@@JackHoward haha Jack!! I'm going through all the videos and they are fantastic-- they so perfectly capture the essence of the songs visually while also building upon their themes. So well done!
imo the fire mentioned in her lyrics is a metaphor for trauma and the smoke in her video is a metaphor for dissociative states. would make so much sense since fire causes smoke and trauma causes dissociation
i feel like the fire she saw was the brightness and fullness of life that she no longer feels- life is now damp and flat and lacking warmth. before her dissociation, there was fire.
This song kills me every time, especially the bridge. It’s just so raw and painful, and it’s so dark and full of bitterness/anger/longing/fear. This is easily my favorite from the album. Also, I just noticed that this song ends on the same exact note Air So Sweet starts with. I sort of wonder if that's supposed to mean anything - maybe that despite everything (all of the darkness and pain) we still find hope and reasons to keep living? Or maybe it's just a way to loop the main album lol
"When a big negative event like that hits the timeline of your life, it wedges itself into your timeline and splits it into two - from that point onwards you think of your life as before it happened and after it happened.” - Carrie Hope Fletcher
When: "I'll take what I can get" Before the Line: "I'll have to take what I can get" In When it sounds like she is saying this defiantly. Reassuring herself that 'this sucks, but I'll make a plan.' But in this song, it seems the reality hits, and it hurts to accept that you're not in control of 'what you can get.' Ouch.
a lot of people are talking about how the line "once I saw fire" is talking about trauma, but while I can see that, I initially saw it as passion. Once I saw a fire, a passion for being alive, but now I've lost that desire to be alive, that spark of happiness. Also, it might just be me, but the mv seems like she's closed up in a garage, with the exhaust on her car clogged, trying to, ya know, off herself. hence the lines "I think this is really it," "have i already died?" I might just be thinking too dark, idk. also im not 100% sure what the terminology is for that, so I hope you could understand what I was trying to say
Ooh, that’s such a good interpretation! Dissociation can feel like inhaling and looking through smoke, when once you had passion for life that has now burned out.
Yeah I had the same interpretation of the concept of fire! I also saw the smoke more as symbolising dodie’s depersonalisation/derealisation and how depression and other mental health problems can make it hard to see beyond what you’re going through/feeling choked/panicked- I feel like there are loads of possible interpretations which is why art is so cool!! Huge props to dodie and jack
yes i totally agree w the first half!!!! and it lines up w “when”, when she circles back to that line that’s also used in this song “i’ll take what i can get” and goes on to say “‘cause i’m too damp for a spark.” it just kinda goes together in the sense of she has lost her passion or fire for life. so interesting
I had the same thought about suicide. I wondered whether it was intentional... thought probably and maybe hopefully not. Wonder what dodie and Jack would think of it coming across that way.
It might just be me but to me the percussion at 3:15 sounds like knocking on the door and could be paralleling “you opened a door that a kid shouldn’t walk through” in guiltless?
not sure how far back with the references though, only because my mind says 'I made a promise but I break it every day.' is a reference to secret for the mad
The bit where it says ‘I think this really is it’ breaks me, it’s so raw and relatable. Full of fear that maybe this is just how you are going to live now. Dodie is truly the best lyricist I know xx
This entire song feels like it was written for me. I first realized something was wrong when the stars no longer made me feel anything. They “didn’t look right.” And I’ve made so many promises to myself -past, present, and future- but I break them. The line “did I let it go?” makes me think about blaming yourself for trauma and mental illness. Did I let go of the good things? Is it my fault? “When can I come home?” “I’m still clawing for the strings.” When do you let go of trying to go back to what you once had?
This speaks so much to me about my struggles with dissociation and depersonalisation. Thank you Dodie... This is what it's like. All you feel is that something is missing, but you can't ever reach it, because you can't remember what it was and if it was ever really there. I see that fog every day. Stay strong all, Win Xx
@@annarosa4004 Someone suggested that she might be referring to the promise might be the promise in Secrets for the Mad: “I promise you it will make sense again”
@@JeremyM yeah i think its sort of like when people tell us that everything will be alright and we’ll get better and we tell ourselves that, but oh well 🤷♀️
It could also be related to her family trauma/generational habits. Could also be about mental health or rumors of certain relationship issues she had. I love how open for interpretation it all is, and I'm glad she doesn't feel the need to explicitly explain what every song is about.
2:03 reminds me of dissociation - I know she deals with a version of it and I just felt so connected to those lyrics - you’d do anything to come back - and you take what you can get
From watching all the lyric videos in order here’s my interpretation: 1. Dodie is ready for a night out and is really excited (Air So Sweet) 2. She picks up the guy she was with and then realises he isn’t good for her so she dumps him (Hate myself) 3. On that night out she kisses someone else and feels really guilty about it (I kissed Someone It wasn’t You) 4. Dodie starts trying to figure out who she is after the break up, trying to people please (cool girl) but it doesn’t make her happy. 5. She tries to be a rebellious special girl but then realises who she is in the next song 6. Dodie begins to embrace being a rainbow (love this song it’s so beautiful) on her car ride to the beach 7. She picks up the suit at this beach and it feels like something bad is about to happen. She drives off to meet the person in the next song (?) 8. Dodie gets drunk and messes around with someone who is in a relationship, they make her dress up in the suit to symbolise her acting like someone she isn’t. It makes her question who she is. (Four tequilas down) 9. She tries to wear something that makes her feel like herself again but it doesn’t quite fit because she doesn’t know who she is anymore and thinks this has changed her as a person. (.) 10. Dodie realised she has ruined the person’s relationship and the guilt consumes her. (Sorry) 11. In her sadness and guilt she starts thinking about her own life (When) 12. Dodie is thinking about who she used to be and how she has changed, partly because of the events that transpired during the album. She is angry with herself and the world. (Before the line) Also I’d love to hear this song in a musical it’s amazing. Dodie really made a story in this album and it’s so beautiful ❤️ I’d love to hear what other people’s interpretations are 😊
thank you so much for writing down your interpretation. it was beautiful to read it in coherent thoughts lol. i could only associate the songs with certain feelings and not a solid story. it definitely enriched my experience with this album so far. lots of love
she’s getting out of the car, ending the journey, quite literally crossing the line and leaving it all behind because she has to let it go and it’s the end of the album. amazing raaaAAAH i LOVE SYMBOLISM
For me, this encapsulates SO FUCKING WELL the feeling of being so disconnected from yourself and reality and just being tired of it. The anger that comes when you feel trapped in your head and u just want to scream but it’s all Smokey and blurry and in the end u just give up and surrender to all the shit
wow holy shit. this is so impactful. I found the smoke in the car so stressful too as it reminded me of how people can connect the exhaust to flow into the car if they want to suffocate. So glad she got out at the end.
