When one decides to pursue new musical interests, a few things may come to mind when finding a new artist to listen to. Some of these details to look out for could be the vibe or energy of their music, the choice of instrumentation or production, or something that I’m choosing to focus on, which is the lyrical content. The simple premise of creating lyrics to a song is a great undertaking. Some artists may not have the ability or creativity to write song lyrics, so it gets outsourced to a team of writers that work with the artist. Although someone doesn’t need to write their lyrics when making a song, it can feel as if more of the artist’s voice comes out when the lyrics are organic and made by the artist. This is something that I inadvertently experienced with a favorite artist of mine, Jacob Collier. While he is undeniably a talented musician, composer, arranger, recording engineer, and producer, something that gets more or less overshadowed is his lyricism. There are many examples of this throughout his discography, but one important song I’d like to highlight is ‘Sleeping On My Dreams’, off of his newest album, ‘Djesse Vol. 3’.
The use of double entendres throughout the lyrics is an example of layered storytelling that sets apart his music from the rest of the pack, in my opinion. Let’s take a minute to see what listeners have been sleeping on with the words of Jacob Collier.
For example, in the second verse,
‘So I imagined we were playing a game,
Something like you could be an animal and all I had to do was be tame’1.
This is an example of the overall message Jacob was portraying in the lyrics, an individual who is too lazy to commit to anything in life, so they would rather lay in bed all day and dream. I have to admit, that sometimes isn’t too far from reality, speaking as a college student. Anyways, the idea that the premise of commitment has to be interpreted by this character as a game for them to find the willingness to oblige. It also suggests that the character finds real life and responsibility to be fictional, and their dreams are closer to reality. This use of entendre and subtext is something that isn’t impossible to come by in songwriting, but it’s hard to expect this sort of writing out of any other artist. This fact alone is what truly separates Jacob Collier from most of his contemporaries in my mind. He can encapsulate the mindset of practically a generation through lyrics alone, without even diving into how his music sounds and functions, which in it of itself is a whole other beast.
The dichotomy of this story wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t experience the character’s dreams. We get this every time we come to a chorus, wherein the story, the character has fallen asleep and is inside their dreams. The chorus,
‘’Cause I’ve been sleeping on my dreams, ah
And I can’t remember what I mean to you
And everything is what it seems, ah-ah, ah-ah
I’ve been sleeping on my dreams, ah-ah (Oh)
‘Cause I’ve been thinking ’bout some things, ah
And I do believe our many days are through
Don’t think I’m lost without your wings, ah-ah, ah-ah
I’ve been sleeping on my dreams, ah-ah’1
Is a clear example of the distinction between dreams and real-life for this character. In both verses, the character is sheepishly mumbling and sounds disinterested and aloof. However, we hear the exact opposite during the choruses. This is where one can truly understand the concept of dichotomy and duality throughout this song. Without this contrast, the message would be lost entirely. Instead, we get a clear story and arc that shows how our character resolves their tensions. Something like this is of course difficult to achieve in the setting of a novel, let alone a series of lyrics that are experienced in a fraction of the time of reading a novel. We see this character go through a depressive, yet nonchalant bout of their soul-crushing life, yet they come out the other side content since they can find their escape through their dreams, which they never understood or even recognized as an escape before.
To any of you who are still not convinced that Jacob Collier is not only a talented and brilliant musician but also a lowkey great lyricist, think of these lyrics in a different light for a second. The whole idea of being aloof and checked out in real life, but happy and vibrant in a fantasy? I don’t know about you, but for me, that hit right at home with the current situation of COVID-19. Not only do all of these Zoom classes and online gatherings and meetings feel like they just aren’t real, I know I only get relief from my boredom whenever I start playing some music and kill time with gaming. It’s hard to imagine that someone can feel the opposite right now if they’re in school or are forced to be in quarantine due to work, and it’s not a surprise that Jacob chose the setting and theme of this song lyrically to be what it is. He also feels that same boredom and disconnect from reality, and takes advantage of that boredom to create something that anyone living through COVID can easily relate to. I think that alone should make him worthy of some attention right now at the very least.
This idea of people ‘sleeping’ on anything is something that has pervaded through popular culture, usually to refer to something that often gets overshadowed or not recognized in the mainstream. There’s a perfect relation to this concept and Jacob Collier’s lyrics, considering how as I mentioned at the beginning of this review, there isn’t a large amount of importance or recognition given to his lyrics by the public eye. Most people, when they hear Jacob’s music, probably want to dissect the harmony or the percussion before they even think of the lyrics. Therefore, in a way, this song is a perfect vehicle for people to wholeheartedly start following and taking Jacob’s music more seriously. He has shown that although people have slept on his lyrics, he can still find a way to create a beautiful story and character arc. I hope that more people that are getting into his music for the first time can do him a giant favor, stop sleeping on his words. They are most definitely more than meets the eye.
Works Cited:
1. https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/Jacob-Collier/Sleeping-On-My-Dreams
