Ten Undercover But Genius Lyrics

While we can all sing along with our favorite songs, sometimes verbatim, there are a few lyrics that stand out to us so much that we know by heart, and are lyrics that we end up singing the loudest or on the toilet because it's inescapable. Some artists are gifted songwriters and lyricists and are able to evoke incredible and often palpable emotions be it with a single terse verse or with wordy and long collective lines and that diversity is definitely apparent in the following list. So here we go, ten genius undercover lyrics that we can't help but recite:

10.  "Jesus Christ" - Brand New

"Jesus Christ, that's a pretty face"

Upon reading the opening line from what is arguably Brand New's best song, you wouldn't think anything of it in terms of evocation as it simply is a commentary on a person's face. However, when listening you have an entirely different frame of reference aside from its literal meaning. Instead of the indication that singer Jesse Lacey is telling Jesus about a pretty face, the tenderness and vulnerability in his tone is a foreboding feeling of forlorn and detachment from a significant other. This pretty face is an overwhelming vision of grace, optimism and necessity, as the idea of not being with this pretty face would be a plunge into depression and self-loathing.We need that pretty face, that perfect and individual connection that makes life worth it. A beautiful sentiment, which unfortunately comes from a now controversial figure. Go figure.

9. "Happy Birthday, Johnny" - St. Vincent

"If you get free Johnny/I hope you find peace" 

Much like our previous entry, this beautiful St. Vincent effort too plays on the heart strings of subtly and the tone of voice. Throughout Annie Clark's prolific career what has stood out besides her individualism, guitar riffs and artistic nuances has been her songwriting ability. While "Happy Birthday, Johnny" comes as a narrative-based song, and a song that in order to completely digest and appreciate must be heard in full, the final two lines in question still pack quite a punch when heard on its own. Much like the vulnerability felt in "Jesus Christ," the vulnerability in its utterance is just as palpable but for a different cause. Unlike "Jesus Christ," a foreboding sentiment, these final lines, based on the story of Annie's relationship with Johnny, is that of regret and sadness for having felt responsible for ostracizing Johnny from her life and seeing his life spiral into turmoil without any interference. Annie regrets not being there for Johnny when he needed it, and with melancholia she hopes that Johnny finds peace in his life...what's sadder than feeling responsible for a friends self-destruction?  

8. "It Hurts" - Bad Bad Hats

"Want to know just how I feel about you?/I can live without you just don't want to" 

Often times lyrics of grandiose affection, intimacy or love are glamorized and perpetuated without redundancy, and appears without any unique character or signifier consistently as if recycled. "It Hurts," and the stated lyrics specifically, is a song about love that defies the aforementioned tropes and is actually authentic in its approach. The way in which it was written takes focus on a personal handling of romance and the wanting to be with a certain person. More or less we are exposed to lyrics that indicate a need to be with a person or love in general, as if they were the sole source of oxygen; it's gushy and not very truthful. Here, we are exposed to confidence: a person truly in love, but is aware that she can live without this certain someone. "I can live without you just don't want to," is the defining lyric that not only expresses the fact that she doesn't need someone, but sets up the entirety of the song that functions off this authentic approach to love. The authenticity creates a palpable feeling with the listener because it's honest and is actually how she feels, not just a flashy emotion-ridden cover up.

7. "Cornerstone" - Arctic Monkeys

"Yeah I let him go the long way 'round/I smelt your scent on the seatbelt/

And kept my shortcuts to my self" 

Alex Turner and the lads always put forth music that sparks the intrigue of the masses, typically in a fashion that provokes head-banging, chillin', or the use of party favors not melancholia or poignancy. Said to be his favorite song, Alex Turner, through the use of a first-person narrative, tells a story of yearning without the clichés and how some of us seem to manage that pain. The premise of the song is Alex's search for the one he loves, and filling a void that she had created with those others he only wishes were her. The chorus, being the lyrics in question, is the extent of the emptiness without this anonymous love, and the longing connoted by the scent Alex smells on the seatbelt. As previously mentioned, there are many instances of "the need for love" premise, but without subtly or personality that are super redundant and annoying. The inclusion of the chorus adds a personal and more explicit element to his infatuation that is relatable and more easily comprehensive for the listener as the description of prolonging a car ride home, to just smell her scent on a seatbelt is something one can see and is truly romantic without exaggerated implications. 