This is perfection. The combination of hopelessness, feelings of detachment, frustration, anger, desperation, and despair are just... so well portrayed. I love how every line that's repeated has a completely different emotion behind it. Its just gorgeous.
Not to downplay your comment as Dodie deserves insane praise for this, but I think she's yet to conceive of her Magnum Opus. There's more to come, and I am here for it!
1:56 this is what made me cry 'when can i come home' after hearing dodie talk about her attachment to her childhood home along with her depersonalisation, especially with this song being after when, it really hurts
i only realised i had derealization when you started talking about it. for a while, i thought something had changed. i thought all the things you said you thought (that it was just adulthood, that something was wrong with my eyes). this song puts all of those things i've never been able to explain into words. thank you for always being open and for talking about things no one else wants to. things like this, as painful as they are to face, help immensely in letting me know that i'm not the only one and i'm not going crazy. thank you thank you thank you for a beautiful album and a song that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
this video seems so so so connected to guiltless , with dodie talking about " something happened " and a " the line between my lives " . and the smoke filling the entire car , similar to the smoke inside the luggage in the music video for guiltless . also someone had mentioned at 3:15 the knocking sounds , paralleling to the line " you opened a door that a kid shouldn't walk through "
god, the way this one is shot from outside the car with the smoke obscuring her, like she's trapped out? and the way the video for when has us (dodie and the viewer) trapped out from the blurred videos of the past?? poetic cinema!
the contrast between this and air so sweet hURTS air so sweet being excitement for the life you have and the life to come, and this being dread for life to come and wishing to go back and the desperation in the section beginning 1:58 gives me chills
i haven't seen anyone mention this but there's this moment at 1:31 that dodie stares longingly at the car door like she desperately wants to leave, but looks back to the smoke that surrounds her and stays longer. it's only at the very end that she storms out. and those flashes of light that line up with the thrum of the instrumentals, as like a continuation of the rain into lightning! so much attention to detail, it's amazing
living with dissociation, this song hits especially hard. looking at something beautiful that used to make you feel something so deep and wondering why you feel nothing bc you're looking at everything behind glass. you have to learn to look at everything through a new reality and take what you can get. and sometimes it gets so bad it feels like you're not in control of your own body and you're almost afraid to speak. dodie being in the driver's seat and finally being in control of her situation is such powerful imagery. love this
i've never heard anything like this from dodie and im absolutely in love with this song with all my heart. drowning in tears. thank you for those 6 amazing years i've been listening to you and growing with you (im like a year younger so lol)
I discovered Dodie's music and videos less than a year ago. I've been terrifically impressed in a way that music artists use to get ahold of me years ago but it almost never happens anymore. She has worked so hard and produced so much material that I'm quite sure I haven't seen or heard more than a fraction of it so far - which is really great because what I have been watching and listening to, including all those great videos she did with Tesse Violet - well, it has been so good. The idea that there is a lot more just waiting for me to call it up is awesome. If it wasn't for the rise of Yotube and the Internet in general I have to wonder if anyone would have ever even heard of Dodie if she had been coming up in the music industry of 20 or 25 years ago. I think the answer is "yes" she is so singularly talented and appealing that she would have had someone's eye and ear. But I am thinking I personally would probably have missed it. And she would not have had the creative freedom she has now. Music marketing was so very stratified back then. But gosh she really does deliver, song after song, video after video. I don't know anyone who knows who Dodie Clark is who doesn't love her. (In this video, is it just me or is she committing suicide by asphyxiating herself on the auto fumes of the car as it sits running and parked in a carport? You can see the wisps of exhaust smoke floating around near the end. And when she gets up out of the car and leaves I think it is just her soul, her essence. Tell me I'm wrong.)
