Laura Branigan’s “Self Control” Lyrics Meaning
The premise of Laura Branigan’s “Self Control” is that the singer is the victim of some type of repression. Basically, the way she conducts herself during daylight hours is not a true reflection of who she is. Nor is it the type of life that she idealizes for herself.
Thus it is during that night that she lets it all hang out. Indeed during this time her inhibitions are cast to the wayside. And her preferred setting for getting loose is the city. Or another way of looking at this song is as it being an ode to city-based nightlife. And more to the point is the fact that, in that particular environment, the singer is able to freely express herself. And overall, doing so is such an anomaly from her normal life that she likens such experiences to a fantasy. So it’s like her nightlife is not her real life but rather an escape from it.
Romantic Element to “Self Control”
And there is also a romantic element to this tune. In other words, her nocturnal excursions are personified by a late-night intimate partner, someone whom once again she would not deal with under normal circumstance. And she is willing to give herself over to such once again in the name of forsaking “self control”.
So yes, it can be argued that this song espouses an ideology tantamount to not living by the standard rules which define our movements. But the singer is not casting off such norms per se. Rather you can say that she relishes the nightlife more than the daytime due to the fact that during the former she feels completely unrepressed.
Music Video
The music video to this Laura Branigan track was actually handled by renowned Hollywood director William Friedkin. In fact Friedkin served as the director of classic American movies “The French Connection” (1971) and “The Exorcist” (1973).
Indeed the piece proved to be quite outstanding in its own right, basically reflecting the lyrical content of the song. That’s a euphemism for the fact that the symbolism used was so risqué that MTV would only play an edited version of the clip. This is something Branigan herself was not really cool with, as it was freely aired in other parts of the world as well as she herself not perceiving any issues with the visual.
Did Laura Branigan write “Self Control”?
No. “Self Control” was written by the duo of Steve Piccolo and Giancarlo Bigazzi along with singer Raf. Raf actually originally dropped the song during the same year Branigan released her version, in 1984.
Moreover Giancarlo Bigazzi also served as a co-writer on the first hit of Laura Barnigan’s career, which was “Gloria” in 1982.
Release Date of “Self Control”
Branigan’s cover of “Self Control” came out officially on 19 April 1984. Its producers were musicians by the name of B. Buchanan and H. Nußbaum (aka Jack White).
Successful Cover
On an international level, Branigan’s rendition proved to be more successful than Raf’s, which was quite a hit itself. Her version of “Self Control” went to number one in the countries below:
- Austria
- Canada
- Finland
- South Africa
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- West Germany
Moreover it scored a number 5 in Britain (i.e. the UK Singles Chart). It also made it to the impressive position of number in the United States (i.e. the Hot 100). Furthermore, it made it onto the top 5 in quite a few other centuries. In fact this track has been certified Gold in both France and Germany.
Remix of “Self Control”
A couple of decades after her initial rendition, Branigan released a remix of this tune. This remix was partially entitled after the year it was released, “Self Control 2004”. And it did manage to chart in the US, specifically scoring a number 10 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Singles Sales listing.
