Day 9 - Pitchfork
- Wing Chun Vampire
- Jul 15, 2024
- 3 min read
HERE GOES ANOTHER LYRICS ANALYSIS!!
Today's song is Pitchfork Kids by AJR!
Here are the lyrics for those who do not know them:
I didn't know her, couldn't hold her, bones didn't settle in
She's gotta have it, gotta have it oh with her hipster friends
Ooh, ooh, she's the rough and the rowdiest kid
Ooh, ooh, and there's more where she lives
And why should I spend time running for my life?
And when the skies are open, we'll still be singing this
I know they're coming for me, we're not the pitchfork kids
Ooh, ooh, it's the loneliest life that we live
Ooh, ooh, we're not running with the pitchfork kids
The moon is upon us, gaining on us
She's crossed there, to stay
We had to part, couldn't break her heart 'cause their blood pumps through her veins
Ooh, ooh, she's the rough and the rowdiest kid
Ooh, ooh, and there's more where she lives
And why should I spend time running for my life?
And when the skies are open, we'll still be singing this
I know they're coming for me, we're not the pitchfork kids
Ooh, ooh, it's the loneliest life that we live
Ooh, ooh, we're not running with the pitchfork kids
Ooh
And why should I spend time running for my life?
And when the skies are open, we'll still be singing this
I know they're coming for me, we're not the pitchfork kids
Ooh, ooh, it's the loneliest life that we live
Ooh, ooh, we're not running with the pitchfork kids
---
Pitchfork kids was written about the website pitchfork.com, who told the band their songs didn't qualify as "indie." The band, however, continued writing the music that they wanted.
The song revolves around themes of individuality. It has deeper subjects of struggling to maintain your personal identity in a world that demands conformity. "Pitchfork kids" refers to the people who blindly follow social expectations and trends with little to no consideration of their individuality. The term also links back to pitchfork.com, using it as an example, almost. pitchfork.com did not accept AJR's music because it didn't fall neatly into the traditional definition of "indie pop." The people like that would be "pitchfork kids"
On the other hand, the girl mentioned in the song and her "hipster friends" show the other hand, the "rough and rowdiest," the kind that reject social conformity. By "I didn't know her, I couldn't hold her, bones didn't settle in," I would suppose it means this girl and her friends, representing individuality, are the kind of people the brothers prefer to be, people being themselves, regardless of the social expectations. "We had to part, couldn't break her heart 'cause their blood pumps through her veins" could mean that at the point in time when the song was written, they found it difficult to be themselves more, to accept non-conformity and be happy, like the girl and her "hipster friends."
The world often acts like "pitchfork kids". Animals, including humans, naturally look for familiarity in things, just like how people often prefer to make friends with people that have a lot in common with them. No, I'm not saying it's unacceptable for people to prefer things they've seen, traditional things, familiar things, and things that fall into the category of "socially acceptable." I too naturally lean towards familiarity. Everyone does.
But sometimes, we neglect that many things that are now deemed "socially acceptable" was once not, and plenty of things we now see as "socially unacceptable" were once perfectly normal. The truth is, trends change, times change, people change, and most of all, society changes all the time. Something considered "normal" today might not be tomorrow. It, in a way, makes all the labels of normalcy meaningless, as the definition of normal changes so often.
AJR's Ordinaryish People also explores similar topics, with meanings of not having to be what other people say you are. "Way back when you weren't anyone" can be interpreted as when people didn't know you, when people didn't have opinions or judgements of you, and in turn, a nobody. I interpret "you gotta be somebody sometimes" to be telling the listener that the meaning of the song, that you don't have to be what other say you are. "Goodbye ordinaryish people/we had quite the run didn't we though?/but you gotta be somebody sometimes." You can stick to being "ordinaryish," letting people slap you with labels, and believing those labels and acting on them for each group of people differently, just to satisfy their assumptions, or you can be you, be more than just what people say you are. Be somebody, as the line says.
So, goodbye ordinaryish people, we're not running with the pitchfork kids.
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