There was a trauma that happened to me in March, and honestly this entire album is something I can empathize with. Between the boundary issues, being queer, unhealthy/broken relationship(s), and trauma that leaves you with mental fog. I can't stop listening to this album oml, thank you
i remember her posting this song a while back on instagram, (maybe it was an early demo or rough draft) but i just heard the first few lyrics and immediately loved it. i hummed it and sang the little bit i had heard for months, i am so unbelievably happy it's out now :')
this song in particular feels very musical theatre and I mean that in the best way possible. Something about the way she performs it, the smoke, the intensely personal lyrics without details, it all feels like shes just been left alone on stage by another character. And she sings this and leaves the stage. On my own, burn, the end of our love is god even. It's some sort of horrific magic to pour the emotion out through such a beautiful vessel, throughout the whole album in the music and in the cinematography. It's been six years since I found dodie; her 2018 concert at Shepards bush was my first ever concert :D I'm now 19 and I'm forever grateful to continue to grow up with her music. Jack, Sophie and Ciaran are also to be commended for their roles in this art. Seeing their names on credits is always a sign that whatever project it is will be incredibly executed, no matter the genre, and like dodie I have had the pleasure of running into all of them on youtube many times over the years. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you have given us. xxx
THIS, this song gives me goosebumps every single time! the eye contact is gripping and the change of pace partway through the song feels so intriguing, I'm obsessed with it 100%
You know when a song is just so powerful you feel entranced and you can't look away and when it's over you just sit in shock and then start crying? Wow, Dodie... I love your music so much 😭
dodie's music is so incredible because it cradles you gently through her emotions. It sounds so calm and gentle but the words just start to punch your heart. The song is the prime example of her skill because she can make you feel so much anger and bitterness without outright yelling. She keeps her voice gentle and almost at a whisper. I'm feeling so much and I can't think anymore, this album is incredible.
dodie would be sO GOOD at writing songs for a musical - her music and lyrics always have a very strong narrative and i can totally picture this as a scene in a musical!!!!!
This song feels like its been around forever, so full of feeling and the lyrics cut to a part of my heart i didnt even know existed. Love this dodie, so proud of you ♡
When & Before the line are both really amazing songs surrounding her depersonalization She says: "I am lying when I say it's time to let her float away" In 'When' she accepts that she has to 'let her float away' and tells herself she'll never be 16 again. She has talked about making peace with her condition But she is still angry, "No, I'm still clawing for the strings, oh I'd do any fucking thing" to go back. She knows she has to "close the door," she cannot go back. She then repeats what she says in when. "I'll have to take what I can get" Defeated. 'When' kinda looks to the future/present of her life "itll be over and I'll still be asking when" 'Before the line' looks back to "Once I saw a fire" a passion for life that was taken away. She allows herself to express the anger about it instead of just the sadness and longing she expresses in 'when'. 'Before the line' has a crack of just desperately clawing for things to go back to before the line but she then comes back down to the reality that they never will
I think it's really cool how the dresses from rainbow and special girl are in the car with her. Maybe it could refer to some of the fire/passion that she let go? She couldn't really enjoy rainbow or special girl to their fullest because of all of the dissociative smoke? Either way it's a really cool detail
Your music is a window into another existence for me. I've never experienced these emotions BUT via your work I have felt some part of them. Thank you.
A list of (almost) every lyrical/musical reference in Before the Line: Air So Sweet - this song ends on the same note used as the drone throughout Air So Sweet (and I’m pretty sure Before the Line also uses it as a drone throughout the whole thing, but I’m not entirely sure since it’s hard to hear at certain parts). Hate Myself - "once I saw fire" might be a lyrical reference to "But how can you not hear the whole conversation I have sitting still with a brain on fire" I Kissed Someone (It Wasn’t You) - "Can't feel a single one" is a reference to the line "I didn't feel a single thing", and "when can I come home?" is similar to "I just want to go home" Cool Girl - idk Special Girl - “It’s not my fault, for I was promised just the same” is a reference to the first line of Special Girl (“It’s not my fault / I was raised by open mouths and tears eyes”) Rainbow - “Too much to miss it anymore” is possibly a reference to “I’d like to think you’d miss it / Cause so would I” in Rainbow ? - idk yet Four Tequilas Down - idk . - idk yet Sorry - idk When - “I’ll have I take what I can get” is a direct reference to the line “I’ll take what I can get” in When, and "I know I loved the world" is sort of a rewritten version of the line "They tell me I loved" Guiltless - someone in another comment mentioned the percussion sounds like knocking on a door, a reference to the line “you opened a door that a kid shouldn’t walk through”. There’s also a mention to a door in Before the Line (“I know I’ll have to close that door”) but I have a feeling it’s not referring to the same “door” as in Guiltless. The line "why doesn't it look right?" may also be an indirect reference to the line "is it real?" Boys Like You - "maybe I am not just a friend" is similar to Cool Girl's "want me more than friend" Additionally, someone mentioned that the “promise” dodie makes to herself might be the same promise mentioned in Secret for the Mad (“I promise you / It’ll all make sense again”), and the smoke makes it feel similar to Burned Out ("I am burnt out / I smell of smoke"). Another thing I'm noticing is a lot of the other songs have references to eyes being closed/not being able to see (Cool Girl - "Rolling your eyes to the backs of your heads", Hate Myself - "Eyes closed isn't helping", Four Tequilas Down - "And tell me did you make your eyes blur?", Guiltless - "But I don't think I'd feel better if I opened your eyes"), which this song also does, in a way. In general, a lot of these songs have lyrical/thematic similarities, which could be intentional to make the songs feel connected (although it might just be because that's how dodie likes to write), so I love finding all these different connections lol Let me know if you found anything else, I’d really like to know what you guys thought!
There are few songs that give me shivers these days. From 2:00 to the end it was like a constant shiver for me. There is something so true, sad and beautiful about this song and I just am not able to put in in words.
