Bruno Mars: The Other Side ft. Cee Lo Green & B.o.B
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CacEtxdNQM
Songwriters: Callaway, Thomas Decarlo; Hernandez, Peter Gene; Lawrence, Philip Martin; Levine, Ari; Lopez, Joshua; Rastegar, Kaveh; Ruzumna, Jeremy; Simmons, Bobby Ray; Stumph, Patrick Martin; Wicks, John Meredith;
Truth of the matter is I'm complicated
You're as straight as they come
You go 'bout your day baby
while I hide from the sun
It's better if you don't understand
Cause you wont know what it's like
Til you try
(Chorus) You know I've been waiting on the other side
and you, all you gotta do is cross the line
I could wait a whole life time
but you just gotta decide
You know I I've been waiting on the other, waiting on the other side
We would live forever
Who could ask for more
You could die if you wanted
But baby what for
It's better if you don't understand
And you won't know what it's like
Til you try
(Chorus)
If they say life's a dream call this insomnia
Cause this ain't Wonderland it damn sure ain't Narnia
And once you cross the line you can't change your mind Yeah I'm a monster but I'm no Frankenstein
And quite frankly I’ve been feeling insane in between my eyes
I really cant explain what I feel inside
If you knew what I was you's would run and hide
Many have tried to go into the night cross over the line and come back alive But that's the price we pay when we living on the other side
(Chorus)
It's better if you don't understand
It's better if you don't understand
It's better if you don't understand
It's better if you don't understand
It's better if you don't understand
Analysis:
The song and the title itself “The Other Side” reflects the overall of theme of the novella The Heart of Darkness and the main theme that is encountered in Part 3. “The Other Side” the title is obviously referring to a side unknown the to the normal side. The other side of a person can only be found when you encounter it without looking for it. Just like the heart of darkness is something deep inside that can only be found when encountered with darkness. For both the sides in both the situations, you have to peel the layers to bring the side to the surface (like said in The Heart of Darkness).
While reading the lyrics of the song, it kept me pondering over what exactly does this song mean. I felt the song was very ambiguous. That’s the first thing I actually noticed. It’s like first he says “you know I've been waiting on the other side and you, all you gotta do is cross the line ” and then it says “its better you don’t understand” Its so vague to as what he is really trying to say. This factor of the song really reminded me of the book and how it is written. Conrad’s writing is extremely vague and it leaves the reader with his/her own interpretation. However in that we see a constant struggle of saying something and then saying the exact opposite of it, one could say it’s quite contradictory. For example, we know Conrad is trying to exploit the white men at the time of imperialism in Africa. However then why would Conrad subtlety degrade the black men? It’s a question still I haven’t found the answer too. If one thinks about it the chorus of the song is you know I've been waiting on the other side and you, all you gotta do is cross the line ” and usually the chorus is the main part of the song. However the recurring phrase and the ending “its better you don’t understand” is an important part of the song too, but like I said they contradict each other. This also reminds me of the book. The main topic of the book is to exploit the white men, however by the end of it the exploitation is something you would never want to understand. It’s like the book and song were written for a purpose, which in the end was not the real purpose at all. Its like the finding something and realizing it that’s not what you were looking for. The similarity in the book and the song relate to the overall feeling the reader gets after reading or listening to either one.
The first line from the first stanza of this song “truth of the matter is I'm complicated” captures the real essence of Kurtz and Marlow. Somebody who is complicated is someone who is made up of several intertwined parts, which are difficult to decipher. The other side is the side that is “complicated” because it has “crossed the line”. In the book Kurtz never blatantly says he is complicated, but through the eyes of Marlow we are shown that Kurtz (and all those that have been a victim of the “darkness”) are complicated. The truth that this line is referring to is in fact revealed in Part 3 of this novella. Part 3 of the book deals with accepting the fact that the darkness has taken over your weakness and that you have changed. Kurtz accepted that fact long ago that’s why he was not his “original self” anymore. But through Marlow’s eyes we encounter this concept in the third part. So this song begins with the fact that the person has accepted he is complicated. The perspective of this song then thus means that this somebody has gone through a struggle and at the end has come to this conclusion; which is the song. Just like that the book is the conclusion to which Marlow has come to after his journey. Both their conclusions have many similarities.
The chorus of this song has two concepts that relate to The Heart of Darkness. While listening to this part of the song it was like the devil was trying to provoke you. Its like the evil is pulling you the darkness. The fact that lyrics used the other side and cross the line instantly made me think of something infamous. You only cross the line when you take a risk or when you act infamously.
You know I've been waiting on the other side
and you, all you gotta do is cross the line
I could wait a whole life time
but you just gotta decide
You know I I've been waiting on the other, waiting on the other side
This chorus constantly reminds me of the book; its like to encounter the darkness one has to go to Africa. Africa is the infamous soul; it’s the “heart of darkness” as portrayed by the book. Marlow keeps referring to the surroundings as ugly or unearthly and they become the cause of Kurtz being the way he is. Like its said in the song you have to cross the line which like I said could mean take a risk and in the book the white man (according to them) took a risk to go out and cross the line just to save the Africans because it was their duty. And there is another phrase in the song that relates to what Marlow is trying to tell the men on board.
