Pink – Raise Your Glass – Cupcake
Pink has always been an artist with powerful lyrics, which is admirable. However, many of her songs seem to have a bit of an edge, like this one, which takes it away from the much desired qualification of “gluten-free.” Four out of five cupcakes for a solid rating of Cupcake.
I’m not saying that it’s bad to have a bit of an edge (which I will explain later), but this perhaps isn’t the best song to have playing over and over and getting into your head.
Here we go:
Right, right, turn off the lights
We gonna lose our minds tonight
What’s the dealio?
I love when it’s all too much
5 AM turn the radio up
Where’s the rock and roll?
There’s nothing here that’s too objectionable. It’s all very strong, though. Losing your mind and having it all be too much and listening to the radio loud in the early morning is alright – if its done occasionally and responsibly.
Party crasher, panty snatcher
Call me up if you are gansta
Don’t be fancy, just get dancy
Why so serious?
Now we start getting a little iffy. Crashing parties and snatching panties? Hanging out with gangsters? This doesn’t sound responsible anymore…
But then–!
So raise your glass if you are wrong in all the right ways
All my underdogs, we will never be, never be
Anything but loud and nitty gritty
Dirty little freaks, won’t you come on and come on and
Raise your glass
Just come on and come on and raise your glass
Well, now this sounds a bit more encouraging! Everyone loves the underdog, and it’s appealing to encourage people to be what society may deem wrong but what is actually right.
And yet… “Loud and nitty gritty”? “Dirty little freaks”? I thought this was supposed to be praising the underdog. Why does the underdog have to be loud and dirty and a freak?
This is the edge that I was previously referring to. It’s a good message at first glance, but there’s an edge that isn’t quite right.
Slam, slam, oh hot damn
What part of party don’t you understand?
Wish you’d just freak out
(Freak out already)
Can’t stop, coming in hot
I should be locked up right on the spot
It’s so on right now
(It’s so fucking on right now)
Yikes! This definitely doesn’t sound responsible now. And we have a bit of cursing, which seems a bit unnecessary.
Oh shit, my glass is empty
That sucks!
Cursing, and the suggestion of alcohol – though it could very well be a perfectly good non-alcoholic beverage.
So if you’re too school for cool
And you’re treated like a fool
(Treated like a fool)
You can choose to let it go
We can always, we can always
Party on our own
And then we have the good message shining through again. We have praise for using your head instead of being focused on acting cool. We have encouragement for people feeling bullied or put down. We have an appeal to not follow the crowd, but instead “party on our own.”
And this is why this song gets four instead of three cupcakes. You can tell that the artist has good intentions here. That edge of less than responsible behavior is certainly detrimental, but the overall message of the song leans more towards good than bad. That’s what we need more of – artists who have genuine, positive messages that they wish to convey to the public. As long as you have the radio edit, you’re good to go.
Gluten-Free Cupcakes 