Dodie sadness is a whole genre and I didn’t even know it existed as this big mammoth and sadness begets more sadness and created more melancholic art that feeds into the melancholy of masses and no emotional state change happens eventually people begin to believe they will be perpetually sad. Ya’ll, what’re you doing? Don’t, please.
this song was likely written before the pandemic but bro. the way this makes me feel. I’ve spent a majority of the past year waiting for things to go back to the way they were. I’ve had to (and honestly, we ALL have had to) accept that things will probably never be like they were before. that’s not entirely a bad thing but it still stings. idk I just think this song is a really good representation of how it feels to grapple with living in a situation that has changed every part of me and the world around me
@@katiefreedman3192 YES AND ITS ALSO SYMBOLIZED BY THIS LYRIC VIDEO SERIES It starts with her entering the car, then going through a whole journey of emotions such as happiness, anger, and pain. And then it ends with her leaving the car, symbolizing her leaving the ride of life AAAAA
Wow-what a masterpiece. Thanks for putting music and visuals to this feeling Dodie and Jack! After this video, I'm thinking more about the "I made a promise but I break it every day" line. Some promises have to be broken. You are all so loved, your future is brighter than you can imagine. If breaking a promise is what it takes to get you through the day, it's worth it.
I usually don't listen to much music but I have a design project where I have to design a concert poster for an artist of my choosing in the style of 1960's psychedelic posters, I chose dodie since she is my best bro's favorite artist. My friend recommended some songs to give me a feel for her music and overall vibe, now I might end up listening to more.
AHHH THIS IS THAT ONE INSTAGRAM POST that i saved and kept on going back to it thinking you wont release it..... i love it its beautiful thank you so much dodie. thank you for this
"I'll have to take what I can get" breaks me and the feeling of resignation in the song during this lyric scares me so so much. The whole thing is so emotional and visceral and Dodie portrayed it perfectly.
I'm kind of going through a hard time and came to realize that this song is scary relatable. All the sudden crescendos and background ambience vocals add to the anxiety I've experienced The chords have the broken maturity Emmaculate ma'am
dodie and jack you've done an amazing job - beautiful songs, beautiful videos. i've cried so much, my chest is aching from the way the visuals capture the feeling of the music and lyrics. the car concept is brilliant, i'd love to hear more behind the creative decision for this. dodie your acting is wonderful, your facial expressions?? wow! just SO so good and well worth the wait thank you for creating such amazing content
no song has ever felt so touching i’m thankful every day that this beautiful song exists dodie has such an intricate and emotional way of capturing such heartbreaking moments or feelings whenever i feel like my mouth can’t explain what my heart is shouting i’m amazed and inspired that dodie can and has expressed such complicated ideas
I love how she's in the drivers seat for this one...end of the album, older than before, maybe missing the simpler days of sitting in the backseat
Hell yes Claire.
@@JackHoward haha Jack!! I'm going through all the videos and they are fantastic-- they so perfectly capture the essence of the songs visually while also building upon their themes. So well done!
@@JackHoward wait, is the fire, the stars and the light a reference to when she was younger and happier?
My god, this is *on point*.
yes, but i also think that her being in the backseat meant not having control over her life and just watch it happen
imo the fire mentioned in her lyrics is a metaphor for trauma and the smoke in her video is a metaphor for dissociative states. would make so much sense since fire causes smoke and trauma causes dissociation
yes! and she's "in the driver's seat" but not completely in control
I would say dissociation but also coping mechanisms in general. Just things that your mind does to protect you and mask away the trauma.
Dude is that why we're vibing so hard with dodie's music?
that makes sense for guiltless as well where the trunk in the attic was filled with dust and smoke
i feel like the fire she saw was the brightness and fullness of life that she no longer feels- life is now damp and flat and lacking warmth. before her dissociation, there was fire.
You are all amazing for the whole album. I marvel at you all
a queen supporting a queen 😌
i loved seeing your comments under every lyric video
Louise!!!!! 😁🥰
I don’t I have ever heard lyrics so real and raw and relatable
I love ur profile Kermit
@@Lizzymizzy. what she said ^
This song kills me every time, especially the bridge. It’s just so raw and painful, and it’s so dark and full of bitterness/anger/longing/fear. This is easily my favorite from the album.
Also, I just noticed that this song ends on the same exact note Air So Sweet starts with. I sort of wonder if that's supposed to mean anything - maybe that despite everything (all of the darkness and pain) we still find hope and reasons to keep living? Or maybe it's just a way to loop the main album lol
yess
SAME - I cannot get enough of it
"When a big negative event like that hits the timeline of your life, it wedges itself into your timeline and splits it into two - from that point onwards you think of your life as before it happened and after it happened.” - Carrie Hope Fletcher
💔
Felt that, wow
That moment when you are trying to have a serious conversation and your friend won't stop vaping
When: "I'll take what I can get"
Before the Line: "I'll have to take what I can get"
In When it sounds like she is saying this defiantly. Reassuring herself that 'this sucks, but I'll make a plan.' But in this song, it seems the reality hits, and it hurts to accept that you're not in control of 'what you can get.' Ouch.
Also “Guess I’ll take it” from Boys Like You (Bonus)
a lot of people are talking about how the line "once I saw fire" is talking about trauma, but while I can see that, I initially saw it as passion. Once I saw a fire, a passion for being alive, but now I've lost that desire to be alive, that spark of happiness. Also, it might just be me, but the mv seems like she's closed up in a garage, with the exhaust on her car clogged, trying to, ya know, off herself. hence the lines "I think this is really it," "have i already died?" I might just be thinking too dark, idk. also im not 100% sure what the terminology is for that, so I hope you could understand what I was trying to say
Ooh, that’s such a good interpretation! Dissociation can feel like inhaling and looking through smoke, when once you had passion for life that has now burned out.
