Lovesong by beabadoobee

By Kai McKoy

“I didn’t think I’d ever want this yet when we had first met in the fall,” 

Beabadoobee’s soft voice streams through my ears as I imagine myself in a scenario, painting the scene of the story she tells through her song “Love Song.” When listening to music, I usually do something active, whether walking or pacing my room; in any case, I’m never quite sitting still until I come across this particular song. This song has a flow and sound that makes me want to sit down and absorb everything around me, from every note to the catch of her breath. Something about this particular Beabadoobee song instilled something in me that may be far too cliche to say. Maybe I fell in love with the instrumentals, how the notes intermingled, the gentle strumming of the guitar, the airy, dream-like atmosphere of the song, and the layering of the instruments. Maybe I fell in love with her voice, quietly and sweetly singing to the listeners as if they were asleep and she didn’t want to disturb them. Or perhaps I’m fascinated with the tenderness of her lyrics detailing a girl experiencing sudden care for someone so deeply.

Her voice almost melts into the music as she starts to sing,

“I miss the train again. I called your name as if you’d drive it back”,

insinuating that the missed train is a metaphor for the boy she adores. She calls out to him, knowing it makes no difference because he doesn’t notice her attempts to reach out, a missed opportunity. The next lyrics follow suit and say,

“I swear you’re in my head throughout the day. I can say that for a fact,”

touching on her obsessive thoughts about him. As I do, and I’m sure anyone who has experienced a crush on someone, delves into constant questions of “I wonder what they’re up to”, “What are their plans today?” and all the “What-ifs” imaginable if you approached them with your heart on your sleeve. At last, in her repetitive chorus, she closes with a daydream and child-like repetition of  “doo-doo-doos” that add to the dreamy state of the song, showing how immersed she is in her thoughts.

Love Song is a single and one of the songs from her album Beatopia that centers around her experience with romance. A song in which Beabadoobee appears to be writing about a boy she unexpectedly and gradually fell in love with, but it seems her feelings are one-sided. As time passes, her connection and availability to the boy become distant until he is completely gone, and all he remains is a hopeless memory. Instead of expressing disappointment, the song entails acceptance and contentment, even with the boy’s unreciprocating feelings and her not getting a happily ever after. 

Unlike other love songs I’ve listened to, I never cried to this song. Instead, it gives me the opposite effect of an unexplainable relief or a sense of happiness. This song allows me to see a different perspective and reminisce on past “loves” I experienced in my own time. Instead of feeling dejected, you feel glad that you experienced the innocent giddiness of having a crush, and in the end, when you two part ways, you wish them nothing but the best. It’s a song about coming to terms with not being in their life, and for your sake, you are letting them go, allowing their existence to just be a pleasant memory. Near the end, she wraps up this beautiful message as she restates the title of the song through the chorus:

 “I guess that this is just another love song! About you…doo doo dooooo doo doo doo do…”