
Know itās for the better. American singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers's song, Waiting Room, includes the line āKnow itās for the betterā 36 times in a row. The repetition of the verse underscores the deep emotion and otherwise subtlety of the song which addresses unrequited young love. Painful, torturous, and ultimately unfulfilled, the singer is perhaps self-soothing with the repeated lyric.
The song starts with the lyrics āIf you were a teacher, I would fail your class/Take it over and over ātil you noticedā accompanied by a melancholy guitar. The lyricsĀ then transition āIf you were a waiting room, I would never see a doctor/I would sit there with my first aid kit and bleed.ā The words, together with Phoebe Bridgers' voice, create a song that perfectly expresses teenage angst; overdramatic lyrics that you still find yourself crying to in your bed at 3 am.Ā
In an interview with NPR,Ā Bridgers said that she wrote the song when she was 16 years old and now dislikes the overdramatic lyrics. āI have, like a really old song called āWaiting Room,ā where ā yeah, I wrote it when I was, like, 16. And people find it every once in a while and tag me in it or whatever. And I think Iām just ā one, itās super sincere, and I meant everything. But itās so emotionally raw, and Iām so pining for someone.āĀ
Despite Bridgers' dislike for the song it quickly blew up on social media platforms where fans used it as the soundtrack for more than 16 million videos, not to mention, many cover versions that have also been shared. Despite the popularity of the song, Bridgers hasnāt said much about it or what the lyrics may mean which leaves listeners to come up with their own interpretations. On the r/phoebebridgers Reddit page, there is a subreddit about Waiting Room. The top comment on this subreddit states how the poster understands the song: āthe feeling of liking someone so much but not having them reciprocate it or it ever working out...she captures it perfectly. When you're so obsessed with somebody and so invested in doing anything to make it work, but it doesn't. You want to be that person's one and only. But in the end, they can't be your only if you aren't theirs. And that is what hurts the most.ā Many of the other comments go into similar detail, explaining how the song may seem dramatic and excessive but when broken down is a very real and relatable song that identifies feelings of young love.Ā
The next verse includesĀ āI wanna be the power ballad that lifts you up and holds you down/I wanna be the broken love song that feeds your misery.ā The first line suggests a strong desire to be present in someone's life and to give them comfort and stability. The Cambridge Dictionary's definition of a power ballad is āa slow love song, sung with a lot of emotion.ā Technically speaking that describes this song. This is a way in which Bridger relates her songs to other people. In her song she is saying she wants to be a power ballad for someone she likes and for other people they may interpret her and this song being their power ballad for them and someone else. That is one of the many astonishing things about music, any song can have any meaning to anyone depending on your experiences and thoughts and that is so beautiful.
After this Bridgers sings, āAnd I can wish all that I want, but it won't bring us together/Plus, I know whatever happens to me, I know it's for the better.ā These lyrics suggest that she knows that no matter how hard she tries, nothing she does will make them like her. After that line, she is essentiallyĀ saying āI know they wonāt like me, and thatās okay because it is for the better.ā It could be interpreted that she either doesnāt feel worthy or pretty enough to be loved by this person or she canāt force this person to like her and that is okay.Ā
Toward the end of the song, the lyrics change direction to āI wanna make you drive all night just because I said, "Maybe you should come over/Wanna make you fall in love as hard as my poor parents' teenage daughter/She'll be the best you ever had if you let her.ā At the song's beginning, Bridgers's lyrics make it seem like she likes someone who doesnāt like her back, and that's okay. Then towards the end, she sings about her fantasies or hopes she wishes to have with this person. After this, she says āSheāll be the best you ever had if you let her.ā This is Bridgerās referring to herself and saying she would be a perfect partner for this person. This could also be interpreted as her suggesting that sheāll improve the person she sings about. āSheāll be the best you ever had if you let herā is Bridgerās saying āI am a good person and if I dated this person I could make them better.ā The line before this suggests that she could be referencing this person's parents or talking to them almost as if she is asking for permission.
By now the song has reached the final moments as it continues with the phrase āknow itās for the betterā which is repeated 36 times. These lyrics have an intense emotional impact on the song because by now the listener knows that Bridgers likes someone who doesn't like her back and so instead sheās been making up fantasies about them. At the end of the song, she is gaining consciousness and realizing nothing will stem from her feelings. It is like a moment in a book or movie where the character realizes everything was just a dream all along.Ā
The entire song is a metaphor for Bridgerās gaining consciousness. The beginning describes her being unaware of what this person thinks or feels for her, which causes her to fill this space with the delusion or imagination of her life with this person. At the song's end, when she sings āKnow itās for the better,ā it is Bridgerās gaining consciousness and waking up from her supposed ādream.ā She is finally seeing reality and accepting it the way it is.
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