Yeah I had the same interpretation of the concept of fire! I also saw the smoke more as symbolising dodie’s depersonalisation/derealisation and how depression and other mental health problems can make it hard to see beyond what you’re going through/feeling choked/panicked- I feel like there are loads of possible interpretations which is why art is so cool!! Huge props to dodie and jack
yes i totally agree w the first half!!!! and it lines up w “when”, when she circles back to that line that’s also used in this song “i’ll take what i can get” and goes on to say “‘cause i’m too damp for a spark.” it just kinda goes together in the sense of she has lost her passion or fire for life. so interesting
I had the same thought about suicide. I wondered whether it was intentional... thought probably and maybe hopefully not. Wonder what dodie and Jack would think of it coming across that way.
I thought of the Su*cide imagery too, imo it would be pretty hard for that to be accidental
It might just be me but to me the percussion at 3:15 sounds like knocking on the door and could be paralleling “you opened a door that a kid shouldn’t walk through” in guiltless?
yes I hear that! Apparently there is lots of bits from other songs in this song, i am trying to hunt for them!
not sure how far back with the references though, only because my mind says 'I made a promise but I break it every day.' is a reference to secret for the mad
Just read that the end of this song is the same sound as the start or air so sweet, there’s another one!
@@GemmaBannan94 omg pls update me if you find any more that’s fascinating
@@katiefreedman3192 100% I’m literally like scanning lyrics trying to make connections 😂
ow ow ow
*furiously saves to crying playlist
The spacey distortion on the vocal at 2:21 is brilliant
The bit where it says ‘I think this really is it’ breaks me, it’s so raw and relatable. Full of fear that maybe this is just how you are going to live now.
Dodie is truly the best lyricist I know xx
I'm too emotional right now to type out an articulate compliment, this is so heartbreaking and I'm just-
This entire song feels like it was written for me. I first realized something was wrong when the stars no longer made me feel anything. They “didn’t look right.” And I’ve made so many promises to myself -past, present, and future- but I break them. The line “did I let it go?” makes me think about blaming yourself for trauma and mental illness. Did I let go of the good things? Is it my fault? “When can I come home?” “I’m still clawing for the strings.” When do you let go of trying to go back to what you once had?
This speaks so much to me about my struggles with dissociation and depersonalisation. Thank you Dodie... This is what it's like. All you feel is that something is missing, but you can't ever reach it, because you can't remember what it was and if it was ever really there. I see that fog every day.
Stay strong all,
Win Xx
This song and 'When' are absolutely speaking to me.
"I made a promise but I break it every day. It's not my fault for I was promised just the same. "
Can someone explain these lines to me? I just cant figure out what they mean
@@annarosa4004 I think it means that she broke the same promise she made over and over because someone else did, too
@@annarosa4004 Someone suggested that she might be referring to the promise might be the promise in Secrets for the Mad: “I promise you it will make sense again”
@@JeremyM yeah i think its sort of like when people tell us that everything will be alright and we’ll get better and we tell ourselves that, but oh well 🤷♀️
It could also be related to her family trauma/generational habits. Could also be about mental health or rumors of certain relationship issues she had. I love how open for interpretation it all is, and I'm glad she doesn't feel the need to explicitly explain what every song is about.
i can't get over this ARTTTT AHHHHH the different moods, feelings, experiences we're seeing in each car vid..... well freakin done lads. dog bless.
2:03 reminds me of dissociation - I know she deals with a version of it and I just felt so connected to those lyrics - you’d do anything to come back - and you take what you can get
she's actually said that this whole song is about dissociation! (depersonalization and derealization specifically)
@@reynab7297 ahhh I knew it!!! So amazingly written
From watching all the lyric videos in order here’s my interpretation:
1. Dodie is ready for a night out and is really excited (Air So Sweet)
2. She picks up the guy she was with and then realises he isn’t good for her so she dumps him (Hate myself)
3. On that night out she kisses someone else and feels really guilty about it (I kissed Someone It wasn’t You)
4. Dodie starts trying to figure out who she is after the break up, trying to people please (cool girl) but it doesn’t make her happy.
5. She tries to be a rebellious special girl but then realises who she is in the next song
6. Dodie begins to embrace being a rainbow (love this song it’s so beautiful) on her car ride to the beach
7. She picks up the suit at this beach and it feels like something bad is about to happen. She drives off to meet the person in the next song (?)
8. Dodie gets drunk and messes around with someone who is in a relationship, they make her dress up in the suit to symbolise her acting like someone she isn’t. It makes her question who she is. (Four tequilas down)
9. She tries to wear something that makes her feel like herself again but it doesn’t quite fit because she doesn’t know who she is anymore and thinks this has changed her as a person. (.)
10. Dodie realised she has ruined the person’s relationship and the guilt consumes her. (Sorry)
11. In her sadness and guilt she starts thinking about her own life (When)
12. Dodie is thinking about who she used to be and how she has changed, partly because of the events that transpired during the album. She is angry with herself and the world. (Before the line) Also I’d love to hear this song in a musical it’s amazing.
