"Opinions" is probably my favorite song on the album. The soaring strings, the seventh chords, the subtle asymmetry between the instruments, the sprinkle of dissonance...it's the song I am most proud of. It also touches on one of the biggest experiences I've dealt with these last few years: dealing with people's opinions of me and my choices. With being on the brink of adulthood, within sight of college, career, and becoming a distinct and independent individual, people having opinions about it all is inevitable! This was particularly inevitable for me. I contradict many stereotypes and expectations, and that doesn't come with a seal of approval from everyone. It can be a lot to deal with, but this song really summarizes everything for me. Hopefully, it'll be a source of comfort for you all as well. We all deal with unwarranted opinions, so why not write a song about it?! :)
Verse 1:
I try to find the differences, the differences between each day
Most of them come from the things each person has to say
It makes the truth seem so far away
Meaning: The first and second line reference how all the different opinions eventually become the only thing that stands out as differences between each day amongst the monotony of everyday life. The "truth" I talk about here is the answer to how I should live my life. With hearing all the different opinions, or people's personal "answers", it makes the actual answer and "truth" feel farther and farther away, and in some ways intangible.
Pre-Chorus:
And where, where are you now?
Getting lost in the words that aren’t even yours?
Aren’t even yours...
Meaning:
The thing is, these opinions, these words, they aren't my thoughts. They aren't my words. Yet I'm getting lost amongst all these opinions and words. I am getting lost in something I didn't even create. Therefore, there is a sense of anger stemming from a lack of control.
Chorus:
And it works
When you count down all the opinions you know
You just end up feeling more alone
I just want my wrong and right
so I can just feel at peace tonight
And it hurts
When you count down all the people you know
And just end up feeling more alone
I just want someone on my side
You know you know you know
Meaning:
Hearing all these disagreements about who you should become eventually makes you feel alone, which I explain in the first three lines. Counting "all the opinions you know" just strongly emphasizes that. Like I mentioned in Verse 1, I want that answer for how I should and shouldn't live my life; I want to know which opinion is correct. Essentially, I want my "wrong and right", so I can feel at peace, which I obviously don't feel being at the center of all the opinions. In Lines 6-10, I'd like to bring up a thought that may help you understand those lyrics a bit more. Of your friends today, how many would you honestly be close with 5 years from now? How about 10? 15 years? How about even 20 years? Probably not that many, right? Let's think about the concept of family. How much of your extended family do you actually know really well? For many, it's probably not a lot. For me, I realized there was such a small amount of people in my life that I really truly knew, and who knew me really well too. In fact, less than I could count on my two hands. That, to be honest, made me feel pretty alone. It made dealing with opinions more difficult. Those last two lines, to be frank, I added because they sounded great musically and were coherent with the overall message.
Verse 2:
The world asks me questions, questions every day
But most times it never listens to the answers that I say
Which makes me feel so far away...
Meaning:
Storytime! I was once talking to this person who had a lot of questions about me being Indian. I tried to deal with the questions, and the ignorance, as much as I could. Because our conversation brought us there, I explained how Indians immigrate and live across the globe today, in the US, UK, Australia, Singapore, etc. I tried to tell her how the Indian community is impacted by this, as they are separated from culture and family in India, and how that adds to the plight of immigrants. She completely didn't even listen to the personal insight I had being an Indian-American. She started talking about how Americans should take a lesson from Indians and their sense of community and family. It seems like a good point and a compliment to South Asians, but read on! She started talking about how families in India unite through marriage and live together by building onto the existing building to create more space, rather than having the newlywed couple move away. For some reason, some people feel that "ethnic" or "exotic" countries are a perfect paradise, totally drawing onto the stereotype of tropical countries that does not factor for the colonialism that severely hurt these places or the sacrifices and difficulties of immigration that separate families and leads to identity crises amongst the American-born children of immigrants. The fact that this individual did not listen to what I had to say, despite asking, and instead used her incorrect knowledge fueled by stereotypes, angered me. While I was talking about my reality of family fragmentation, she was talking about a fantasy of community that just didn't really exist. I've had similar experiences other times. People ask about my music or musical techniques/terms, yet end up feeling their knowledge as a music consumer (which everyone practically is) is better than mine, even though I am a very well-educated musician who has been lucky to work with people highly accomplished in music. The point is that some people ask questions just to ask questions! They don't intend to understand you, or people like you, better through your answers. Many people, in the end, fail to trust information that deviates from the stereotype, or what they already know. My experiences with this just made me feel far away from others, because I felt very few people who gave me opinions actually wanted to understand the person they were dishing them too.
After that, I just repeat the Pre-Chorus and Chorus!
I hope you all enjoyed seeing the thought process, emotions, and experiences behind the lyrics to my song "Opinions" which will be releasing on April 19th.
I will be doing this same lyric breakdown for the other two songs on the album!
If you have any questions about the lyrics or would like to share your thoughts, please do!
Thank you all so much for reading, and thank you for all your continuous support and excitement for the album. It truly means so much to me!
Have a great day!
-Akhilaa L. <3