Song Analysis: All We Do
The duo, Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West who call themselves Oh Wonder, is based in London and came out with their first album on September 4, 2015. Gucht and West were determined to release one song each month for a year and “All We Do” was one of the songs they decided to release as another step towards their goal. Through a combination of emotional lyrics and heartfelt music, the song “All We Do” effectively conveys the message that we need to start living the way we want to and stop creating façades to cower from reality. The overall structure of “All We Do” presents a repetitive, but coherent approach for individuals to be able to uncover the underlying themes and message from Oh Wonder’s lyrics. Throughout the entire song,
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the phrase “All we do is…” is highly repeated and one can infer that the artists continuously apply this phrase to nearly each verse of their song to truly focus on the message they are trying to illustrate. Aside from the obvious repetition shown in the overall structure of the song, one is also able to see how simple the lyrics are as well as how short each stanza is, further highlighting the simplicity of the song; yet, when one listens closely to the lyrics and the music combined, the atmosphere is changed around the listener and the listener has the ability to feel the emotions that the artists are trying to deliver through the song. The tone of the voices of the male and female singers set the mood for the understanding of the lyrics and meaning behind their song even more as the steady keys of the piano are the only tunes that are prevalent in the song except for the second chorus of the song, providing the calmness and heartfelt melodies as well as the repetitive lyrics to portray the message.
Oh Wonder stresses the message they are trying to convey by the inclusion of deep lyrics and the consistent tone of a string-percussion instrument. The majority of the song has lines that begin with “All we do is…” and that phrase is automatically noticed as a significant repetition to accentuate the message of the song. As the song starts, the first line “All we do is hide away” gives the sense of how individuals simply enjoy concealing themselves behind the masks they have created in order to fit into society. Individuals are then seen as robots that are simply preprogrammed to adjust to society’s expectations and rules. The next line “All we do is chase the day” contributes to the way the singers depict life and the goal of happiness is a meaningless and unattainable task that each individual in society is attempting to achieve. The soothing melodies of piano stay consistent and perfectly accompany the robotic and depressing tone of the female, Gucht’s, voice along with the background voice of West, the male’s, as they sing in the lyrics in the first stanza and throughout the entire song. As Oh Wonder continues on with the second stanza of the song, the connotation of the words they used additionally direct back to the message they are aiming to interpret. The second stanza begins with the verse “All we do is lie and wait,” which introduces the idea that all individuals know to do in society is to lie and wait until the end of their lives or until the end of their misery. Individuals do not bother to fix the misery or the problem that is causing the misery, but instead, they lie and wait until the limit of their lives has come. As Oh Wonder sings the next line, “All we do is feel the fade,” the chosen words cause the listeners to question the lyrics and the meaning behind “feel the fade.” Because the author uses this metaphorical phrase, it can lead the listeners to wondering what “the fade” is and presumably, “the fade” can be characterized as the gradual departure of the suffering from life’s challenges one has had to endure. The music throughout the song remains consistent with the soft keys of piano as well as the male’s voice constantly shadowing the female’s dominant voice. After the first two stanzas, the chorus makes an appearance into the song for the first time as a way to carry Oh Wonder’s message across.