Dodie really made a story in this album and it’s so beautiful ❤️ I’d love to hear what other people’s interpretations are 😊
omg thank u sm for making it make sense aaaa
YESS DODIE MUSICAL
thank you so much for writing down your interpretation. it was beautiful to read it in coherent thoughts lol. i could only associate the songs with certain feelings and not a solid story. it definitely enriched my experience with this album so far. lots of love
This is a great interpretation! you are a very good storyteller! thank you :)
Right? A musical would be perfect
she’s getting out of the car, ending the journey, quite literally crossing the line and leaving it all behind because she has to let it go and it’s the end of the album. amazing
raaaAAAH i LOVE SYMBOLISM
God the emotion in this is so heavy, i cant
For me, this encapsulates SO FUCKING WELL the feeling of being so disconnected from yourself and reality and just being tired of it. The anger that comes when you feel trapped in your head and u just want to scream but it’s all Smokey and blurry and in the end u just give up and surrender to all the shit
I think these are the most visceral visuals so far they go so well with the music and lyrics my gosh
the fog machine like the haze over ones mind caused by ddd is EVERYTHING
wow holy shit. this is so impactful. I found the smoke in the car so stressful too as it reminded me of how people can connect the exhaust to flow into the car if they want to suffocate. So glad she got out at the end.
This is perfection. The combination of hopelessness, feelings of detachment, frustration, anger, desperation, and despair are just... so well portrayed. I love how every line that's repeated has a completely different emotion behind it. Its just gorgeous.
okay this is dodie's magnum opus
Not to downplay your comment as Dodie deserves insane praise for this, but I think she's yet to conceive of her Magnum Opus. There's more to come, and I am here for it!
@@jazzman616 you're actually right. i bet she will prove me so wrong!
@@rashimohan
Z
I think this might be my favourite from the album 😌
okay SAME its so fucking good
I think this might be my favourite song on the album 🥺 It's the perfect mix of melancholy and acceptance, and it hurts, but in a very cathartic way...
1:56 this is what made me cry 'when can i come home' after hearing dodie talk about her attachment to her childhood home along with her depersonalisation, especially with this song being after when, it really hurts
i only realised i had derealization when you started talking about it. for a while, i thought something had changed. i thought all the things you said you thought (that it was just adulthood, that something was wrong with my eyes). this song puts all of those things i've never been able to explain into words. thank you for always being open and for talking about things no one else wants to. things like this, as painful as they are to face, help immensely in letting me know that i'm not the only one and i'm not going crazy. thank you thank you thank you for a beautiful album and a song that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
this video seems so so so connected to guiltless , with dodie talking about " something happened " and a " the line between my lives " . and the smoke filling the entire car , similar to the smoke inside the luggage in the music video for guiltless .
also someone had mentioned at 3:15 the knocking sounds , paralleling to the line " you opened a door that a kid shouldn't walk through "
god, the way this one is shot from outside the car with the smoke obscuring her, like she's trapped out? and the way the video for when has us (dodie and the viewer) trapped out from the blurred videos of the past?? poetic cinema!
Thank you x
God this song cuts so deep
new favourite all time dodie song holy
shit i can't express how this makes me feel
AGREEEE
the contrast between this and air so sweet hURTS
air so sweet being excitement for the life you have and the life to come, and this being dread for life to come and wishing to go back
and the desperation in the section beginning 1:58 gives me chills
i haven't seen anyone mention this but there's this moment at 1:31 that dodie stares longingly at the car door like she desperately wants to leave, but looks back to the smoke that surrounds her and stays longer. it's only at the very end that she storms out. and those flashes of light that line up with the thrum of the instrumentals, as like a continuation of the rain into lightning! so much attention to detail, it's amazing
OMG the lighting and smoke and omg how is this so perfect
The promise she made to herself when she was younger that 'she would stay as happy and in love with life as she was back then'
living with dissociation, this song hits especially hard. looking at something beautiful that used to make you feel something so deep and wondering why you feel nothing bc you're looking at everything behind glass. you have to learn to look at everything through a new reality and take what you can get. and sometimes it gets so bad it feels like you're not in control of your own body and you're almost afraid to speak. dodie being in the driver's seat and finally being in control of her situation is such powerful imagery. love this
the emotions in this it really hurt it struck me right were it hurts waaaaaa so proud 😭😭
i've never heard anything like this from dodie and im absolutely in love with this song with all my heart. drowning in tears. thank you for those 6 amazing years i've been listening to you and growing with you (im like a year younger so lol)
I discovered Dodie's music and videos less than a year ago. I've been terrifically impressed in a way that music artists use to get ahold of me years ago but it almost never happens anymore. She has worked so hard and produced so much material that I'm quite sure I haven't seen or heard more than a fraction of it so far - which is really great because what I have been watching and listening to, including all those great videos she did with Tesse Violet - well, it has been so good. The idea that there is a lot more just waiting for me to call it up is awesome. If it wasn't for the rise of Yotube and the Internet in general I have to wonder if anyone would have ever even heard of Dodie if she had been coming up in the music industry of 20 or 25 years ago. I think the answer is "yes" she is so singularly talented and appealing that she would have had someone's eye and ear. But I am thinking I personally would probably have missed it. And she would not have had the creative freedom she has now. Music marketing was so very stratified back then. But gosh she really does deliver, song after song, video after video. I don't know anyone who knows who Dodie Clark is who doesn't love her. (In this video, is it just me or is she committing suicide by asphyxiating herself on the auto fumes of the car as it sits running and parked in a carport? You can see the wisps of exhaust smoke floating around near the end. And when she gets up out of the car and leaves I think it is just her soul, her essence. Tell me I'm wrong.)
