I’ve finally sat down to write this down. Can’t visit the new year without making some more fuss about copy of a copy of a copy.
“It’s an old curse, dreamers divin’ head first
Broken beaks and dead birds
Can’t get through the glass”
The song starts with a dig at the rom coms, concept of love at first sight, romanticizing falling for someone without thinking far ahead; without thinking about the consequences. This is eerily compared with the dead birds who ended up with broken beaks, dead because they were trying to get through the glass- a dead end; indicating that they tried multiple times looking at the illusion of an escape so much that they ended up breaking their bones and beaks; ended up dying.
Just before the livestream I was watching willow mv that had come out on the previous day. In willow mv the string that guides talylor throughout, leads baby taylor sitting with her young love in a tent to a glass closet. A literal closet. She’s all grown up, entering through a curtain. she doesn’t know what’s beyond that curtain and gets trapped inside the glass closet. (later taylor gets to escape though). Now it could be interpreted in many ways - glass closet in terms of lgbtq+, entering something without knowing what it means fully - a contract, a relationship, a commitment.
The coacoac opens with criticizing the glorification of love at first sight, falling quick and hard too soon, entering a commitment with a blind courage when we really don’t know what lies ahead, calls it an old curse. This kind of feels like a same concept with different yet similar view on human emotions and consequences of blind faith which we seem to have when we are young and innocent. The courage and tireless strength to push back.
“There’s no use cryin’ over spilled blood
Carin’ only kills love
A kiss won’t bring it back”
The following verse directly points towards love, with dejected words as if they are said by someone who was young and naïve in the beginning but has now learned the bitter life lessons. That there is no use of your crying over something that’s gone, caring too much resulted in the partner breaking their relationship, killed their love. A kiss could refer to a big romantic gesture, something like a last attempt to save what they had but the singer says no it won’t bring back what they had; it won’t be the same.
“I know that the first blow hits you cold”
The singer understands that the first betrayal of love, first betrayal by someone who entered into a commitment with you (in terms of love, friendship, business – could be interpreted in so many ways ahhh) will hit us the hardest as he has experienced.
“Young man, hush your crying, dry your tears away
Nothing is original, there’s nothing left to say”
As soon as we hear young man hush your crying, we can catch up to the song’s set up. An older louis is singing to his younger self. He has learned the hard way so it’s kind of wary when he sings nothing it original, nothing left to say. He sounds resigned which could be taken as there is more to come, get strong, no more tears. This in contrast to the louis we have come to know in walls so uplifting, open, positive.
“You won’t be the first or be the last to bleed
Every broken heart as far as your eye can see
It’s a copy of a copy of a copy”
These lines try to give a feel of comfort, like saying you’re not alone. As a human I think we can muster the courage to accomplish anything but we just need assurance that we’re not alone, even in suffering knowing there is someone else in this world, just like us, going through the same will make us feel less alone; will muster strength. He sings every broken is the same and there are many – a copy of a copy of a copy.
Louis has taken a similar stance in just like you (2017) –
“every heart breaks the same, every tear leaves a stain, can I just be the same? Every heart breaks the same, every tear leaves a stain, let me be the same” – he went from asking anyone to understand that he is human too with same heart breaks and emotions to comforting himself, telling his younger self that he is not the only one, every broken heart is a copy of a copy of a copy so dry your tears in coacoac (2020).
“I can hear you, howlin’ ‘til your lungs hurt
So let this be your comfort
You’re not the only one, no
In a strange way, all in this together
Been this way forever, you’re not the only one”
In the second half of the song, he proceeds to sing to young louis that “yes I can hear you crying and shouting, calm down now you are not alone in this”. Everyone’s experiences are different, circumstances cannot be compared, yet in a strange way we’re all in this together and it has been that way since forever. So you really don’t have to feel that you are the only one with a broken heart. This is so similar to something louis has said before during just hold on promo, “don’t feel sorry for yourself, keep fighting, keep strong”. And he lives by this words after 4 years he finally was able to release his album.
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