Unsurprisingly, "What It's All About" was a song inspired by a breakup, but not the kind one might expect. Jimmy relates that a number of listeners have asked, "Why doesn't it matter that you love her, does this mean that nothing matters anymore because everything is broken, not even the love you once held?" He laughs softly at this idea, knowing that poetry and art can be taken many ways by the listener. He comments that interpreting for oneself is perhaps the best we can do, and giving one's own thoughts on the origin of any piece may be counter-productive to its impact. With this track, he relents, offering his own story.
The breakup was with someone loved then, and still loved now. It is a story of how things can fall down around you completely, but life still goes on. You can still go on. The lyrics, importantly, do not say 'it doesn't matter THAT you love her' - but 'IF' you love her. So if you love her, it doesn't matter that your golden crown is in tatters, that the kingdom you built for her in your dreams has been shattered. You love her. This is all that matters. You will endure, and if you truly love each other, a breakup will not end your association. A new kingdom will arise, one day, your crown reforged. There are two constants in this world, change, and real love. So it doesn't matter that you lose everything, if you love her. This is how I felt at the time, that everything was destroyed, my entire world. But in time I learned that it wasn't true, because I truly, genuinely loved her. And so her happiness, and in turn my own, came into focus beyond the temporary nature of our romantic tryst. That's the meaning of the song. More or less. But also, take from it what you will, the song isn't really mine once someone else listens to it, not completely. It is theirs, and everyone else's who hears it. So too is its meaning. Except love. It's definitely about love, and that can't be changed."
Previously, lo-fi and acoustic versions of What It's All About have featured on 'Tough Love', an independent Australian movie presented by The Big Movie Company.
lyrics
Like a city all a'glow, how it feels to humbly know
The lover of your soul
Some you gain and some you lose, a million trinkets, more for fools
Time will tell, and break the spell
'Cause when the lights go down
And you see your golden crown is in tatters
When there's fire on the breeze
And the kingdom of your dreams has been shattered
It doesn't matter
If you love her
It doesn't matter
If you love her
People turn away from you, yellow-bellied, hands of blue
Loneliness might serve you best
Swim the ocean of the sky, growing aching wings to fly
Along the ground, where love is found
'Cause when the lights go down
And you see your golden crown is in tatters
When there's fire in the trees
And the kingdom of your dreams has been shattered
It doesn't matter
If you love her
It doesn't matter
If you love her
One day when we're all done
Got to ask yourself the question
What did I truly desire
Higher
'Cause when the lights go down
And you see your golden crown is in tatters
When there's fire in the trees
And the kingdom of your dreams has been shattered
It doesn't matter
If you love her
It doesn't matter
If you love her
'Cause when the lights go down
And you see your golden crown is in tatters
When there's fire on the breeze
And the kingdom of your dreams has been shattered
It doesn't matter
If you love her
It doesn't matter
If you love her
credits
from Banji Mashide,
track released October 31, 2022
Words and Music: Jimmy Sky
Vocals, Guitar: Jimmy Sky
Bass, Keys: Govinda Doyle
Drums: Govinda Doyle
Percussion: Jimmy Sky
Recorded at Studio 55
Produced, engineered and mixed by Govinda Doyle at Studio 55
Mastered by John Davis at Metropolis Studios
Copyright James T Sky (Jimmy Sky)2018
All Rights Reserved
Grizzly Bear’s classic debut gets a 15th anniversary vinyl reissue, with a digital companion featuring a bevy of remixes. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 12, 2020
Newcastle, Australia's e4444e instills his airy indie pop with baroque flair and swooning psychedelic swells for a fluid, infectious affair. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 19, 2020
