Glass Animals is a band known for their eccentric yet meaningful lyrics as well as their experimental instrumentals. Their most recent album, How to be a Human Being, is especially interesting as each song is based off a persona which in turn was based off real stories told to the band by fans while on tour. Some of the songs are straightforward yet catchy, while others are highly complex and truly tell the story through poetry. One such song is the 8th track "The Other Side of Paradise". It tells the story of a woman whose lover left her to try and get famous and who, despite trying to move on, ends up killing herself. The use of alliteration, depersonalization, and the double meaning of the chorus are just a few examples of how the story is conveyed poetically.
Uses of alliteration are littered throughout the song. Of course, these make for a catchy and memorable song, but they also add to the poetic nature of the piece. The repeated sounds almost make for a mocking tone - the speaker is bitter or in disbelief (or both) about the fame and luxury her ex-lover claims to be living in. She emphasizes details like the "sunswept poolside" and the "jumbo jewelry" because she thinks they're laughable but is also jealous of them. She compensates for her anger and jealousy by insulting his dream as an alliterative "pappy pipe dream". The chorus as well opens with the iconic line, "Bye-bye baby blue". The b's, like the other letter alliterations, create a kind of mocking tone as the speaker as comments on the destruction of her lover's innocence as he moves onto a life of fame. It also ironically sounds childish despite bidding goodbye to childhood. The mocking and childish tones that alliteration creates throughout the song help to identify the feelings the speaker has towards her ex-lover.
Depersonalization also plays a large role in the poeticism of the song. The speaker continually refers to herself in the third person with lines such as "his lady/ ... his new baby" and "That girl is gone". She does not truly see herself as the girl living in NOLA with a new lover, she is living in a shell of herself and remains caught up on her life with her ex-lover. In the bridge, as she reaches the peak of her desperation and presumably kills herself, the ambiguity of "the bullet hit but maybe not" demonstrates how even in this intense moment she is still outside herself, focusing more on her past love than the present. Finally, the repeated line "My body's looking wrong" - specifically the word 'looking', rather than 'feeling' - emphasizes how far outside of herself the speaker truly is.
The chorus is easily the richest part of the song, with many wonderfully figurative lines which I could talk about for days. However, I'm going to focus on the double-meaning of the chorus which becomes apparent over the course of the song. At first, the listener thinks that "I wish you could see the wicked truth / Caught up in a rush its killing you" refers to the speakers thoughts about her ex-lover's fame obsession, and is a warning that his plans will most likely amount to nothing and he will spiral into nothing like most failed celebrities. When she comments, "I settle for a ghost", the reader interprets this as her settling for the memory of her time with him. However, after hearing the bridge and seeing the drastic mindset the narrator is in the chorus takes on a second meaning. It is as much a warning to the singer herself as it is to her lover. She cannot see the truth that he has truly moved on and the 'rush' of trying to get him back literally kills her; the 'ghost' which she settles for is the ghost of the girl she was before he left her.
"The Other Side of Paradise" by Glass Animals is an incredibly interesting and poetic song. Alliteration, depersonalization, and double meaning of the chorus are just a few of the plethora of poetic devices and lines within the song which detail the journey the singer goes on after losing her lover to the promise of fame. Aside from the amazing lyricism, the instrumentals and backup vocals add a layer of funky groove to the song which make it a true hit on all levels. If you haven't already, give it a listen.
I was really interested to read your analysis of the double meanings found in the chorus, especially once you take into consideration the entire song. I never really saw the lyrics as being a warning for both the singer and her ex, but your analysis definitely opened my mind to this!
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