''A Moment'' We Are Yong-Fun (feat.Janelle Monae )

‘’We are Young’’ by Fun (featuring Janelle Monae)

This song is a moment. I'm sure when this song is played, it emits a certain nostalgia that is felt regardless of age or time. The message and how the song is engineered tells us the listener, a narrative of youth, having fun and being in love. It's what I like to call ‘’ a moment’’. We have all at some point experienced it. I have a personal connection with this song. Yes, it involves me attending my Jr High graduation dance, It was in the school cafeteria. And yes, I had a love interest and we kissed while this song was playing, and it was ...as you can guess ‘’a moment’’. The moment was unanimous in joy and positivity. There between me and my love interest lied a sense of wonder and possibility that filled the room that night. So, it's safe to say the song brings back memories to me.

When this song came out it was everywhere. Some would say it defined the year 2011-2012. I remembered I originally liked it. And the fact that it was such a popular overplayed song didn’t bother me as much. Even though me and my love interest broke up a week later, I still enjoyed it. The song I feel to me was made in a way that engaged the listener and kept them entertained. I feel they did that by changing the whole song by the time the chorus hit. It wasn't like the usual redundant beat or some catchy chorus that got stuck in your head. Lord knows we’ve got enough of that. The song itself tells a story with it's changing melodies and tempos. To put it simply, the song isn't boring. I learned in a band years ago that songs like this are usually liked by the majority because it doesn't bore the listener but also doesn't scatter the attention of the song. It has a sort of mild syncopation. But that's just me and my explanation of my memory and why I like the song. I also asked others and gained different points of view. Some of the responses were shocking.

I first asked if they remembered the song at all, and they did. Then I asked what they liked about it? The first person I asked was my mother. Albeit shocking, she likes the song. I sometimes hear it in her never changing playlist which measures how much she likes it. She says the first thing she notices about the song is the chorus. I too like the chorus. It marks the start of the song changing into that mild syncopation I spoke of earlier. She agrees that the lyrics evokes a kind of young carefree spirit, that she too relates with. Those lyrics being,

‘’Tonight, we are young

So let's set the world on fire

We can burn brighter than the sun’’- Fun feat. Janelle Monae (2011)

But then the conversation took a turn when she said out of nowhere ‘’I think this song is about domestic abuse’’. And I was like...what? And she was like yeah, look at the first stanza. And I'm reading it and I'm seeing where she could think that.

‘’Give me a second I, I need to get my story straight

My friends are in the bathroom

Getting higher than the Empire State

My lover, she's waiting for me just across the bar

My seat's been taken by some sunglasses asking 'bout a scar’’- Fun feat. Janelle Monae (2011)

Now there's no doubt that there have been songs written that have a positive catchy beat and a dark meaning, but I didn't think this song was that. Like I said before I believed this song to be about love and being young and stupid. But now I'm sitting here starting to see the different perspectives while also still trying to be right because … I want to win this mini mother daughter debate. But then as I look at it from her perspective, I also pay attention to the second stanza before it goes into the chorus.

‘’And I know I gave it to you months ago

I know you're trying to forget it

But between the drinks and subtle things

The holes in my apologies

You know, I'm trying hard to take it back

So, if by the time the bar closes

And you feel like falling down

I'll carry you home’’- Fun feat. Janelle Monae (2011)

So then that got me thinking. Could it be that this song changes narrative from the person who has been abused in the first stanza too the person who inflicted the abuse in the second stanza? Then I looked up the lyrics and realized me and her were not the only ones having this debate. In the end, the meaning of the song to my mother was that there were ex’s that came across each other in a bar and the person in stanza 2 hurt the other person a long time ago, and they are expressing regret and that he or she still has love and cares for the other person.

‘’So if by the time the bar closes

And you feel like falling down

I'll carry you home tonight’’ - Fun feat. Janelle Monae (2011)

Then I asked another person around my age if they liked the song. And because the person I was asking is known to be a fan of lyricism before any beat or melody, I was thrown off at his response. He told me the first thing he noticed and liked about the song was the melody, he says it was emotional. And I agree. He also told me he wasn't aware of the lyrics as much as the chorus.

‘’Tonight, we are young

So let's set the world on fire

We can burn brighter than the sun’’ Fun feat. Janelle Monae (2011)

You can’t blame us or the tons of people that felt that this part was the catchiest most memorable part of the song. It wouldn't be the first time we popularized a song with a happy catchy beat and a dark message behind it. (Shout out to pump those kicks by Foster the People) And like I stated before this was the part of the song where there is a dramatic change making it appeal more to the listeners. I find it intriguing that so many perspectives can be derived from a song. The good thing is no one is wrong or right unless the writer says so. Music shouldn’t be a forum to prove personal meaning. There can be multiple different points of views of the song no matter who looks at it. And that can be for any song. See for yourself, whenever a popular song you love comes on, inspect why it is you love it. And ask others what they might notice about the song or what jumps out. This can be a fun topic to talk about, see if they have any memories. Perhaps in that moment you make a new one.