Close but no cigar

The fourth episode of Welcome to Night Vale is "PTA Meeting."  The Weather of this episode is a song by the Swedish band, The Tiny.  Pianist/vocalist Ellekari Larsson's voice is small, high, child-like, much like Björk or Joanna Newsom.  She is joined by Leo Svensson on cello and Johan Berthling on bass.  The song, "Closer," was recorded in 2004, and according to Wikipedia the popularity of the band has risen thanks to their exposure on WtNV.  According to MetroLyrics, the song was composed by Harry Warren with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, but I couldn't find it in the Johnny Mercer Song Database or lists of Harry Warren's songs. 



Larsson's voice enters alone for each verse, before the piano and strings join her.  The sliding cello line and rhythmic left hand of the piano along with the the dramatic pauses evoke a sense of a tango, without truly being a tango.  The form is a little unusual.  Instead of the typical Verse-Chorus, Verse-Chorus, Bridge, Verse-Chorus, this song has three verses in a row, each finishing with a small refrain, variants on "closer."  The third refrain leads into the chorus, which feels more like a bridge because of the isolation from the verses and the shift to the relative major key.  But the same section comes back at the end, making it a better candidate as a chorus.  Perhaps a hybrid bridge/chorus is an even better label. The bridge/chorus is followed by two more verses, each a variant on the first and third verses, and the song finishes with another bridge/chorus.  Each verse follows an ABAC form, with the C section ending with the refrain.  The bridge/chorus also follows this pattern, finishing with a half cadence each time.  The fifth verse starts with a tease, a suggested bridge/chorus with the repeated "closer, closer" before moving on to the verse itself.

Verse 1:  Now I'm thinking maybe, I was stoned / I felt my feet lift off the ground / And my heart was screaming / At my bones / I need you closer

Verse 2:  As he's in the middle of the street / Then I pretend he is mine to keep / Cars are running fast on both sides of his head / his eyes say / Closer, closer, closer

Verse 3: I met him when the sun was down, the bar was closed / We both have had no sleep / My face beneath the street lamp / it reveals what it is lonely people seek / Closer, closer

Bridge/Chorus: Closer, closer / And you're close enough to lose / Close to the point, to where you know that your mind, it cannot choose / Close enough to lose / Close enough to lose your heart

Verse 4: Now I'm thinking maybe, I was stoned / I felt my feet lift off the ground / And my heart was screaming / At my bones / I need you closer

Tease: Closer, closer

Verse 5: You met me when the sun was down and the bar was closed / We both have had no sleep / My face beneath the street lamp / it reveals what it is lonely people seek / Closer, closer

Bridge/Chorus

The oddness of the form, along with the pseudo-tango feel, fits the emotion of the lyrics.  The singer is obsessed with a lover, mentally and emotionally unstable (screaming heart, maybe stoned).  She is afraid of losing her heart, I think because she doesn't really believe that he will love her back, that she will be hurt.  So she is dancing around her emotions.  Their relationship exists in the darkness of night, and the emphasis on coming closer suggests an unhealthy desire/need, much like a drug.  The first three verses are speaking about the lover, the last two verses are speaking to the lover. This suggests she has returned to him, even as she knows it is not a good relationship (her mind cannot choose). 

Like the previous WtNV weather, this song is about choices in love. But while Bill made a rational choice to honor his commitments, this song is about the irrational side of love.  This does not speak poorly of Bill and his choices, but rather shows how culture, family, education, etc. affect our romantic decisions.