Ooh Na Na Na Na, Off She Goes
30(+1) Day Song Challenge Day 5: “A Song That Needs to Be Played Loud”
Let’s be honest. There will always be songs you can’t listen to without turning the volume up. If you’re a character in a movie, you’d probably blurt out, “THIS IS MY SONG!” in an obnoxiously loud voice. Or you probably do that in real life, too? Hey, that’s fine. I won’t judge. If there was an interesting conversation when the song’s playing, you’d rather listen to this song rather than pay any attention whatsoever to the conversation. If there was even any slight interruption when your favorite part comes or if you just feel like you weren’t listening properly, you’d replay the whole song from the start. The reason you like this song doesn’t even have to be anything specific. It could be the significant lyrics, the melody, or the whole song in general. If anything, you probably like every aspect of the song. And that’s my case, and I’m in love with this one song.
I was listening to some songs on Spotify until I came across Bad Sun’s Off She Goes. I was already caught by this song when I heard the intro. I love how the chords of the intro go from a simple major to an augmented to a 6th, back to the augmented, and end with the simple major. It has this repetitive pattern to all the chords, but the beginning note changes half a step every time. If you don’t get what I’m saying, I’m so sorry. But you might catch it by hearing the song yourself. So, yes, to put it simply, this song has a very catchy intro.
The song starts with the guitar melody alone, just enough to make you interested. Then, everything else joins in one by one. First was the vocals, singing one verse with the guitar. It was just the two of them, which unironically complements the lyrics well. It goes like this:
Where, where do you go when the light leaves your eyes?
And you’re just out of reach like a tree bound kite
What’s on your mind as you’re staring behind?
And I’m on my own in your arms tonight
Ooh na na na na, off she goes
As Christo Bowman sings, “Ooh,” I got chills down my spine. The falsetto really suits the song and the emotions so well. The rising emotion was accompanied by the bass playing 8th notes continuously for eight bars and simple drums. The rising emotion was then released for a while with the sweet chorus with a lot of falsetto. It’s not just how the vocals, guitar, bass, and drum bends with each other; the lyrics also really hit you.
When you can’t believe in yourself
All you hear is anyone else
And if you’d just believe in yourself
We can tune out everyone else
Right after Bowman sings, “we can tune out everyone else,” the music starts to get louder. The sound of the drums gets a lot heavier, and it really pumps your spirits up. The music really takes you up real high. Even the lyrics say so.
Feel the earth underneath
Snatch a star, you can reach
Feel the earth leave your feet
We can glide, don’t need streets
What’s really interesting about this song is how the music and the story really complement each other so well. All the while being a really catchy tune as well. I even really love the layered vocals in this song. It was done really well and completes the whole vibe. Every tiny detail completes the story, and honestly, this is a story worth listening to over and over again.
Personally, this song has become one of the songs I listen to whenever. I listen to it when I’m happy, and I can enjoy the way it sounds. I listen to it when I’m feeling down and in need of a reminder to believe in myself a little more. I listen to reminisce the times I was feeling insignificant, but I kept on going anyway until today. It’s a great story, and it really tells you that when you’re alone in your thoughts, the people closest to you can also feel it. They know how you’re down in the dumps, and it makes them feel alone, too. Well, that description reminds me of The Academic’s I Feel It Too, but that’s a song for another day.
To conclude today’s story, as I’ve said before from the intro, there’s always that one song you’d turn up as loud as you can. And my song choice just describes itself in the lyrics already. As Bowman sings, —
— “We can tune out everyone else, that’s alright.” (No, but seriously, stop being so caught up in what everyone else is saying, learn to choose wisely on what we listen to).
— Nathania S. Alexandra, 2021
