Monday, October 15, 2007

Chemicals React -- Aly & AJ



Lyrics:

You make me feel out of my element
like I'm walkin' on broken glass
like my worlds spinnin' in slow motion
and you're movin' too fast

were you right, was I wrong
were you weak, was I strong, yeah
both of us broken
caught in the moment
we lived and we loved
and we hurt and we joked, yeah
but the planets all aligned
when you looked into my eyes
and just like that
the chemicals react
the chemicals react

you make me feel out of my element
like I'm drifting out to the sea
like the tides pullin' me in deeper
makin' it harder to breathe

we cannot deny, how we feel inside
we cannot deny

were you right, was I wrong
were you weak, was I strong, yeah
both of us broken
caught in the moment
we lived and we loved
and we hurt and we joked, yeah
but the planets all aligned
when you looked into my eyes
and just like that
the chemicals react
the chemicals react

kaleidoscope of colors
turning hopes on fire, sun is burning
shining down on both of us
don't let us lose it (don't let us lose it...)

were you right, was I wrong
were you weak, was I strong, yeah
both of us broken
caught in the moment
we lived and we loved
and we hurt and we joked, yeah

we lived
we loved
we hurt
we joked
we're right
we're wrong
we're weak
we're strong
we lived to love

but the planets all aligned
when you looked into my eyes
and just like that
watch the chemicals react
and just like that
the chemicals react
(the chemicals react)


This song has connections to two of Catullus' poems: Carmen 51 and Carmen 5.

Carmen 51 is the first poem that Catullus writes about Lesbia. In this poem, Catullus describes the physical symptoms that he feels when he stares at Lesbia. In lines 6-12, Catullus writes: "nam simul te, Lesbia, aspexi, nihil est super mi . Lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artus flamma demanant, sonitu suopte tintinant aures, gemina teguntur lumina nocte." These lines are translated: "For just as I looked at you, Lesbia, nothing of my voice remained in my mouth. But my tongue is numb, a thin flame runs down under my limb, my ears ring with their own sound, my eyes are covered by a twin night." The song is similar to the poem in the fact that the lyrics also mention symptoms that a lover makes a person feel: "You make me feel out of my element like I'm walkin' on broken glass, like my worlds spinnin' in slow motion, and you're movin' too fast," "you make me feel out of my element like I'm drifting out to the sea, like the tides pullin' me in deeper, makin' it harder to breathe," and "but the planets all aligned when you looked into my eyes, and just like that, the chemicals react."

In Carmen 5, Catullus tells Lesbia that they should live and love without caring about how others view their relationship because life is too short. He then asks for thousands of kisses. In lines 1-6, Catullus writes: "Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus, rumoresque senum severiorum omnes unius aestimemus assis! Soles occidere et redire possunt; nobis, cum semel occidit brevix lux, nox est perpetua una dormienda." These lines are translated: "Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love, let us consider the rumors of rather severe old men to be worth just a penny! Stars are able to set and return; for us, once the brief light sets, a perpetual night must be slept." The song is similar to the poem in the fact that the lyrics mention the same idea: "were you right, was I wrong, were you weak, was I strong, yeah, both of us broken, caught in the moment we lived and we loved and we hurt and we joked, yeah." The one difference is that while Catullus suggests to Lesbia in the poem, the lovers in the song already lived life caught in the moment and loved to the fullest. While they were hurt and broken, at the same time, they were able to joke and overcome it all.

The similarities between Catullus' poems and the song makes me think upon the idea that love is truly universal. Even in times of ancient Rome and in modern times, people in love experience similar symptoms and feel similar emotions. Just like in the lyrics of the song, people cannot deny what they feel inside when it comes to love.

1 comment:

Bob Patrick said...

Really nice giving us the lyrics. Thanks, Jane.
Mr. P