Mercury by Bloc Party Lyrics Meaning – Decoding the Cosmic Chaos in Retrograde Motion
Lyrics
My mercury’s in retrograde
My mercury’s in retrograde
My mercury’s in retrograde
Mercury’s in, Mercury’s in, Mercury’s
In retrograde
This is not the time, the time to start a new love
This is not the time, the time to sign a lease
Try not to worry about what’s forgotten
Try not to worry about what’s been missed
Scars on shins and scars on my knuckles
Today I woke up in a basketball court
Jonjo’s in Sydney and he ain’t returning
I’m sitting in Soho trying to stay drunk
In any bar in the world
From Silverlake to Williamsburg
You could pick another stranger
And fall in love
My mercury’s in retrograde
Mercury’s in, mercury’s in retrograde
This is not the time, the tie to start a new love
This is not the time, the time to sign a lease
Try not to worry about what’s forgotten
Try not to worry about what’s been missed
Bleeding gums and veins protruding
You’re starting to hate all of your clothes
Neumayr’s in LA and she ain’t returning
I’m sleeping with people I don’t even like
In any bar in the world
From Silverlake to Williamsburg
You could pick another stranger
And fall in love
My mercury’s in retrograde
Mercury’s in, mercury’s in retrograde
Mercyry’s in, mercury’s in retrograde
When I saw you last night
I wanted to say, run away with me
Away from these cynics
That this could be the start of
Something truly real
But all that I could say was “hey”
Was hey
Was hey
Was hey
My mercury’s in retrograde
Mercury’s in, mercury’s in retrograde
Mercyry’s in, mercury’s in retrograde
My mercury’s in retrograde
Mercury’s in, mercury’s in retrograde
Mercyry’s in, mercury’s in retrograde.
When the mythological messenger of gods starts to backtrack through the celestial sphere, the world is said to pause and ponder the madness that ensues. ‘Mercury’ by Bloc Party captures this astronomical anomaly and employs it as a metaphor for disarray in personal life. Released in 2008, the song is an energetic and fast-paced tour through moments of stagnation, longing, and the universal feeling of being out of sync.
Lead singer Kele Okereke’s hypnotic repetition of the phrase ‘My mercury’s in retrograde’ encapsulates a sensation of cosmic misalignment. As the beats pound and the guitar riffs swirl, we find ourselves in a landscape of emotional turbulence, questioning the timing of our choices and the paths we’ve taken. Let’s dive into the vast cosmic sea Bloc Party navigates, fishing out insights from the constellation of words they chart.
The Weight of Wrong Timings – Mercury’s Mischievous Dance
Astrology fans will often warn of signing contracts, starting relationships, or making any significant changes during Mercury retrograde. Bloc Party takes this superstition and runs with it, crafting a narrative out of the struggles and second thoughts that coincide with retrograde periods. The opening lines, ‘This is not the time, the time to start a new love / This is not the time, the time to sign a lease,’ speak directly to this sentiment, encapsulating a feeling of being at the mercy of a greater cosmic calendar.
The repetition throughout the song acts as a rhythmic reminder of life’s cyclical nature and personal powerlessness against wider forces. The underlying anxiety woven into the track highlights a collective discomfort, an acknowledgment that sometimes we must ride out life’s disturbances until the planets align once more.
Scars of Shins and Knuckles – The Physicality of Emotional Turmoil
Kele paints a vivid picture of waking up in a basketball court with scars—a literal representation of the internal struggles that mark us. Each scar tells a tale, a night of decisions made, perhaps, when stars were not in favorable positions. What these ‘scars on shins and scars on my knuckles’ provide is a glimpse into the physical manifestation of internal chaos, a reckoning of actions taken when our proverbial Mercury was in retrograde.
These lines break open the idea that our emotional states leave tangible evidence, much in the same way that retrograde periods leave their mark on human affairs. They are the souvenirs of a time when life did not follow the expected trajectory, a somatic journal of past misalignments.
The Dichotomy of Desire: Wanting What We Should Not Have
As the character in the song finds himself ‘sitting in Soho trying to stay drunk,’ we’re confronted with the all-too-relatable desire to escape our issues. Through alcohol, love, or distraction, we seek solace. ‘I’m sleeping with people I don’t even like,’ divulges a sense of loss, a succumbing to impulses that are misaligned with one’s true desires and perhaps influenced by a metaphorical planetary shift.
Bloc Party captures the universal human tendency to seek connection, ‘In any bar in the world…You could pick another stranger / And fall in love.’ It’s an urge that often arises when our internal compass is spinning—when we’re searching for meaning in the fortuitous alignments of celestial bodies.
The Hidden Meanings – Interplanetary Interference or Inner Conflicts?
While ‘Mercury’ may appear to be about astrology on the surface, deeper inspection suggests an exploration of how personal disarray is often attributed to external factors. Bloc Party plays with the idea of Mercury retrograde as a scapegoat for their characters’ poor decisions and failed relationships, alluding that perhaps it’s all just a human construct for explaining away our foibles and failures.
In a sense, the song serves as a critique of how we might misuse astrology to absolve ourselves from accountability. Instead of looking inward, we blame the planets. It’s a wry observation on how we handle life’s unpredictable rhythm, seeking cosmic excuses for our earthly messes.
Memorable Lines: Echo of a Lost Opportunity
One of the most striking moments in ‘Mercury’ comes from the simple and haunting confession, ‘When I saw you last night / I wanted to say, run away with me.’ It’s a poignant reflection of a missed chance, an example of how our words often fail us when emotion runs high. And in context with the song, it’s as if Mercury retrograde silenced the protagonist’s true intent.
Yet, all that could be mustered was ‘hey.’ In those three letters, Bloc Party encapsulates the heartbreak of unspoken words and unseized moments; of cosmic interference in human action. This bittersweet admission remains one of the song’s most memorable and resonant lines, speaking to missed connections that haunt like retrograde shadows.
