Summer Remains by Frank Ocean
Left hand holding the jewels
And I’m swearing up and down
I’m cursing out the moon
Tide stole my youth
The creases in my brow ain’t tan lines
Saltwater stole my eyes
The sun’s burning black and blue
Too cold this side of June
It ain’t natural
Right hand in yours
Left hand holding the juice
When that jungle flower blooms
Better leave it in the ground
Don’t try to cut it out
The creases in your brow ain’t tan lines
Saltwater swole my eyes
The sun burned black and blue on your green eyes
Too cold this side of June
That ain’t natural
I'll rebel, I'll rebel
But this ain't natural
I'll take care, I'll take care
If this ain't going well
I'm no match for you
This isn't hard to tell
That it ain't going well
When we're under the palm trees
Thinking heaven must be
Somewhere under these palm trees
With all the hell we're raising
At least we had the palm trees
To shade us from the ray beams
But not even the palm trees
Could save us from the flames
Summer remains
Oh, summer remains
Oh yeah, summer remain
Summer remain
Discussion
This song is a somewhat of a loose allusion to the story of Romeo & Juliet. The famous story, told differently by various storytellers, filmmakers, etc., all have a similar backstory. The two “star-crossed lovers” meet and fall in love with each other, only to fall victim to having families that hate the opposing family. The two, Romeo and Juliet, eventually kill themselves rather than to live separate from each other. Summer Remains by Frank Ocean, although slightly adjusted and made more vague, still alludes to that very story.Throughout the song, Ocean is referring to a partner in his past. We can tell there are two individuals in this song with lines like “My right hand to God” and “Right hand in yours”; referring to oneself and another individual. We can also tell that Ocean is talking about a special someone from his past, one whom he loved but is no longer with that person. The lines “The creases in my brow ain’t tan lines” and “The sun’s burning black and blue / Too cold this side of June”, respectively, describes his emotion after said person left him (creases in one’s brow equate to the face one makes when sad or crying) and paints a picture of contrast with how he feels and the setting around him (June, usually a hot Summer month, is “cold” for him).
As the song progresses, Ocean throws in lines like “But this ain’t natural”, “If this ain’t goin well / I’m no match for you”, which describe the unfortunate circumstance he’s under. Unlike Romeo & Juliet, here, Ocean isn’t affected by an external force but rather by him questioning his own sexuality. The song ends with “At least we had the palm trees / To shade us from the ray beams / But not even the palm trees could save us from the flames / Summer remains”, which arguably provide a bigger clues that allude to Romeo & Juliet. The two lovers could never be with each other in the eye of their families. Respectively, the person Ocean is talking about could never be with him.
Though, this vagueness leaves listeners questioning whether he’s talking about a relationship with another man or a relationship with another woman. Either way, problems may come in both instances. In the first situation, the “families” allusion in Romeo & Juliet could be referenced by the somewhat negative stigma around same-sex relationships around the time Ocean made this song. In the latter situation, the same “families” that the two are trying to avoid is the problems in their relationship; the area outside of the shade of the palm trees. Lastly, “Summer Remains” alludes to, in some way, death. The song doesn’t really mean it exactly as how Romeo & Juliet ended, but rather that the relationship that Ocean and this individual had, ended (hence, death).
Feather by Nujabes
Reading through the daily news
Measuring the hurt within the golden rule
Centimeters in ether I'm heatin' the speaker
Motivational teacher with words that burn people
Seeing the headlines lined with discord
It's either genocide or the planet in uproar
Never good, the rules of paradise are never nice
The best laid plans of mice and men are never right
I'm just a vagabond with flowers for Algernon
An average joe who knows what the f**k is goin' on
It's the hope of my thoughts that I travel upon
Fly like an arrow of God until I'm gone so
Driftin' away like a feather in air
Lettin' my words take me away from the hurt and despair
So I'm keepin' it vertical forever elevator
Riding an escalator to a somethin' that is greater so I'm
Driftin' away like a feather in air
Lettin' my soul take me away from the hurt and despair
So I'm keepin' it vertical forever elevator
Riding an escalator to a somethin' that is greater
Taking chances word tap dancing with wolves
In an ice arena out there deep in the woods of Arizona
The sun be high life's ironic
Ain't I tryin' to be Dali when I write
Surreal life I paint it vivid Habitat, crazy, insane
Watchin' propaganda six o' clock news that are sayin
Cultures clash, poor black folk and white trash
They rebel in the cyberspace that might crash, dash
To millennium a million miles of runnin
At the speed of now back, no return gunnin
Rambo style gun-ho child gunning
Ammo blaow two times loud stunnin, stunning
When it hit ya, lift ya off the earth like
Ayo take you right back to birth, and
N****s wonder why
They might wonder why this s**t might happen but it does, it goes
Driftin' away like a feather in air
Lettin' my words take me away from the hurt and despair
So I'm keepin' it vertical forever elevator
Riding the escalator to a somethin' that is greater so I'm
Driftin' away like a feather in air
Lettin' my soul take me away from the hurt and despair
So I'm keepin' it vertical forever elevator
Riding the escalator to a somethin' that is greater
Treat you, better than me 'cause that's the heavenly key
To unlock the inner strength where my essence will be
It's the knowledge of self, understanding of the things around me
That becomes the wisdom that I need,
Livin' this life to the best of my ability
Channelin' energy to my thoughts attain symmetry
Remember me, because my prose remain gold
I got the gift of gab like them pimps in Kangols
It never ends, I keep it rollin' like a cypher,
The first cave man bringing fire, innovating it higher
To blast mistakes I raise the stakes
It's double or nothing in this vacuum of space
I will, survive, divine, the time to cry
F**k a hold or hide I'm alive with pride
And I drove the chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
Singing "this will be the day that I die"
Discussion
Aside from stating the obvious references of different books in the first verse, such as "Flowers for Algernon" Or "Of Mice and Men", I noticed an interesting allusion in the very last lines of this song. It's a reference to the song "American Pie" by Don McLean. Referencing "The day that music died" a plane crash in which 3 of the most important music figures of the time passed away (Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper). And in verse two, akin talks about real life issues regarding race, media, and this generation as a whole. Using reference of reincarnation in the line "When it hit ya, lift ya off the earth like Ayo take you right back to birth.", he uses is to represent repeating history as humans without realizing, since the idea of reincarnation is the moment you die, you come back to life without recollection of what happened in their past life.