There was a trauma that happened to me in March, and honestly this entire album is something I can empathize with. Between the boundary issues, being queer, unhealthy/broken relationship(s), and trauma that leaves you with mental fog. I can't stop listening to this album oml, thank you
i remember her posting this song a while back on instagram, (maybe it was an early demo or rough draft) but i just heard the first few lyrics and immediately loved it. i hummed it and sang the little bit i had heard for months, i am so unbelievably happy it's out now :')
Everything of you is so lullaby-ie and half-disney I love this
everything about this is just utterly exceptional... and that range.... crying through this one
this song in particular feels very musical theatre and I mean that in the best way possible. Something about the way she performs it, the smoke, the intensely personal lyrics without details, it all feels like shes just been left alone on stage by another character. And she sings this and leaves the stage. On my own, burn, the end of our love is god even. It's some sort of horrific magic to pour the emotion out through such a beautiful vessel, throughout the whole album in the music and in the cinematography. It's been six years since I found dodie; her 2018 concert at Shepards bush was my first ever concert :D I'm now 19 and I'm forever grateful to continue to grow up with her music. Jack, Sophie and Ciaran are also to be commended for their roles in this art. Seeing their names on credits is always a sign that whatever project it is will be incredibly executed, no matter the genre, and like dodie I have had the pleasure of running into all of them on youtube many times over the years. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you have given us. xxx
pov your car is burning from the inside but you stay in for the aesthetic
As somebody who has battled DPDR since I was a child, I think I'm finally found myself a song that gets it. thank you.
THIS, this song gives me goosebumps every single time! the eye contact is gripping and the change of pace partway through the song feels so intriguing, I'm obsessed with it 100%
i've watched this way too many times and still get literal goose bumps by her eyes at "i'd do any fucking thing"
You know when a song is just so powerful you feel entranced and you can't look away and when it's over you just sit in shock and then start crying? Wow, Dodie... I love your music so much 😭
dodie's music is so incredible because it cradles you gently through her emotions. It sounds so calm and gentle but the words just start to punch your heart. The song is the prime example of her skill because she can make you feel so much anger and bitterness without outright yelling. She keeps her voice gentle and almost at a whisper. I'm feeling so much and I can't think anymore, this album is incredible.
Dodie.... this is my favorite song that I have ever heard, and truly think it is the best song ever made. My god.
i WAS FREAKING OUT THIS ENTIRE VIDEO.This song is so moving. She put everything into this song and I feel it. Absolutly amazing!!
dodie would be sO GOOD at writing songs for a musical - her music and lyrics always have a very strong narrative and i can totally picture this as a scene in a musical!!!!!
This song feels like its been around forever, so full of feeling and the lyrics cut to a part of my heart i didnt even know existed. Love this dodie, so proud of you ♡
When & Before the line are both really amazing songs surrounding her depersonalization
She says:
"I am lying when I say it's time to let her float away"
In 'When' she accepts that she has to 'let her float away' and tells herself she'll never be 16 again. She has talked about making peace with her condition
But she is still angry, "No, I'm still clawing for the strings, oh I'd do any fucking thing" to go back. She knows she has to "close the door," she cannot go back. She then repeats what she says in when. "I'll have to take what I can get" Defeated. 'When' kinda looks to the future/present of her life "itll be over and I'll still be asking when" 'Before the line' looks back to "Once I saw a fire" a passion for life that was taken away. She allows herself to express the anger about it instead of just the sadness and longing she expresses in 'when'. 'Before the line' has a crack of just desperately clawing for things to go back to before the line but she then comes back down to the reality that they never will
I think it's really cool how the dresses from rainbow and special girl are in the car with her. Maybe it could refer to some of the fire/passion that she let go? She couldn't really enjoy rainbow or special girl to their fullest because of all of the dissociative smoke? Either way it's a really cool detail
My favorite new song on the album. Beautiful. (Also, calming and grounding when my own brain feels untethered.)
Your music is a window into another existence for me. I've never experienced these emotions BUT via your work I have felt some part of them. Thank you.
OH MY GID SHE LOOKS SO GOOD
this one really hurts but having a song that describes this feeling so well is almost therapeutic. a good let it all out song
I just love this comment section full of people's interpretations of the song and the album, really insightful to read it all
;I greet the sun and ask if I already died;
sigh
That hit me so hard
A list of (almost) every lyrical/musical reference in Before the Line:
Air So Sweet - this song ends on the same note used as the drone throughout Air So Sweet (and I’m pretty sure Before the Line also uses it as a drone throughout the whole thing, but I’m not entirely sure since it’s hard to hear at certain parts).
Hate Myself - "once I saw fire" might be a lyrical reference to "But how can you not hear the whole conversation I have sitting still with a brain on fire"
I Kissed Someone (It Wasn’t You) - "Can't feel a single one" is a reference to the line "I didn't feel a single thing", and "when can I come home?" is similar to "I just want to go home"
Cool Girl - idk
Special Girl - “It’s not my fault, for I was promised just the same” is a reference to the first line of Special Girl (“It’s not my fault / I was raised by open mouths and tears eyes”)
Rainbow - “Too much to miss it anymore” is possibly a reference to “I’d like to think you’d miss it / Cause so would I” in Rainbow
? - idk yet
Four Tequilas Down - idk
. - idk yet
Sorry - idk
When - “I’ll have I take what I can get” is a direct reference to the line “I’ll take what I can get” in When, and "I know I loved the world" is sort of a rewritten version of the line "They tell me I loved"
Guiltless - someone in another comment mentioned the percussion sounds like knocking on a door, a reference to the line “you opened a door that a kid shouldn’t walk through”. There’s also a mention to a door in Before the Line (“I know I’ll have to close that door”) but I have a feeling it’s not referring to the same “door” as in Guiltless. The line "why doesn't it look right?" may also be an indirect reference to the line "is it real?"
