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Name: Amanda Alcalde

Professor: Holly Batty
Class: English 102
Assignment: Essay 1
September 19, 2019

What Are You Afraid Of?

Have you ever been afraid to tell someone how you truly feel? Or even have you ever

been in a situation where you felt that you could never truly express your feelings? It is said that

songs are the poems from the soul; be it love, betrayal, finding peace, heart break etc. A new

song that came out from Ghastly is a great example of poetry from the present, which is

influenced by more lyrical electronic new wave bass music. The producer also features Mathew

Koma as his singer; the two collaborating artists together allow the listener to dive deep into the

emotions of love, miscommunications and being afraid to let down you guard. This short song is

great example for person to relate and learn that the only way one can truly be accepted is to let

your walls down, no matter what the outcome is. So how does the narrator does the narrator

word his lyrics to get his message across or leave it open for the audience to interpret for

themselves? When dissecting this piece we can truly get an understanding of how this can be

compared to poem by evaluating the imagery, figurative speech, production and the connotation/

denotation of the lyrics. But can we also trust that what the artist is say is clear and concise?

We begin to see the imagery of the lyrics in the first two stanzas, “Could you come a

little closer but still keep your distance/ I've been thinkin' it over and I'm terrified” (Ghastly, 1-

2); it seems that the artist is alluding that he or another individual wants the love or connection

with another person but is afraid that they will be rejected. There’s a question that someone
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could ask themselves, “How can someone be close but still be far away?”, everyone has an idea

of what that could be in their own head, but what would that mean to the narrator? The narrator

also adds in with “You say it in the spaces of our conversation/ And you don't even know how

well I read your mind” (Ghastly. 11-12); but what are spaces in conversation? Is it not

communicating? Is it going days without talking? The narrator leaves this ambiguous but it

makes for an interesting visual that would be viewed in different ways. Someone could argue

that it could be to a loved one or getting back in touch with their selves.

Regarding figurative language, you can observe that there is some hyperbole, metonym

and imagery to one falling and literally falling in love and weighing out wanting to let their

guard down throughout the entire piece. “You say it in the spaces of our conversation/ And you

don't even know how well I read your mind” (Ghastly. 11-12); there is connotation in the wor1d

“spaces” to really emphasize the fact that this person isn’t communicating and is keeping their

worries in their thoughts. In the last two lines, “So what's it gonna take and will your

desperation /Find a little comfort in mine, in mine?” (Ghastly. 13-14) there is also a denotation of

the word “comfort”, simply implying that they both will soon come to a conclusion on what step

they will take together and find solace once all emotions and wants are put on the table. These

evidences show the reader that there is a means to be vulnerable be it figuratively or not. Even

though there is significant evidence that helps prove that it’s referring to communication and

walls, others may argue that it could be about mental health, death, fear of failure etc.; and it’s

because the artists left the lyrics open for interpretation.

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The production of this song along with the lyrics helps tell the story of the anxiety and

wanting of being accepted. With the use of synths, bass and warped melody; you can really

imagine the act of falling with in your own porthole of racing thoughts. It’s almost as if there are

two people talking to each-other and they keep reaching out but still miss each-other. In a sense

it’s like they are behind a double mirror glass trying to talk and behold each-other, but are held

hostage by restraints created only themselves. The calm points within the verses are almost like

coming back down to reason what the person wants to decide upon, while the transition or

chorus gives way to the anxiety that takes over. Melodies such as this one are great for

interpreting the mood, whether it contrasts or compromises with the narration of the story being

told, in this instance it compromises and emphasized feelings being said. A listener can really

sense the energy changing with the nuances used such as crescendos, decrescendos, distortions

and drops to really hear the thought process of the demise of surrendering fully. With all of these

details combined, the haunting nature of the song thoroughly helps the listener visualize or relate

to instances where they’ve missed an opportunity to be honest with themselves or with another

person.

