Every Song I Love — 7. Haley Heynderickx : Oom Sha La La
Every good song is a series where I try to write about every song that I love, or die trying. Sometimes I’ll explain why I love them, sometimes I’ll tell the stories behind how I fell in love with them, sometimes I’ll do both. Most importantly, I hope you love them too.
As far back as I can remember, I loved to read and loved to write. As reading and music have always been such an important part of my life, that it surprises me how little I cared for lyrics when I was young. There were certainly lines in songs that I appreciated, that spoke to me, but I don’t think good lyrics were necessary for me to enjoy a song, and some bands I loved at the time have lyrics I know think are terrible. Perhaps I was just an angsty teenager with questionable taste.
I was certainly incapable of detecting any irony in a song’s lyrics, almost always taking them literally (cases in point Kenickie — Punka, Garbage — I’m Only Happy When It Rains). I often got lyrics completely wrong (why, for example, did I think Deborah from Pulp’s Disco 2000 had lichen, rather than woodchip, on her wall, and why was I so reluctant to admit I was wrong when corrected). Even when lyrics were heard and understood, they rarely remained in my brain for long, no matter how many times I heard a song.
Looking back, I understand that words, at that time, were merely functional to me, a tool to advance the plot as I raced through a novel, to make me laugh, to make the right sound at the right time in a song. I didn’t appreciate the beauty of the words themselves (which may be why I was dismissive of poetry at the time)
As I’ve grown older, this has changed. I can enjoy poetry and poetic prose as well as narrative and action, although I’ve had to train myself to read more slowly and carefully rather than racing through books. I appreciate a great lyricist more than ever, and find it harder to ignore terrible lyrics, even when they’re in service of a great melody.
Which brings me to Haley Heynderickx. There are some lyricists whose work takes time to appreciate, but Heynderickx had me with the first two lines of the first song of hers that I ever heard.
“The milk is sour
I’ve barely been to college”
In just nine words, those two lines perfectly capture all the things to be done, the chores incomplete and major life choices yet to make. That sometimes overwhelming feeling that the days are too short, go by too fast, and the to do list will never end. It takes real skill to capture a complex feeling with such economy. Even better is the use of “barely” when “I’ve never been to college” would have been the more obvious line. “I’ve never been to college” is a simple statement of fact, but “I’ve barely been to college” feels like there’s a story behind it, even if we don’t know exactly what that story is. Why did she start? Why did she stop? Some welcome intrigue and mystery.
The rest of the lyrics in the song are equally wonderful, and although I’m not going to bore you with a line by line analysis here, this section is a particular favourite of mine:
If you don’t go outside
Well nothing’s gonna happen
She’ll never write her number on a crumpled up napkin
She’ll never be your ego
She’ll never be a bandit
She’ll never get to eat you like your heart’s a pomegranate
It’s a beautifully structured song as well, with the verses interspersed with the repeated “Oom Sha La Las” that give the song its’ title, and an intense, building middle section which culminates in a repeated scream of “I need to start a garden” — (also the title of Heynderickx’s debut album). Also, so relatable. Who amongst us hasn’t felt that pressure, often self-generated, to do all the things, to live our best lives. Yet, that universal feeling is expressed with such skill and with, that it speaks to each of us individually.
Oom Sha La La is one of those songs that reminds me of the importance of discovering new music. Now I’m older and have responsibilities, I just can’t find new music at the same rate as I did in my teens and twenties, and I’ve already heard so much, that I’m less likely to be surprised by something new. But, then something like Oom Sha La La comes along, and it’s as good as almost anything I’ve ever heard, and it pierces my soul in the way that only the very best music can, and it feels like you’re falling in love with music all over again.
It’s not all that new any more, having been released back in 2017, although any song released since about 2010 feels new to me still. Like all of Heynderickx’s fans, I’m eagerly awaiting the second album, but until then I’ll have to find something else to do. Perhaps I do need to start a garden after all.
Originally published at http://markjwray.com on March 13, 2024.
