What Disney World Would Sound Like

I bet if I asked a hundred music listeners if they listen or would listen to music in other languages, the majority would say “no.” I bet if I followed that question up with a why, the majority would say, “What’s the point! If we can’t understand the message of the song or even a lyric for that matter, then what’s the freaking point?”

I am fairly certain that this would be a typical response seeing as how I, a music lover had this exact opinion about non-English music. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon the single “Go Do’ by Iceland artist, Jonsi, that my whole “non-English music isn’t for me” attitude was thrown out the window.  Best known for mixing Icelandic and English languages together, I was barely able to interpret a lyric in this song. What I did understand though was the music.

This song forces you to open your eyes to the sounds of the instruments and how they can influence you and speak to you just as much as words can.

It’s no more than 0:01 second in to the song that our ears are taken captive by the rippling echoes of Jonsi’s voice along with the foreign whistles of the flute. It is these initial fairytale like sounds that make our minds escape into what seems like an alternate fantastical world.

Then, at the 0:17 mark, we are unexpectedly jolted with the kick drum beat, meshing in perfectly with the flute to create a sparkling background melody. And together, they prepare us for the official introduction of Jonsi’s electronic yet oh so graceful vocals.

Even though I can only make out an English word here and there (due to his falsetto), it is actually the music that allows me to gain an understanding of the song. We hear it in the first chorus at 0:44, when the drumbeat comes to a halt and Jonsi belts out one solid lyric that (for the first time) isn’t hidden behind the various instruments strumming in unison.  The drum then kicks back putting reinforcement on the words he’s repeating. And, it’s with the incessant birdcall sounds along with the hum of the strings, horns, flutes and piano that produces and projects this feeling of optimism. This feeling is then reiterated when we hear the only recognizable (and what seems to be the most important) English lyric of the song:

            “We should always know that we can do anything.”

It is when we reach the 1:27 mark that every instrument is playing wildly behind his falsetto and we are fully distracted by the fact that we haven’t been able to interpret a word since the first chorus. Rather, we have disappeared in the experience that the music is giving us, making it seem bigger and more significant than any of the lyrics. 

This is only enhanced at 1:53; whenever I hear this part of the song, I find my eyes shutting on their own, which triggers my mind to lose itself in this psychedelic, wonderlandish melody. It’s specifically at 1:53, 2:10, and 2:20, when we hear the quick patter on the drums’ cymbals that our bodies feel as though an electric charge is rushing through them.

You stay lost in this majestical state, and from 2:55-3:27 it feels as if these animated music notes combined with his voice have sedated you completely…almost to the point that you think the Mad Hatter (Alice in Wonderland reference) is going to appear right in front of you. But it’s during this musical interlude that we truly internalize the music and allow these uplifting sounds to affect our mood. We react positively to this song by the way our bodies are fully relaxed, swaying back and forth to this Disneyland type beat.

We are then brought back to the final chorus where Jonsi croons for the last time:

            “We should always know that we can do anything.”

As the final note gets softer and lighter…we slowly fade out of our enchanted, blissful state.

So, how has this song changed my life?

Ok, well it turns out that when I searched for the lyrics of this particular song… most were actually in English. You must now be wondering why I even continued to write this blog post. I wondered the same thing until I realized that even though lyrics were in English, I couldn’t make sense of the words…don’t think that you can because you won’t be able to. So, Icelandic or English…it wouldn’t have mattered what language it was in because it was the actual music and the sound of his voice that presented the message. This song teaches you to appreciate the fact that not every song is about the words but about the experience and the feeling you take away from the song as a whole.

Bottom Line:

1. For all those haters of foreign music (or of music that sounds foreign but isn’t)… well then you’re missing out.
2. Take a listen to Carla Bruni’s “Quelqu’un Ma Dit.” Very worth it.
3. You may be wondering where it is in this song that you will find the 'orgasm'...to me, the whole song is a big freaking orgasm. So enjoy that.

Oh and 4, listen to this song…it’ll change your life.