Since the opening of the song, the verses in each stanza have begun with the repetitive phrase “All we do is…,” but in the chorus, the phrase is not used. Alternatively, the artists change the use of the first person-plural pronouns (we) into first person (I) as the main subject. Gucht’s pitch in her voice is raised slightly higher as she sings into the chorus along with West’s voice and the feeling within the song is more uplifted due to the tone of their voices. As Gucht and West sing the first line of the chorus, “I’ve been upside down…” the keys of the piano are played at a higher note as well. Apart from the music, the significance behind the first verse of the chorus can be interpreted as Gucht’s individual self who has been “upside down” for such a long period of time that she is used to the feeling of abnormality and that she is comfortable where she is. As the second verse begins, Gucht and West sing, “I don’t wanna be the right way round” which can easily be referred back to the previous idea of her accepting the way life has already been and the carelessness of even attempting to be as normal. West’s voice continues to linger as a shadow behind Gucht’s voice, possibly putting emphasis on the fact that although men and women in society are all corrupted, women may just be more corrupted than men. On to the final verse of the chorus, Gucht and West sing, “Can’t find paradise on the ground” as a form of the male and female singers expressing that by the acceptance of the way their lives are “upside down,” that is the only way for them to find satisfaction with the way their current state of being. Fast forward to the second time the chorus is played, the music is different. Besides the soothing tunes of the piano, there is now a rhythmic beat that follows the flow of the music. The rhythmic beat of the piano near the
end symbolizes the probable newfound realization that the artists believe they can achieve and have the energy to push themselves out of their personal bubble. As the song repeats the previously mentioned stanzas, the song brings up a new stanza with new lyrics to add onto the numerous reasons behind the message of the need to start living the way we want. Gucht and West sing, “All we do is play it safe,” causing this stanza to already be labeled as an effective and powerful support to the message of the song. The words “play it safe” represent the risks no individuals dare to take during their lifetime. Each individual is so preoccupied and grounded in the way life is right now that no chances are taken, meaning life does not advance to more superior levels. To stress the significance of the song’s message even more, the second verse states that “All we do is live inside a cage” and because individuals don’t dare to take chances, the only solution is to “live inside a cage” due to the inability of taking a step outside of the cage. Individuals are trapped inside the cage because they are often too afraid of change. The piano is still consistent throughout the song and the voices of the duo remain soft and smooth with the keys of the piano without a change of beats or rhythm. The last stanza of the song includes a twist to tie all the lyrics’ points together to conclude and give a final boost to the message of take more risks and live the life we want. The last stanza is different compared to the previous stanzas’ lyrics because the stanza includes the first person form that refers to the singers themselves. The music also becomes significantly softer with almost no rhythm at all except for the slow single notes of the piano that has remained during the whole song. The voices of Gucht and West become increasingly softer as well as they sing the first line, “All I did was fail today.” In this sense, failure can be a positive sign instead of its usual negative connotation. The failure Gucht and West sing about is the failure to be like all the others in society, which in turn, is a beneficial attribute to have. Their failure in being alike with others further represents the path that they’re not robots who follow the overused paths of society.
the phrase “All we do is…” is highly repeated and one can infer that the artists continuously apply this phrase to nearly each verse of their song to truly focus on the message they are trying to illustrate. Aside from the obvious repetition shown in the overall structure of the song, one is also able to see how simple the lyrics are as well as how short each stanza is, further highlighting the simplicity of the song; yet, when one listens closely to the lyrics and the music combined, the atmosphere is changed around the listener and the listener has the ability to feel the emotions that the artists are trying to deliver through the song. The tone of the voices of the male and female singers set the mood for the understanding of the lyrics and meaning behind their song even more as the steady keys of the piano are the only tunes that are prevalent in the song except for the second chorus of the song, providing the calmness and heartfelt melodies as well as the repetitive lyrics to portray the message.
Oh Wonder stresses the message they are trying to convey by the inclusion of deep lyrics and the consistent tone of a string-percussion instrument. The majority of the song has lines that begin with “All we do is…” and that phrase is automatically noticed as a significant repetition to accentuate the message of the song. As the song starts, the first line “All we do is hide away” gives the sense of how individuals simply enjoy concealing themselves behind the masks they have created in order to fit into society. Individuals are then seen as robots that are simply preprogrammed to adjust to society’s expectations and rules. The next line “All we do is chase the day” contributes to the way the singers depict life and the goal of happiness is a meaningless and unattainable task that each individual in society is attempting to achieve. The soothing melodies of piano stay consistent and perfectly accompany the robotic and depressing tone of the female, Gucht’s, voice along with the background voice of West, the male’s, as they sing in the lyrics in the first stanza and throughout the entire song. As Oh Wonder continues on with the second stanza of the song, the connotation of the words they used additionally direct back to the message they are aiming to interpret. The second stanza begins with the verse “All we do is lie and wait,” which introduces the idea that all individuals know to do in society is to lie and wait until the end of their lives or until the end of their misery. Individuals do not bother to fix the misery or the problem that is causing the misery, but instead, they lie and wait until the limit of their lives has come. As Oh Wonder sings the next line, “All we do is feel the fade,” the chosen words cause the listeners to question the lyrics and the meaning behind “feel the fade.” Because the author uses this metaphorical phrase, it can lead the listeners to wondering what “the fade” is and presumably, “the fade” can be characterized as the gradual departure of the suffering from life’s challenges one has had to endure. The music throughout the song remains consistent with the soft keys of piano as well as the male’s voice constantly shadowing the female’s dominant voice. After the first two stanzas, the chorus makes an appearance into the song for the first time as a way to carry Oh Wonder’s message across.
