Hello everybody and welcome back to another blog post. Every week I try to come up with an artist and a song ahead of time but sometime during the week I’ll listen to my music and happen to come across another artist that I think would be fun to write about. That’s what happened this week. This weekend I am visiting my in-laws and on the drive down, Tell Me If You Wanna Go Home by Keira Knightley, came up on my phone and I knew instantly that it was going to be my next blog post.
I first discovered this song by watching the movie Begin Again. The movie has an amazing cast including Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, James Cordon, and Hailee Steinfeld. The movie is about Mark Ruffalo’s character Dan Mulligan, who lost his job working for a record label he helped to found. He also struggles with his marriage and his relationship with his teenage daughter. In the movie, Dan meets a young singer songwriter, Gretta, who had just broken up with her boyfriend who was a musician. Throughout the movie Dan and Gretta work together on an album of songs that describe the atmosphere of New York City. The song, Tell Me If You Wanna Go Home, is the climax of their work. The song shows how the artists overcame their struggles by working hard together toward a common goal.
The song starts off with a piano and guitar introduction. As Kiara begins singing it is clear to see how well her voice blends with the instrumentation in the song. I absolutely love the lyrics in this song: “Oh maybe you don`t have to kill so kind. Pretend to ease my mind when baby you won`t. Oh sugar you don`t have to be so sweet I know who you`re going to meet. Don`t say that I don`t.” These lyrics are so great because there is almost a poetic sense to them. The song is commercial and the lyrics are easy to understand, yet the lyrics are so poetic and emotional. The chorus is such a jam! The song really gets the whole band involved with the drum set and the strings. Again the lyrics are just so great. “If you`re taking me home tell me if I`m back on my own giving back a heart that`s on loan. Just tell me if you wanna go home.” Let`s look at the line, “giving back a heart that`s on loan.” To me this line perfectly expresses a feeling that many of us have felt before. Enduring a break up from a relationship can be one of the most difficult things, so it is natural to want to know how the other feels about the relationship up front. Is this going to be a long-term commitment or just a few months?
In the final chorus I love how the cello really comes out and how you can hear more of the backup vocals. It really makes the song sound so full. The song also ends with a strong electric guitar solo. This solo is so impactful in the movie because it is played by Dan`s daughter in the movie. Just knowing the characters and all that they went through makes the song so much more meaningful. The song is already great but the character formation takes it to another level. I really recommend not only this song but the movie as well.
Also a big thank you to my chief editor and husband Jacob. I injured my wrist and he helped type this for me!
Author: Lydia MacDavid
Chief Editor: Jacob Tomeny
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