Meaning of Ben Howard’s “Black Flies”
“Black Flies” by Ben Howard is very-symbolic in nature. The titular term “black flies” is actually derived from the opening line of the first two verses, which make a reference to “black flies on the windowsill”. This apparently alludes to the eventual onset of winter, as the presence of dead flies on a windowpane is a clear sign that the weather is changing, as in becoming colder. And cold weather (i.e. winter) in a symbolic sense represents depression. So we can conclude that by and large, Ben Howard is singing from a depressed disposition in this song.
But outside of that, deriving definitive meaning from the lyrics of “Black Flies” is inherently speculative due to the high-end metaphorical nature of the song. What it seems to be relaying is that the singer is some sort of traveler or at least contemplating the idea of going “his (own) way”. So the last verse features him questioning the addressee in the sense that if he were to take such a course of action, would he or she be offended by it. Indeed the addressee is someone he obviously has a relationship with. And he alludes to the idea that this is a greater person than himself.
So all things considered, if we really wanted to go out on a limb, we can say that Ben is singing to a lover or close friend that he is about to part ways with. And the aforementioned depression is due to the dissolution of their relationship. Indeed this song has been loosely interpreted in such a way by many. But once again, this is just a general theory concerning the overall meaning of “Black Flies”.
When was “Black Flies” released officially?
Island Records released this track along with the entire album it was featured on, Ben Howard’s Every Kingdom, on 30 September 2011.
Appearance on Life Is Strange
This song also made an appearance on the bonus episode (entitled “Farewell”) of the Square Enix videogame Life Is Strange.
Who wrote “Black Flies”?
Ben Howard wrote this song in addition to all the songs on the album Every Kingdom. However, the production credits of “Black Flies” belong to record producer Chris Bond.
