The Kelela-verse of Lyrics
TLDR: In honor of In the Blue Light, I wanted to look at all the times Kelela references another one of her songs in her lyrics. I find it so cool that Kelela constantly picks out themes that are important to her and expresses them through her lyricism. This may be a long post, but it's not extensive (lol).
Starting with Blue Light for obvious reasons:
- In the Blue Light album
- Let It Go - "I wanna see you in the blue light"
- Onanon - “Don’t know why I’m always singing something blue” (I know it’s a different meaning)
Far Away / Washed Away:
- Happy Ending starts with "Too far away" and says it through out the song
- Missed Call - “Far away, far away, year it’s far away, but now
- Fooley - Far away from, submerged sound”
- Contact - “And now I’m floating away, far and away"
Let It Go:
- Enough for Love - “Let go, even though you doubt it”
- Jupiter - "There's a lot going on, let it out"
- Turn To Dust - “Is it a consequence of time? Do I let go or do I grind?”
- Guns & Synths - “When I let go, it’s looking up”
- Floor Show - “Letting go of things that ain’t mine”
- Bank Head - “Time goes really slow, and I need to let it out”
- Cherry Coffee - “I keep letting go, but I know you’re holding on”
On the Run:
- Happy Ending - “And if you don’t run away, it could be a happy ending after all”
- Let It Go - “You run around, I’ll go inside”
- Blue Light - “When I need love, I run to you”
- Jupiter - "I can tell you're running"
- Onanon - “We’re not in a race, you’re running away”
- Rewind - "I'm still on the run, you don't know where I hide"
- All the Way Down - “I came in hard, I hope you don’t run”
- Submission (Gorillaz) - “And it got to me when you state your love, but your run away”
Contact:
- Do It Again - “One touch takes you out of your sleep”
- Send me out - “First contact, we’ll sort it out all through the night”
Raven:
- Rewind - "Boy, you're over the line"
Frontline:
- Floor Show - “You should stop the front, before I catch you in a lie”
Waitin:
- On the Run - “I won’t wait all night”
- “I don’t wanna wait”
- “Don’t wait all night”
- Closure - “I’mma wait up”
- Contact - “I’ll give you taste if you’re good but you gotta wait”
- Frontline - “I’m staying up, so don’t wait up ‘cause they’re betting on me”
- “I couldn’t wait for you”
- Take Me Apart - “I wait up all night”
- Better - “Told you that I needed time to wait, but there’s a lot to think about while you wait”
- S.O.S. - “So I lay up and wait”
Bluff:
- Enemy - “I called you on your bluff, but you’re holding tough”
Floor Show:
- Closure - “If you front row, I’ll put on a show”
Keep It Cool:
- Rewind - “This “ain’t a mystery, I’m trying to keep my cool”
Bank Head:
- Waitin - "It's all I dreamed of (As before), It can't get started"
Enough:
- Let It Go - "Where you're at is enough" in the first verse
- Enough for Love
- Enemy - “You know we give it up, but love is not enough”
- Something Else - “I gave my all to you, but it seems my love was not enough now”
A Lie:
- Bruises - “A pause, now you’re thinking that everything’s fine, but you know it’s a lie”
A Breath Away:
- Bank Head - “A breath away, I wonder how you keep it all inside”
Fade to Mind Interlude:
- Cherry Coffee - “I’m in deep, feel like I’mma die, a fade to mind”