Katy Perry has returned to music with this new track titled “Chained To The Rhythm” collaborating with Skip Marley. This new track is unlike anything we have heard from Katy Perry before. It’s Pop with a deeper meaning behind the lyrics. So we thought it might be worthwhile to take a look into the song.
The lyric video for “Chained To The Rhythm” too was released today and features Mr. Parsons the hamster and he is having a delicious dinner. The only thing relating to the lyrics from the video was the bit which shows a hamster running on a running wheel.
Watch Lyric Video for “Chained To The Rhythm” by Katy Perry
Buy “Chained To The Rhythm” Single on iTunes and Amazon
As adorable as the video might be, I cannot quite grasp the connection between the video and the song. If you can, do enlighten us in the comments below.
Lyrics Review of “Chained To The Rhythm”
Verse 1 sets the tone of the song;
Are we crazy?
Living our lives through a lens
Trapped in our white-picket fence
Like ornaments
So comfortable, we live in a bubble, a bubble
So comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, the trouble
Basically, this song speaks about how narrow our vision has been over the decades. We don’t see what’s real anymore. We only see what we want to see. It’s all a bubble and bubbles do pop. We are so comfortable in our own little spaces that we are not even bothered to look out of our windows to see the world burning outside.
Aren’t you lonely
Up there in utopia
Where nothing will ever be enough?
Happily numb
So comfortable, we live in a bubble, a bubble
So comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, the trouble
‘Utopia’ is a completely fictional world built by ourselves to keep the troubles outside. Katy Perry asks if we don’t get lonely in this utopian world built around ourselves, because nobody else is in there-just you and your imaginary walls.
‘Happily numb’ is a nice phrase which means that we are numb to the pains of the outside world and we are quite comfortable with that fact too. It’s like we don’t want to get bothered about what else is going on the outside world.
Cover art for “Chained To The Rhythm” by Katy PerryPre-chorus:
Aha, look so good
So put your rose-colored glasses on
And party on
We like to see beautiful things that does not hurt our eyes. The colour rose is considered to be beautiful and mild. So when we put on a rose-coloured glass on, whatever we see will have a new and beautiful outlook to them. The dark colours will turn rose!
The chorus of “Chained To The Rhythm”:
Turn it up, it’s your favorite song
Dance, dance, dance to the distortion
Come on, turn it up, keep it on repeat
Stumbling around like a wasted zombie
Yeah, we think we’re free
Drink, this one is on me
We’re all chained to the rhythm
To the rhythm
To the rhythm
“We are all addicted to something that takes the pain away” was one of the most insightful quotes I have read in the past week. Being addicted to music to numb yourself from pain is kind of the best option out there. We sing and dance and eat and drink to distract ourselves from what is really going on. And the problem with this is that these solutions are temporary. That’s when the repeat button comes into play. We face pain-we distract ourselves-we face the pain again-and this goes on repeat! This what is really meant by the title of the song-which is more elegantly put as “Chained To The Rhythm.”
Verse 2:
Are we tone deaf?
Keep sweeping it under the mat
Thought we can do better than that
I hope we can
So comfortable, we live in a bubble, a bubble
So comfortable, we can’t see the trouble, the trouble
The song again asks us if we are really going to pretend not to see all the stuff that is happening outside our little comfortable bubble? The stuff outside the bubble can vary from person to person but some can be common to all of us too. Katy Perry has lost faith in humanity, it seems.
The bridge of “Chained To The Rhythm” is done by Skip Marley
It is my desire
Break down the walls to connect, inspire
Ay, up in your high place, liars
Time is ticking for the empire
The truth they feed is feeble
As so many times before
They greed over the people
They stumbling and fumbling
And we’re about to riot
They woke up, they woke up the lions
(Woo!)
Skip Marley speaks about ending the rhythm of chains by breaking down the system. And it’s really up to all of the people to make this change. Stand as one and rise up against the ’empire’ that corrupts us. ‘Greed’ is the number one root cause to all the problems the world is facing right now. So it is your duty to change the rhythm.
With a little outro, the song comes to an end. “Chained To The Rhythm” is pretty upbeat that you can even dance to the track and then it proves the exact point the song is trying to make. We don’t even listen to the message of the song even though we dance to it. Yes, we have chosen to be numb.
As we conclude our review of this brand new Katy Perry track, we would love to hear your opinions on the song. Was this comeback single a success for Katy Perry? Will it conquer the charts? Pen your thoughts in the comments below.