6. "See You Again" - Tyler, the Creator

"I wonder if you look both ways when you cross my mind" 

Much like Arctic Monkey's "Cornerstone," Tyler's introspective effort in "See You Again" is Tyler's take on his search and need for companionship. Alex Turner's narrative is original and personable to the comprehensive palpability of the yearning for a person, which is seen in "See You Again" in Tyler's own nuanced approach. Tyler is seeing this significant other in his dreams, and feels like he is going to war when he is awake because he's separated from his perfect dream, which makes him wonder if this imaginative figure is crossing his mind on purpose. Is this dream warranted because Tyler wants this person to be here? Is there a reciprocity? There is an ambiguous notion to the lyric which is original in its own right, but also a tie with the expression to look both ways before crossing the street. While this renders Tyler's expression to be something as unoriginal, the truth is that manipulating this expression for it to imply notions of love is very much unique. Does this person know what they're doing when they continually spark my intrigue and need for intimacy? This lyric becomes more than just a yearning figure but an evocation for ambiguity, desire and what dreams may mean. 

5. "Sleep Talk" - Diet Cig

"If I told you I loved you/I don't know who'd it scare away faster" 

From one of the most genuine and sugar-spell-it-out-groups, "Sleep Talk's"closing refrain is Diet Cig's most explicit and genius lyrics so far. It sounds simple, and it is but suggests notions of vulnerability, desire, realization and insecurity revolving around the admittance of love. Declaring one's true feelings for someone is often times a daunting task, as numerous implications arise in a situation: whether that person will feel the same, if the relationship will change for the worse, if the right words can be mustered to represent the right feelings and intentions or even if this feeling is true. Declaring your love is putting everything on the table; you are essentially offering yourself to someone else which is terrifying. A rejection would mean that person thinks you aren't the one for her/him when you assumed that person was perfect for you. Realizing you love someone, particularly if you are someone who has experienced bad relationships or has intimacy issues, is realizing you are now vulnerable and are prone to heartbreak, so admitting that love to a person can scare you shitless and possibly scare that person away from any relationship, romantic or otherwise. Thus, this Alex Luciano lyric serves up a suggestion that is way too real. 

4. "Seashore" - The Regrettes

"You're talking to me like I'm hurt/Well at least I'm not six feet in the dirt/

And I'll still kick your ass even in my skirt" 

The suggestion that women are not as capable as men in regards to anything can quite frankly suck it. "Seashore" is essentially that premise; we're fed up with this misogynistic bullshit and we'll kick your ass if you want to test your "manhood." This idea is conceptualized within the presented lyrics speaking to men who want to question the strength and integrity of a woman against their own insecure ideology. Speaking to women as if they're handicapped, that being a woman is less is a ludicrous notion, but while playing with that idea The Regrettes are saying "well at least I'm not six feet in the dirt." At least they are not out of the picture: dead without anything to contribute or offer in the imprisoning patriarchy. And not only are they still "hanging with the big dogs," but they kick your fucking ass, even in the feminine skirt. What makes this lyric grouping stand out is its badass insinuation, that although we are women in a man's world, we can not only manage but we can be better than you. It's a feminist anthem that epitomizes rock and roll today: women at the wheel. 

