Language by Porter Robinson

Give me

release

Let the waves of time and space surround me

yeah

Cause I need

room to breathe

Let me float back to the place you found me

I’ll be okay...

So state the only lyrics of the song Language by Porter Robinson. It’s the song I’ve been listening to on loop at school, whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed by school. By the amount of people, or by my math teacher who does a better job at confusing us than teaching us, or when I feel like I can't take a full breath because I walked to school just a bit too late and got there just as all the vehicles were, or when I stayed up late doing homework because I'm bad at time management, then had to wake up at the same time the next morning and am really tired, or when I didn't realize how many near-strangers would be staring at me until I get to the front of the class and I couldn't function, or when I'm just at the stub of my eraser in general for some/no reason. It’s helped many other people as well- Just look at the comments (minus the ones about it being the main menu song for the game Forza Horizon) on the YouTube video. Here are some quotes, to save you the scrolling:

“This song has honestly helped me so much in my life (...) I lost my dad and my grandfather my senior year and this song would remind me that everything would be okay in [the] end because there’s always more good things in life than bad.”

“This song saved my life (…) It gave me life again.”

“this song dug me out of my depression about a year ago.”

“I truly thank you Porter, you are literally my hero and I owe you my life.”

“When the synths come back just after “I’ll be okay”, that’s when I feel alive, thank you”

“I can’t believe how many people, including myself, that had Porter, this song specifically, positively affect them. I thought I was the only one who felt like this song was the one thing that saved me and kept me pushing on (…) Thank you Porter.”

“One of those songs that you can’t listen to without feeling instantly happier about everything in your life.”

“This song helps me with everything.”

“This song is the story of my life (…) a work of art and a masterpiece 100%.”

But you know what?

I wouldn’t actually call it an uplifting song. Because most songs that we call “uplifting” are little rays of sunshine during a slightly cloudy day. They make you feel bright and bouncy, if only for a minute. One prime example is this song by JJD- it’s even called Lift. Or perhaps A Little Adventure by 23.exe.

I see nothing wrong with those songs, just so you know, but I don’t think they fit with every situation either. Sometimes that little ray of sunshine isn’t gonna do it. If your life is a full-on hurricane right now, then even if that sunshine pierces through the clouds, after the song ends, the wind, the rain, the thunder, the lightning, the darkness, they’re all still there and it feels like nothing has changed.

When some people are going through those stormy times, they listen to sad or dark songs instead. There’s some innate feeling of sympathy, and therefore comfort, in “there are other people in this storm too.” One example would be Domino, the Gumi English Original by Lauren Estes, which is currently my mood song. But again, the wind, the rain, the thunder, the lightning, the darkness, they’re all still there. Those songs can even make you feel worse sometimes. It brings out just how real the storm is.

This song is in neither of those categories. It has darkness and ugliness in, say, 1:30-2:00, which I categorize as such because it is unpleasant to listen to. Even if you like that kind of harsh-rhythm-without-melody, you still get the feeling that this is a storm soundscape. Sirens go off, alarms sound, the bass turns unpleasantly crunchy, the drums hit like hailstones. But even in that, the theme still plays on. It eventually overpowers the ugliness, and plays full blast in an anthem of hope and clear skies. Those two aspects, the darkness and the light, combine and are more effective than anything else by far. This is life in a song. There are storms, there are bright, sunny days, there are springs, there are winters. But you know what? The song doesn’t end with one of those ugly parts. It ends with the theme, soft and sunny. Even during the song, there is much more hope than darkness. That’s why it’s not uplifting. It’s not a little ray of sunshine. It’s not the storm clearing up, either. But it might be a little raincoat. Hope- no, knowledge- that the storm will let up, and until then, a little protection, a little shelter.

That’s why I love this song, and why it gives me so much comfort on stormy days.

I hope that you find comfort in this song too, if you need any.

I’ll be okay.