Since the opening of the song, the verses in each stanza have begun with the repetitive phrase “All we do is…,” but in the chorus, the phrase is not used. Alternatively, the artists change the use of the first person-plural pronouns (we) into first person (I) as the main subject. Gucht’s pitch in her voice is raised slightly higher as she sings into the chorus along with West’s voice and the feeling within the song is more uplifted due to the tone of their voices. As Gucht and West sing the first line of the chorus, “I’ve been upside down…” the keys of the piano are played at a higher note as well. Apart from the music, the significance behind the first verse of the chorus can be interpreted as Gucht’s individual self who has been “upside down” for such a long period of time that she is used to the feeling of abnormality and that she is comfortable where she is. As the second verse begins, Gucht and West sing, “I don’t wanna be the right way round” which can easily be referred back to the previous idea of her accepting the way life has already been and the carelessness of even attempting to be as normal. West’s voice continues to linger as a shadow behind Gucht’s voice, possibly putting emphasis on the fact that although men and women in society are all corrupted, women may just be more corrupted than men. On to the final verse of the chorus, Gucht and West sing, “Can’t find paradise on the ground” as a form of the male and female singers expressing that by the acceptance of the way their lives are “upside down,” that is the only way for them to find satisfaction with the way their current state of being. Fast forward to the second time the chorus is played, the music is different. Besides the soothing tunes of the piano, there is now a rhythmic beat that follows the flow of the music. The rhythmic beat of the piano near the
end symbolizes the probable newfound realization that the artists believe they can achieve and have the energy to push themselves out of their personal bubble. As the song repeats the previously mentioned stanzas, the song brings up a new stanza with new lyrics to add onto the numerous reasons behind the message of the need to start living the way we want. Gucht and West sing, “All we do is play it safe,” causing this stanza to already be labeled as an effective and powerful support to the message of the song. The words “play it safe” represent the risks no individuals dare to take during their lifetime. Each individual is so preoccupied and grounded in the way life is right now that no chances are taken, meaning life does not advance to more superior levels. To stress the significance of the song’s message even more, the second verse states that “All we do is live inside a cage” and because individuals don’t dare to take chances, the only solution is to “live inside a cage” due to the inability of taking a step outside of the cage. Individuals are trapped inside the cage because they are often too afraid of change. The piano is still consistent throughout the song and the voices of the duo remain soft and smooth with the keys of the piano without a change of beats or rhythm. The last stanza of the song includes a twist to tie all the lyrics’ points together to conclude and give a final boost to the message of take more risks and live the life we want. The last stanza is different compared to the previous stanzas’ lyrics because the stanza includes the first person form that refers to the singers themselves. The music also becomes significantly softer with almost no rhythm at all except for the slow single notes of the piano that has remained during the whole song. The voices of Gucht and West become increasingly softer as well as they sing the first line, “All I did was fail today.” In this sense, failure can be a positive sign instead of its usual negative connotation. The failure Gucht and West sing about is the failure to be like all the others in society, which in turn, is a beneficial attribute to have. Their failure in being alike with others further represents the path that they’re not robots who follow the overused paths of society.