3. "You're so Last Summer" - Taking Back Sunday

"You could slit my throat/And with my one last gasping breath/ 

I'd apologize for bleeding on your shirt" 

There is something to be said about confessionalism, which in the vein of music would mean personal songwriting with the purpose of expressing emotion, messages or feelings as if each song were a page of the songwriters diary. There is a palpable sense of authenticity within this medium that permits artists to be themselves and express those emotions without reservation. Taking Back Sunday is a group who explicitly produces such music and has done so without deterring from the confessional formula. "You're so Last Summer" is a track about coming to grips with the realization that if someone doesn't want you, then they're missing out, which thusly takes us through the break up, the introspective confusion/longing/heartbreak (where the lyrics in question stems from), and then to the eventual realization. Within each segment of this song we are given an almost exact sense of how exactly this person feels, and it's complicated. Rife with introspection, there are definitely lyrics to latch on to, but there is no clearer indication of what is being professed than the above lyrics. I cannot think of any set of lyrics that can convey the same sense of longing and indication of love than apologizing for bleeding on the shirt of the person who you love even if they did break your heart. It is such an intimate and vulnerable notion: having your throat slit by the person you love which is clearly indicative of that person intentionally breaking your heart, and the final breath of life, the last words to be said is an apology for inconveniencing that person is representative of just how far a love can go. 

2. "Nameless/Faceless" - Courtney Barnett

"I wanna walk in the park in the dark/Men are scared that women will laugh at them/

I wanna walk in the park in the dark/Women are scared that men will kill them" 

The first single to come from Courtney Barnett's latest Tell Me How You Really Feel, is mainly about internet trolls' and their inclination to scrutinize and attack people from behind their screens, while addressing the true feelings of those trolls and the trolled. The stated lyrics comes from the track's chorus, which happens to be a Margaret Atwood quote, which also carries a feminist attribution in the marginalization of women and the inequality that stems from being threatened. While the premise of the song is of trolls, we can assume the attacking and sociopathic nature of these hidden assailants are referenced by the ambiguity of the dark and the threatening/uncomfortable feeling of walking through the dark alone. However, for men and women, there is a different kind of threat that superimposes such a nightly stroll. For men, the realistic threat is being embarrassed or emasculated, particularly by women, whereas women have the realistic threat of being physically harmed and even killed by men. To divert the direction of internet trolls to a gender issue is not a deterrent of a song or comes off as unwarranted. Because the truth is, genuine threats are different for both men and women in terms of severity and equality. So, while these trolls are attacking people, threats become bifurcated to each gender, piggybacking on the issues of sexism. These threats are not an imagined idea created by feminists to bring men to their knees, rather it is a reality which needs to be talked about. It's shocking but genuinely realistic, and can create a progressive dialogue amongst both men and women, which gives these group of lyrics merit and is quite frankly, genius.

1. "XXX feat. U2" - Kendrick Lamar

"It's nasty when you set us up/Then roll the dice, then bet us up/ 

You overnight the big rifles, then tell Fox to be scared of us/

Gang members or terrorists, et cetera, et cetera" 

I didn't say "XXX" was the best song of 2017 for nothing. While many Kendrick fans consider DAMN to be one of his weaker albums, there is no denying the impact Kendrick has had with DAMN, and the social commentary that it promulgates in relation to his growing melancholy and depression in dealing with racial profiling, stereotypes, and marginalization. It's a slice of Americana that isn't so sweet but can't be kept ignored anymore. Each song acts as an ingredient to an overwhelming push-back, and "XXX" is an explicit description of why there is so much animosity and frustration in black communities. There are a few perspective within the song, and parts that can serve as pinpoints for discussion but the pertinence of the song comes in the final verses of the track where Kendrick is talking to American society directly by getting at the root of the bullshit. These lyrics are an attempt to expose the contradiction of American society, as they are both creating vices and methods to keep black communities from vigor and at the same time creating media and propaganda to label black Americans as "gang members or terrorists." This picture painting fallacy is what Kendrick and black America are not letting society conjure up anymore, for it is this same society who not only marginalize them but seeks to take control and make their judicial implementations rather than promoting benevolence and unity. These lyrics are able to create a dialogue that is controversial, but like "Nameless/Faceless," they need to be discussed, otherwise this turmoil will never subside and marginalized individuals will continue to walk the disadvantageous path set out for them.