“Green Green Grass” by George Ezra
Throughout the decades it has been well-documented, via various sources, how some Africanized cultures of the Western Hemisphere, such as those found in the Caribbean, get down when it comes to throwing a funeral. This is something which, in an indirect way, even citizens of George Ezra’s homeland of the UK are aware of, as said country is host to a number of Caribbean street carnivals. And let’s just say that there is a vast difference between how conventional Westerners tend to officially say goodbye to the deceased and how, say the people St. Lucia go about doing the same.
This dichotomy is something George became aware of firsthand during a visit to said nation. As such, listeners should not be overly concerned with that line in the chorus when the singer alludes to loved ones partying ‘on the day that he dies’. For it was actually such observations in St. Lucia that inspired the entirety of this piece which ultimately, also considering the title and all, seems as if it is intended to be a celebration of life.
Lyrics of “Green Green Grass”
That said, comprehensively speaking, what “Green Green Grass” does actually read more like is a love song, with some pretty deep stuff going on in the lyrics. That is to say that what Ezra is primarily speaking to is his relationship with a certain lady. The pair apparently are described as “two young lovers”, with the ideology being for the two of them to runaway together.
You know, one of those types of pieces. But Adam and Eve are namedropped in the second verse, and there is more within that passage, as well as perhaps the first, pointing to their legend, which is highly symbolic in and of itself.
Moreover, death is also referenced in the first verse, as with the chorus. In the former regard, the singer’s romantic interest is depicted – for whatever reason – as an armed robber. And all things considered, yes, said depiction can be taken as an allegory, pointing to her desire for the vocalist, or something like that. But when the verse concludes by noting that via her “heist” “no one living” at the targeted location is “gonna make it out alive”, making sense of that particular metaphor within the grand scheme of the song is a bit more challenging.
Takeaway
So in conclusion, perhaps the best way to characterize “Green Green Grass” is as a love song which also sports some esoteric references. On one hand, it seems pretty discernible what the vocalist is putting forth, that he and the primary subject of the lyrics are mutually smitten. But on the other hand, there is certain lingo present that is related to death or comes off as if it were inspired by parts of the Bible that may not have anything in particular to do with romance.
So what initially started off as recognition of the celebratory nature of St. Lucian funerals went off on a few tangents, to say the least.
Facts about “Green Green Grass”
George Ezra is a singer from England. His third-studio album, “Gold Rush Kid”, came out 10 June 2022, backed by Columbia Records. It is from that project that “Green Green Grass” is derived.
This song was a success story. It made it onto the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and replicated the feat in Belgium.
Ezra, who has officially been in the game since 2013 and is 29 years old as of this dropping, wrote this song with its producers, Stuart Price and Joel Pott.
Although “Green Green Grass” may have been inspired by the people of St. Lucia, its video was filmed in Los Angeles, and itself was apparently inspired by the robbery subplot found in the lyrics. And the director who put it all together is Isaac Ravishankara.
This song achieved additional notoriety when George Ezra was tasked with performing it at what has been officially termed as the Platinum Party at the Palace, i.e. the concert held on 4 June 2022, outside of Buckingham Palace itself, to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 70th year on the throne. However, he was requested by higher ups on the totem pole to modify (or shorten) a certain line, the one that reads “you better throw a party on the day that I die”. And whereas initially George did not see the necessity of said modification, of course he complied nonetheless.
The first performance of this tune took place at a site called the London Palladium about a week before the track was dropped.
