美国国家公共电台 NPR Alone Together: Robyn's 'Dancing On My Own' Opens The Corners Of Community

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Every generation needs a good breakup song. Some are full of rage, some full of sadness. Swedish pop star Robyn made a breakup song that became a millennial¹ anthem² full of energy and perseverance³. It's the latest musical deep dive in our American Anthem series. And NPR's Sam Sanders is our guide.

(SOUNDBITE OF ROBYN SONG, "DANCING ON MY OWN")

SAM SANDERS, BYLINE⁴: From the start, Robyn's "Dancing On My Own" reaches right into your soul and latches⁵ on.

(SOUNDBITE OF ROBYN SONG, "DANCING ON MY OWN")

SANDERS: The song's about 118 beats per minute, a tempo⁶ engineered almost perfectly⁷ for human movement.

NATE SLOAN: You know, it's right around where scientists have placed the preferred walking tempo.

SANDERS: That's Nate Sloan.

SLOAN: Co-host of the podcast Switched on Pop and assistant professor of musicology at the University of Southern California.

SANDERS: Nate says what also makes this song special is that it's one big bait and switch. After the music starts all happy and dancey, Robyn turns it around when she starts to sing.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANCING ON MY OWN")

ROBYN: (Singing) Somebody said you got a new friend. Does she love you better than I can?

SANDERS: Somebody said you got a new friend. Does she love you better than I can? That's a breakup song. Nate Sloan says that puts "Dancing On My Own" right up there with a bunch of other classic sad songs that sound happy.

SLOAN: It's definitely got a long history in pop, like "MMMBop" by Hanson.

SANDERS: Wait. That's a sad song?

SLOAN: That's a really sad song, actually.

SANDERS: (Laughter) OK.

SLOAN: Yeah.

SANDERS: In "Dancing On My Own," Robyn is at the same club as an ex-lover. On the same dance floor, she sees this ex dancing with another girl.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANCING ON MY OWN")

ROBYN: (Singing) I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her.

SANDERS: The chorus peaks with Robyn accepting reality and dancing through the pain.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANCING ON MY OWN")

ROBYN: (Singing) But I'm not the guy you're taking home. I keep dancing on my own. I keep dancing on my own.

SANDERS: The strange thing has happened with "Dancing On My Own" in the last few years. Every time I've seen people experiencing this song, a song with the words on my own in the title, they are not alone. Lena Dunham's character on HBO's "Girls" - she danced to "Dancing On My Own" in a scene of that show with her character's best friend. Lots of people told me about playing this song at wedding receptions to get everyone on the floor dancing and singing together. There's this one video on YouTube. It's got dozens of people on a subway platform in New York, all going home after a Robyn concert, waiting for the train. And crammed⁸ together on the subway platform, they burst into song together, singing "Dancing On My Own."

(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Singing) I'm just gonna dance all night.

(CHEERING)

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Singing) I'm all messed up. I'm so outta line.

SANDERS: "Dancing On My Own" was first released in the States in 2010. Years before this song, Robyn was making light, fluffy⁹ teen pop. But Robyn left that behind, made her own record label, changed up her look. And she began to make music that was edgier¹⁰. In 2010, Robyn told NPR about basically breaking up with a certain side of the music industry.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

ROBYN: It was a big, big change for me. But I really didn't feel like I had another option. For me, it was like the last thing to try before I was going to quit music kind of.

SANDERS: Sasha Geffen is a music critic. And she says even though Robyn left teen pop behind, she still has teen pop in her DNA¹¹. And that's part of what makes the song "Dancing On My Own" work.

SASHA GEFFEN: It's important to see her as a teenager who survived, right? She has kind of learned to carry the intensity¹² of teenage emotion into perfectly adult pop songs.

SANDERS: Patrik Berger is a Swedish songwriter. He co-wrote and produced "Dancing On My Own" with Robyn. He told me his favorite lyric¹³ in the song is this perfect example of that messy teenage emotion - Robyn singing about being stubborn.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANCING ON MY OWN")

ROBYN: (Singing) Yeah, I know it's stupid. I just gotta see it for myself.

SANDERS: Yeah, I know it's stupid. But just gotta see it for myself. Patrik Berger says lyrics¹⁴ like that make "Dancing On My Own" something different than those breakup songs where you're just tough and strong, and everything's gonna be fine, and you're great.