Throughout this piece we have great examples of connotations such as in the first and

second stanza implying that that he is torn and scared of the thought of being vulnerable, even

though he’s run the idea through his head over and over again. In a sense the narrator suggest

that he feels, that he wants the person near him (figuratively or physically which is ambiguous to

us as the listener), but at the same time doesn’t want to let his guard down so he’s at risk of being

vulnerable. In the next two lines, “Are you still afraid or maybe something's missin'? / I want you

to be honest, are you scared of heights?” (Ghastly.3-4) there seems to be a question asked to the

other person if they too are afraid of being completely unguarded and falling completely in love.
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Perhaps he’s thinking about how it feels to pluck up the courage to ask if the other person feels

the same way. As we grow up, people grow cautious of opening up because life experiences have

taught us that we only get hurt in the end. However, even with those experiences we can apply

them to be a learning curb or be more aware of what we are truly looking for. Some denotations

tha//t we see alongside are like these phrases “So what's it gonna take and will your desperation

/Find a little comfort in mine, in mine?” (Ghastly. 13-14). Here’ we can plainly see that the

author is asking that with in his worry and pain that if he confides will that help the other feel

comforted in their own anxieties. Another great instance is from this short stanza “I've been

thinkin' it over and I'm terrified” (Ghastly, 2) it shows how the narrator is literally going over all

the possible out comes from his potential actions and what might come from them.

However can we really trust what the artist is presenting to us? He has given us a lot of

great examples of connotation and denotation but we can also see that there is a heavier weigh in

on the emotion or connotation. The artist is more focused on the nuances through the tone of the

lyrics, then implying each other that indeed they might fall through the lyrics. He makes the

audience infer that these two “lovers” are falling uncomfortably deep into emotions they aren’t

used to feeling or haven’t felt in a long time. But is it something else? Could the fear and feeling

they have be them sharing their own traumas instead of confessing their feelings for one another?

How can we be certain that what the narrator is talking about love instead of the fear of

judgement of sharing their past wounds? We can’t unfortunately because there is a certain level

of ambiguity that won’t allow us to see the overall message from the lyrics of the melody.

Breaking down this modern day piece, we can truly get an understanding of how this can
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be compared to poem by evaluating the imagery, figurative speech and production. Though

music has been around throughout the ages, it has added a vast amount of genres and has

demonstrated the evolution of language. Contemporary songs such as Ghastly’s show raw

emotion and conflictions that can be felt by many listeners; though some parts maybe more

ambiguous, it is meant to be open for interpretation for the audience to be able to create a bond

with this short narrative. With the imagery from a line like “Could you come a little closer but

still keep your distance” (Ghastly.1), the audience member can really give way to imagining

what that riddling statement could mean. Throughout this composition, we have observed that

hyperbole, metonym and imagery are just some of the figurative language used to express one

falling or literally falling in love. Not only from the lyrics but also from the production itself can

we get the full story with acceleration, decrescendos, crescendos, and the use of certain sounds.

By being slightly ambiguous, spectators have the ability to openly interpret and create a

connection with the piece; be it from the narrator’ point of view or experiences of their own.
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Appendix A

We Might Fall- Ghastly

Could you come a little closer but still keep your distance? 1

I've been thinkin' it over and I'm terrified 2

Are you still afraid or maybe something's missin'? 3

I want you to be honest, are you scared of heights? 4

[Chorus]

'Cause while we might fall, we might fall 5

Ooh we might fall, we might fall 6

'Cause while we might fall, we might fall 7

Ooh we might fall, we might fall 8

[Post-Chorus]

We might fall 9
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(We might fall) 10

[Verse 2]

You say it in the spaces of our conversation 11

And you don't even know how well I read your mind 12

So what's it gonna take and will your desperation 13

Find a little comfort in mine, in mine? 14

[Chorus]

'Cause while we might fall, we might fall 15

Ooh we might fall, we might fall 16

'Cause while we might fall, we might fall 17

Ooh we might fall, we might fall 18

[Post-Chorus]

We might fall 19

(We might fall) 20

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Works Cited

Ghastly. We Might Fall. Ghastly, 2017. Spotify.

https://open.spotify.com/album/6eSY84jxxrBOTYOrBNwe5G?si=3sMhVQY1sseS4UnmCmakGg