“Crave” is the ninth track on Paramore’s 2023 album ‘This Is Why.’ The song talks about the craving to relive those sweet memories of life again and again. Pictures barely do justice to how one feels in these moments.
Paramore returns from a 5-year-old hiatus to bring new music in the form of the ‘This Is Why’ album–the sixth in their discography. Thematically, Paramore attempts to shift towards a more ‘mature’ alt-rock sound with this album, unlike their previous work. On Instagram, Paramore summed up a plethora of emotions they are trying to tackle with this album; “If within the last 5.5 years you’ve felt/experienced sensations of: Agoraphobia, Righteous Rage, Confused About The Difference Between Selfishness and Self-Preservation, Complete and Utter Apathy…” and the list goes on.
Hayley Williams talked about the inspiration behind the song with NME magazine; “When the guys showed me “Crave” I was pumped because we haven’t had anything that sonically felt like that in a really long time. We don’t like to give too much credit to nostalgia, we like to move forward. But with the music, you couldn’t escape that feeling. I was just thinking about why I always miss the moment that I’m in because I’m too worried about when it’s going to be over.”
Listen to “Crave” by Paramore
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Paramore “Crave” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
We have all come across some experiences that are too precious to just let go of. But life is as such we have no choice but to let them fade away into the past. Albums and videos have done a lot to help us capture these memories and freeze them in time. Have you ever looked at a picture or a video from some distant memory and instantly been transported to those times? However, nothing can really do justice to actually being there and living it in real time.
Hayley says that oftentimes she is too afraid of the memories fleeing away in time that she actually forgets to enjoy the moment. Some experiences are just too good that you just want to keep living them forever. But, nothing lasts forever. So, it is natural that the singer feels sad at the same time thinking about the end ahead of time.
In the second verse of the song, Hayley Williams sings that she romanticizes even the bad times. This seems counterintuitive. She probably did not enjoy these times while living through them. But looking back at all the hard times, she knows that everything that has happened in her life has led to this moment and place in her life right now. And she knows she is doing good, stronger, and happier than ever.
The overarching theme of the song is that we should learn to live in the present, although, technically there is nothing called the present. Time is just a string of fleeing moments at the speed of light. Hayley Williams explains this beautifully, singing that ‘present’ is just the connection between the past and the future. Through this understanding, one can learn to cope with all the dark times as moments passing on. There is an opportunity for something better every new second.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Read the complete lyrics to the song on Genius.