Boys Like You - "maybe I am not just a friend" is similar to Cool Girl's "want me more than friend"
Additionally, someone mentioned that the “promise” dodie makes to herself might be the same promise mentioned in Secret for the Mad (“I promise you / It’ll all make sense again”), and the smoke makes it feel similar to Burned Out ("I am burnt out / I smell of smoke"). Another thing I'm noticing is a lot of the other songs have references to eyes being closed/not being able to see (Cool Girl - "Rolling your eyes to the backs of your heads", Hate Myself - "Eyes closed isn't helping", Four Tequilas Down - "And tell me did you make your eyes blur?", Guiltless - "But I don't think I'd feel better if I opened your eyes"), which this song also does, in a way.
In general, a lot of these songs have lyrical/thematic similarities, which could be intentional to make the songs feel connected (although it might just be because that's how dodie likes to write), so I love finding all these different connections lol
Let me know if you found anything else, I’d really like to know what you guys thought!
Man this song is focking powerful, so dissapointed and destroyed, yet so strong to never give up
the promise that she made was secret for the mad, right??? damn the emotion and the symbolism in this one is unmatched
There are few songs that give me shivers these days. From 2:00 to the end it was like a constant shiver for me. There is something so true, sad and beautiful about this song and I just am not able to put in in words.
Dodie sadness is a whole genre and I didn’t even know it existed as this big mammoth
and sadness begets more sadness
and created more melancholic art
that feeds into the melancholy of masses
and no emotional state change happens
eventually people begin to believe they will be perpetually sad.
Ya’ll, what’re you doing? Don’t, please.
this song was likely written before the pandemic but bro. the way this makes me feel. I’ve spent a majority of the past year waiting for things to go back to the way they were. I’ve had to (and honestly, we ALL have had to) accept that things will probably never be like they were before. that’s not entirely a bad thing but it still stings. idk I just think this song is a really good representation of how it feels to grapple with living in a situation that has changed every part of me and the world around me
i love the idea of autonomy laced in this album, especially linked with past trauma
I’ve been feeling these kind of emotions for a while now, never put it into words so every time I listen to this I still cry just like the first time.
thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this fkin masterpiece,i'm in awe with tears in my eyes,thank you
wait are the orange and white things in the back of the car the dresses from special girl and air so sweet? the two happiest songs of the album...
I love that Dodie really made the fantasy we all lived as kids looking out rainy bus windows pretending we’re in a music video basically a reality
THIS SONG ENDS WITH THE SAME OPENING SOUND OF AIR SO SWEET
ITS ALL A CYCLE OF HAVING EXPERIENCES AND LEARNING AND GROWING AND LIVING LIFE
Also helps to really tie it together as I listen to the entire thing on repeat yet again lmao
@@katiefreedman3192 YES AND ITS ALSO SYMBOLIZED BY THIS LYRIC VIDEO SERIES
It starts with her entering the car, then going through a whole journey of emotions such as happiness, anger, and pain. And then it ends with her leaving the car, symbolizing her leaving the ride of life AAAAA
If I die today. They can play this at my funeral. If I die in twenty years, I doubt I’ll have heard a song that speaks to me as much as this.
all of these are so fucking good i am not coping
Wow-what a masterpiece. Thanks for putting music and visuals to this feeling Dodie and Jack! After this video, I'm thinking more about the "I made a promise but I break it every day" line. Some promises have to be broken. You are all so loved, your future is brighter than you can imagine. If breaking a promise is what it takes to get you through the day, it's worth it.
I usually don't listen to much music but I have a design project where I have to design a concert poster for an artist of my choosing in the style of 1960's psychedelic posters, I chose dodie since she is my best bro's favorite artist. My friend recommended some songs to give me a feel for her music and overall vibe, now I might end up listening to more.
AHHH THIS IS THAT ONE INSTAGRAM POST that i saved and kept on going back to it thinking you wont release it..... i love it its beautiful thank you so much dodie. thank you for this
This song is so fucking raw its hits me hard and I love it so much
some of my favourite lyrics from dodie everrrrr this is so poetic and beautiful and heartwrenching
"I'll have to take what I can get" breaks me and the feeling of resignation in the song during this lyric scares me so so much. The whole thing is so emotional and visceral and Dodie portrayed it perfectly.
These videos really bring the songs to life!
This is so good. Haven't seen talent like this in a long time!
the pure creative talent of all these videos :')))) this is my fav song i think
I'm kind of going through a hard time and came to realize that this song is scary relatable.
All the sudden crescendos and background ambience vocals add to the anxiety I've experienced
The chords have the broken maturity
Emmaculate ma'am
dodie and jack you've done an amazing job - beautiful songs, beautiful videos. i've cried so much, my chest is aching from the way the visuals capture the feeling of the music and lyrics. the car concept is brilliant, i'd love to hear more behind the creative decision for this. dodie your acting is wonderful, your facial expressions?? wow! just SO so good and well worth the wait
thank you for creating such amazing content
I'm just sitting here crying over how good this album is.
this song is such an intense release if anger and emotions, HAUNTING!!!!!!!!
2:05-2:09 the strings in this part absolutely send chills down my back and make my brain feel tingly. Absolutely killer dodie!!!
i cant stop listening to this one :(
no song has ever felt so touching i’m thankful every day that this beautiful song exists dodie has such an intricate and emotional way of capturing such heartbreaking moments or feelings whenever i feel like my mouth can’t explain what my heart is shouting i’m amazed and inspired that dodie can and has expressed such complicated ideas
shaking expressions, strooong voice, the strumming of the strings and the drums, the visuals and the fog - soo good!
hauntingly beautiful