And you won't know what it's like
Til you try
These two lines in the song portray that you wont understand the other side or the complicated side, until and unless you crossed the line. These two lines I think are main lines. In any aspect of life, you can’t know until you’ve been there. Its like the saying you have to been in his shoes to understand his decisions. This is a major concept of this novella that keeps recurring. It’s the explanation that Marlow gives to justify Kurtz actions. Marlow keeps saying that darkness exists in all of us, we all are the same. We have to encounter the darkness in order to rationalize with Kurtz behavior. In the book Marlow once tells the men on board not to laugh at what he says, because they do not know what the darkness truly is, if they did they would not be laughing. These two lines I think are the reason why the book was written in the first place. It’s simple a justification to an opinion that has been formulated over the years.
A very major aspect of the third part of this book is death. In the third stanza he says “you could die if you wanted But baby what for
” In the song these lines refer to an option that could be a reaction to being so complicated or not understanding. I think it is something Marlow would have said to Kurtz if he had known he was going to die. Its like Marlow would question why Kurtz would kill himself, although he knows the reasons and understands, he still does not agree.
The fifth and sixth stanza of the song highlights the main concepts of the book. When he says “If they say life's a dream call this insomnia” it suggest that the “life which is a dream” is so dreadful that he would rather not sleep. This relates to Kurtz life. Marlow illustrates Kurtz “life” so ugly (for whatever reason) that Kurtz has now become a victim of insomnia. Also in the fifth and sixth stanza the song develops the idea of the other side being “a monster” however one that is “no Frankenstein”. When someone thinks of a monster we instantly think of Frankenstein, that’s our normal view. This just suggests that the other side is evil however not the “normal” evil that has been labeled. It’s like when Marlow is talking about not being inhumane. He does not deny not being evil, but he portrays the evil way in a way that is justified. In the song and the book they justify it by saying you cant say we are evil because you do know what it is until you have encountered it. The song also says that being so complicated is very hard to explain, because its like insanity. The phrase “I really cant explain what I feel inside” is exactly what Marlow was trying to explain. The feeling of the encountering the darkness is one that nobody can explain until and unless you encounter it yourself. The feeling is unexplainable and we can see that by looking at Kurtz. His actions are a reaction to the feelings, however he cannot explain. Only Marlow can understand him and that is only because he went through the same thing. The concept of not knowing until you’ve been through the same thing comes in play again in this concept.
Also another thing that is shown in the fifth and sixth stanza is that the change or the crossing over is permanent. One cannot cross back over to where they have started because once you cross the line you are forever changed. There are two lines that portray this.
“And once you cross the line you can't change your mind”
“Many have tried to go into the night cross over the line and come back alive But that's the price we pay when we living on the other side”
These both show that the other side in the song cannot be undone. That is why the person telling the other person to cross the line because he cannot cross back over. Those who think that they can cross back over are mere fools. When I first read words that’s “the price we pay” the first thing that came into my mind was The White Mans Burden. The price in Conrad’s book would be the darkness you encounter living in Africa. And the only reason it is a “price” is because the white men take it upon themselves to influence the ones as their “goodness”. Its just trying to show the deeds the commit in a white light. But these lines also refer to Kurtz and how he could never be his “original self”. He paid the price of losing himself by going to Africa. Time and time again Marlow trys to suggest that once the darkness captures your heart then it is forever changed.
The phrase “its better you don’t understand” is repeated in the song multiple times and the song ends with it. Thus emphasizing on this phrase over and over again in this song exhibits the significance of this phrase. The phrase is quite simple and straight. The person is trying to tell the listener to be aware of “crossing the line”. The other side is not something you want and that’s why it is better that one should stay away from it. This phrase constantly reminded me of two instances. Once when Marlow was telling us that nobody can understand the darkness until the encounter it, because they have never encountered the other side (crossed the line).
“He had taken a high seat amongst the devils of the land-I mean literally. You cant understand. How could you? With solid pavement under your feet…”
He talks about how they have all the things one needs (solid pavement etc), so how would they know when the earth has not been “unearthly” to them. I use the word unearthly because that is the word used in book when referring to the surroundings. The other instance that reminded me of the phrase was the ending of the novella. It was when Marlow lied to Kurtz finance about what his last words.
“Hadnt he said he wanted only justice. But I couldn’t. I could not tell her. It would have been to dark – too dark altogether . . . .”
His last words were “horror, horror, horror” But Marlow lied to her and told her it was her name that he said before he died. If we think about it , he was probably thinking in his head this same phrase “its better if you don’t understand”. It’s like he was hiding the truth not because it was so horrible but because he does not want to be the one to exploit Kurtz. Marlow I think him self did not want to understand the painful truth. He thought it is better if the topic is left alone. The ending of the song and book are quite similar. (As vague as the beginning and end might me) The ending “its better you don’t understand” truly shows us in both aspects the book and the song that the struggle is better if not understand. In a way it is trying to save us from the pain that could be inflicted if truly understood.
This song in many ways relates to the book especially part 3. Just like the book this song could be seen like Marlow singing it in reference to all that Kurtz was. It is in many ways the same story just told in a different way this time.
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