PATRIK BERGER: You're not really being the smartest person on the planet. You're not being the nicest. You're not being, like, the best. You're just, like - you're just a loser. And that's fine, you know?

SANDERS: (Laughter).

BERGER: You're lost.

SANDERS: Lost but dancing through it. In researching this story, I heard from a Robyn fan who had a particularly touching¹⁵ story about just that - being lost and using "Dancing On My Own" to dance through it. Her name is Nora.

NORA MCINERNEY: I'm Nora McInerney. I'm a writer and a podcast host.

SANDERS: Her podcast is called Terrible, Thanks For Asking. Nora told me as soon as she met her boyfriend Aaron, who became her husband...

MCINERNEY: He asked me basically right away, oh, do you like Robyn?

SANDERS: He made her listen to all things Robyn. He was obsessed¹⁶. Robyn became a big part of their relationship. But a few years after their relationship began, it ended.

MCINERNEY: Aaron - four years after we met, he died of brain cancer.

SANDERS: And as he was dying, Aaron made Nora a playlist.

MCINERNEY: One of the songs that was on his funeral playlist was "Dancing On My Own."

SANDERS: Nora obeyed his request, and she played Robyn's "Dancing On My Own" at her husband's funeral.

MCINERNEY: There's that line where she says, the lights go out. The music dies. But you don't see me standing¹⁷ here. And I just came to say goodbye. And I do bawl¹⁸ at that part pretty regularly.

SANDERS: At the funeral, Nora did bawl. But she also danced.

MCINERNEY: It had thinned out. There were maybe a hundred people left. And the music was playing. And I was very, very drunk. I would not recommend blacking out at your (laughter) husband's funeral. But if you got to do it, I mean - if you must, if you must. And I remember singing that song and crying with my friends.

SANDERS: Nora says now "Dancing On My Own" makes her think of all the times she'll get on dance floors with her son, Aaron's son, and dance with him.

(SOUNDBITE OF ROBYN SONG, "DANCING ON MY OWN")

SANDERS: And that's really the reason Robyn's "Dancing On My Own" is a true anthem - because every time with this song, whenever you hear it, whenever you experience it, you immediately feel less alone. Sam Sanders, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANCING ON MY OWN")

ROBYN: (Singing) I keep dancing on my own.

MARTIN: Sam is the host of the podcast It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders.

1 millennial   

一千年的，千福年的

参考例句：

• Both Russia and America looked to the future to fulfill their millennial expectations. 俄国和美国都把实现他们黄金时代的希望寄托于未来。
• The millennial generation is celebrating the global commons every day, apparently unmindful of Hardin's warning. 千禧一代显然对哈丁的警告不以为然，每天都在颂扬全球“公地”。

2 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

3 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 latches   

n.（门窗的）门闩( latch的名词复数 )；碰锁v.理解( latch的第三人称单数 )；纠缠；用碰锁锁上（门等）；附着（在某物上）

参考例句：

• The virus latches onto the red blood cells. 这种病毒附着在红细胞上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The opposite end latches onto the pathogen. 相对的一端锁在病原体上。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器

6 tempo   

n.(音乐的)速度；节奏，行进速度

参考例句：

• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
• They waltz to the tempo of the music.他们跟着音乐的节奏跳华尔兹舞。

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

9 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

10 edgier   

adj.不安的，易激怒的( edgy的比较级 )

参考例句：

• The Hill is an upstart competitor that's a little edgier. 国会山是一个有点边缘化的新晋竞争者。 来自互联网
• Despite the edgier aspects of his personality, Anakin possesses a guileless charm. 除去他性格中的边缘性，阿纳金拥有一种坦率的魅力。 来自互联网

11 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

12 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

13 lyric   

n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的

参考例句：

• This is a good example of Shelley's lyric poetry.这首诗是雪莱抒情诗的范例。
• His earlier work announced a lyric talent of the first order.他的早期作品显露了一流的抒情才华。

14 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

15 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

16 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

17 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

18 bawl   

v.大喊大叫，大声地喊，咆哮

参考例句：

• You don't have to bawl out like that. Eeverybody can hear you.你不必这样大声喊叫，大家都能听见你。
• Your mother will bawl you out when she sees this mess.当你母亲看到这混乱的局面时她会责骂你的。