SONG ANALYSIS: PARADISE CIRCUS - MASSIVE ATTACK
Click to viewIt’s unfortunate that when we feel a stone
We can roll ourselves over ‘cause we’re uncomfortable
Oh well, the devil makes us sin
But we like it when we’re spinning in his grip
Love is like a sin, my love
For the ones that feel it the most
Look at her with her eyes like a flame
She will love you like a fly will never love you again
It’s unfortunate that when we feel a stone
We can roll ourselves over when we’re uncomfortable
Oh well, the devil makes us sin
But we like it when we’re spinning in his grip
Love is like a sin, my love
For the one that feels it the most
Look at her with her smile like a flame
She will love you like a fly will never love you again
This song talks about sin, and clearly that sin is lust. Yet the official music video is a bit strange; its main feature isn’t the song but an interview with an aged woman about her experiences starring in pornos. Understanding the video is important to understanding lust, which in turn is important to understanding the song.
Lust is most often associated with sex, but as the woman speaks, it is revealed that she neither particularly wanted nor enjoyed the sex acts she performed. In fact, she expresses disgust and remorse. Yet towards the end, she states why she did it: she loved the cameras filming her. Intense desire, not sex, is the essence of lust. She lusted for the cameras.
Lust is a sin in that extreme desire can vacate sound moral judgment. In Dante’s Comedy, the second circle of hell is reserved for lust, yet it is occupied mostly by lovers; those who engaged in more hedonistic practices were found in more severe circles of hell. Those guilty of lust are punished by winds endlessly and violently blowing them around, representing the nature of lust: being helplessly caught up in a whirlwind of passion. Unlike some other sinners he encountered, Dante felt pity for these people.
Although Seligman and Peterson point out that love is universally valued, there is an exception when it comes to romantic love. While extolled in America, many places in the world do not encourage (if not actively discourage) romantic love; they focus instead on less volatile forms of love such as between parents and children, among kin or community, or directed towards a higher power. It’s not that people of all cultures don’t feel romantic love, but for some societies, it’s too risky to pursue. Passionate love can cause too much chaos, given the jealousy, possessiveness, violence, shame, and even co-occurring hatred that can sprout from such powerful feelings.
The song, though sung in a seductive whisper, is about lust, not sex. More specifically, it’s about the negative forces that act behind an intense desire for a lover, as evidenced by the dreary and menacing mood of the song. Her soft vocals are a mask, covering her true feelings: shame, contempt, and aggression.
It’s unfortunate that when we feel a stone
We can roll ourselves over ‘cause we’re uncomfortable
Stones are a symbolic representation of shame, and historically, punishments for shameful/unlawful acts involved members of the community throwing stones at the offender. Some describe the feeling of shame as a stone-like sinking in their stomachs, or that their facial features freeze in a stony expression. She’s not saying it’s unfortunate that we feel shame, but that we have the choice to “roll ourselves over” to become more comfortable-that is, resort to escapism.
Oh well, the devil makes us sin
But we like it when we’re spinning in his grip
While in the first two lines she claims we have ownership for sinful acts, she then goes on to transfer the responsibility to the devil “making” us sin. Then she pivots again, stating we like sinning anyway. We have a choice in how we react to shame, whether it’s acceptance or avoidance. The temptation to escape this feeling-the more alleviating choice-draws people to unhealthy (sinful) behaviors. In the moments we are escaping, we enjoy the relief; that’s why we do it. When our will is weakened, we justify to ourselves that we are powerless against it, and that maybe it’s not so bad after all since it feels better.
Love is like a sin, my love
For the (ones/one) that feel(s) it the most
In the two instances they are sung, these lines have a slight but very important discrepancy. The first time she sings it, it is “the ones that feel it the most”, the second time it’s “the one”. The first time it’s sung, it’s a generalization, the second time it’s specific. She is telling her love that love is like a sin-for her. She is the one out of the two of them who is more deeply in love, reaching the point of lust.
Look at her with her (eyes/smile) like a flame
She will love you like a fly will never love you again
These are the most loaded lines of the song. There is a third party, another woman, and the singer is pointing her lover’s attention towards her. She describes the woman’s eye/smile as being “like a flame”, implying that this woman is behaving seductively towards her lover. “Look at her” and “like a fly” indicates more than just contempt; it’s a veiled threat. She is in competition with this woman, and, what’s more, she is willing to squash the competition to keep possession of her lover. She’s alerting her lover of what she’s capable of.
Yet the most interesting part is the addition of the word “again”. Was her lover already involved with this woman? The name of the song “Paradise Circus”, opening up the possibility that she’s singing about two separate women, one with eyes like a flame, and another with a smile like a flame. A circus is comprised of routines that repeat each night. Her and her lover are in a dysfunctional pattern that she cannot pull herself away from. She is caught in a cycle of shame from being rejected/overlooked by her love object, but gains relief through the defeat of all threats. Therein lies the sin: an intense desire that is destructive (and not fully reciprocated), encouraging immoral acts of violence, control, and vengence.