orange show speedway by Lizzy McAlpine Lyrics Meaning – Racing Through the Past and Present
Lyrics
I never think about it too much, but I’m thinking tonight
And it’s really annoying that I’m triggered like this
‘Cause your name isn’t spoken, but I’m speaking it
And I don’t know why it happened, but it happened like this
My best friends are with me and I feel okay
But last time I was here, I was eighteen
My mind is racing and I feel so strange
Last time I was here, you were with me
I fell in love at the Orange Show Speedway
It didn’t look like this three years ago
I had it all at the Orange Show Speedway
Or someplace like that, it all looks the same
Everything changes, what a shame
I’m in the middle of the crowd and it’s like no time has passed
I’m half-expecting you to be there when I turn to my left
We were stupid and young and I was so in love
We were just friends riding on the line between acceptable
And angering your girlfriend
My best friends are with me and I feel okay
But last time I was here, I was eighteen
My mind is racing and I feel so strange
Last time I was here, you were with me
I fell in love at the Orange Show Speedway
It didn’t look like this three years ago
I had it all at the Orange Show Speedway
Or someplace like that, it all looks the same
Everything changes, what a shame
So sheltered
Uh, yep, ooh, fireworks
This is the best voice memo diary to date I think (oh my God, this is amazing)
Um, um just wanted to update myself
No one else listens to these but myself
(Hey), okay (you got the fireworks if you put that in a song), yeah, yeah
I fell in love at the Orange Show Speedway
But I’ve never been here in my life
I think it all kinda feels like an Orange Show Speedway
When you’re racing head-first towards something that’ll kill you in five seconds flat
When I’m racing head-first towards everything that I want back
In the labyrinthine tapestry of modern folk, Lizzy McAlpine weaves a particularly evocative strand with ‘Orange Show Speedway.’ This melancholic ballad does more than simmer with a raw emotion; it captures the bittersweet nature of memory and the heartache of growth.
Lizzy’s candid lyrics, with their conversational tone, invite listeners into an intimate world of past love and present reflection, set against the backdrop of a music festival that ties the two together. Understanding the song’s depth requires a dive into its lyrical nooks and emotional crannies—an endeavor that unveils the universal themes of change, memory, and the one that got away.
A Race Through Memory Lane: Unpacking Nostalgia
At the core of ‘Orange Show Speedway’ lies the inexorable pull of nostalgia. Lizzy McAlpine channels the essence of this bittersweet yearning, using a music festival both as a setting and a symbolic waypoint between the then and now.
The song elucidates the contrast between the physical sameness of a place and the emotional upheaval tied to specific memories. The Orange Show Speedway becomes more than just a location; it evolves into a living, breathing symbol for the pang of remembrance and the ghosts of youthful innocence and romance that once filled its space.
The Ephemeral Nature of Change: ‘Everything Changes, What a Shame’
In a reflective musing, McAlpine laments the inescapable truth that ‘Everything changes, what a shame.’ This line echoes the wisdom of an old soul who has come to understand the temporal nature of things.
While change is both inevitable and essential for growth, the song captures the delicate sorrow that accompanies the loss of what once was. McAlpine’s musings on change intertwined with the physicality of a speeding raceway, draw an exquisite parallel to the rapid pace at which our lives transform.
The Hidden Meaning: Racing Head-First Towards Closure
Beyond the overt narrative of heartache and change lies a hidden message within the song. The repetition of thematically significant verses peels back layers, revealing McAlpine’s internal dialogue about moving forward.
The gripping metaphor of ‘racing head-first towards something that’ll kill you in five seconds flat’ captures the tumultuous nature of wanting to reclaim the past at any cost. This daredevil approach to confronting painful memories suggests a desperate race for closure, even if it means risking emotional peril.
The Emotional Unload: The Voice Memo Diary
A fascinating turn comes in the form of a ‘voice memo diary,’ a feature that grounds not just a particularity to Lizzy’s own life, but also serves as a reminder of the intimate and personal ways we record and remember our emotions in the modern age.
The spontaneity of this moment, set against the backdrop of fireworks, encapsulates the song’s explorative theme—how we attempt to preserve fleeting sensations, knowing full well the futility in trying to hold on to what has inevitably changed or slipped away.
Memorable Lines: ‘I Fell in Love at the Orange Show Speedway’
This line resonates as the heartfelt refrain throughout the piece. It succinctly captures the central experience around which McAlpine’s emotions orbit. Its repetition throughout the song serves as a lamentation, a refrain of a chorus to a chapter in her life that reverberates with lost love, intimacy, and retrospection.
The line, whether it’s sung with a sigh or a cry, cements the song’s resonance with listeners. These words become an ode to the universal experience of a love that once felt uniquely omnipresent and defining, set against the stages of our own ‘Orange Show Speedways,’ wherever and whatever they may be.
