Sometime in the last few days, I took a departure from my steady diet of alt country and indie Christian music, and pulled up Niall Horan. It started with "On the Loose" because I had all the windows down and was feeling pretty dang good, and continued from there. I'm not big into pop, and every time I listen to it the charm wears off quick, so I knew I had to make the most of this time. I tried to queue up "You and Me," but I guess what I actually added was "On My Own." And that was a fascinating listen.
I know I've heard it before, but as much of a lyric listener as I am, I had never actually taken note of the words that he sings. It starts:
I just wanna be alone
Well I don't need no one
Have too much fun
Out here on my own
And that's it. That's what the song's about. There's no big character arc, no moment of realization that he needs people around him. He gets drunk, kisses girls, gets in fights, and goes to sleep. It's a dream life. The song doesn't even mention friends, he seemingly remains socially alone all the time. Here's the beginning of the chorus:
Stay out 'til it's late
I'll wake up at midday and marry my bed
Now, I'm not trying to say that this is Niall Horan's actual story. It took five writers to bring this thing into existence, after all. And the fact that the character has a shallow and short-sighted viewpoint doesn't mean that it's a bad song either; after all, the best songs don't try to teach us a lesson, they just tell the truth. I think of "Head Case" by Cody Jinks, where he questions his sanity as he grapples with thoughts of artistry, mortality, and faith in God' (it's a solo write, by the way). It doesn't give us a solution, it just captures a tortured moment honestly.
And I do find "On My Own" relatable. Maybe a little too comfortably relatable, and maybe that's what bothers me about it. I find the message expressed to be one that leads to misery in the long term. But nothing in the song indicates that it's a bad thing.
So, maybe that's being nit-picky. Maybe I should just let the song be a song, and not criticize it based on things like that. After all, didn't I just say the best songs don't try to teach a lesson?
Fine. What else do I have to say about it? Well, it's too one-note, content-wise. Not very dynamic in terms of what it has to say. So then.
Now let's compare this to a song I heard again today (technically yesterday), when I was listening to Flatland Cavalary's Wandering Star album. As you can see, I was back on the country, and good thing too. Otherwise I wouldn't have heard "Mornings With You," Cleto Cordero's duet with his wife, Kaitlin Butts. Three writers worked on this song, and Kaitlin was not one of them, which makes sense because I actually found it surprisingly impersonal given its nature. But impersonal or not, it's a solid song about Cleto finding his joy in the simple things in life now, like getting to enjoy coffee with his wife in the morning. Here's the chorus:
But runnin' with the devil is a dark and lonely ride
Sometimes it takes an angel to change your point of view
Now I live for mornings with you
Still not a perfect song, but boy does that hit the spot better than "Your company is fine, but I get on better with mine."
One is mature, one is not. One is self-concerned, one is not.
I don't really have a lesson. It's just an interesting juxtaposition. That's all.
