aNaLySiNg PoEtRy WiTh MoNcRiEff | Sound of Pen

I’ve spoken a zillion times about how lucky we are to have Banquet Records in Kingston. Not that you need me to tell you. Just look at the artists they’ve brought to perform in small venues on our doorstep: YUNGBLUD, Tate McRae, Jimmy Eat World, Machine Gun Kelly – the list goes on. Next up is Moncrieff. He’ll be playing in the Banquet shop on May 16th. If the singles are anything to go by, the Irish singer’s new album ‘ ‘Maybe It’s Fine’ will be HUGE.

ACTIVITY 1

If you haven’t done so already, you need to listen to, ‘i just don’t think i’ll make it over you.’ As well as being the most beautiful song of the year, it’s accompanied by an absolutely devastating dance routine…

Okay, so I’ll give you a few moments to gather yourself!!

Deep breath.

ACTIVITY 2

Now, let’s look more closely at the lyrics. Highlight/make a note of the words and phrases that will help you answer the following question (a question you could definitely be asked in relation to Shakespeare, Fitzgerald or any of the love poets):

Explore how Moncrieff presents ideas about love and loss.

Have a think on your own first, but then scroll down for a version with my own highlights included if you want to 🙂

Moncrieff, ‘i just don’t think i’ll make it over you.’

My pulse is up, my mouth is dry and you’re the reason why
How come no one told me you’d be here tonight?
We said a little space would give us time to grow
But that was seven years ago
And you still pull that dress off like nobody else
So tell me how you’ve been, are you here by yourself?
And if there’s any chance that you came here alone
I’d like a moment right before you go to let you know

Darling, I’m trying
But it’s no use
I feel like I’m climbing
But I just don’t think I’ll make it over you
And I know it’s shameless
But it’s the truth
Oh, I just don’t think I’ll make it over you
You
I just don’t think I’ll make it over you

Truth is if I could go back there again I’d change it all
Tell you this love is real, it’s rare, it’s unexplainable
It’s why I’m buried in my work until I’m burning out
Who’d you think I write these songs about?
‘Cause we felt something barely anybody gets to feel
Like you asleep right on my shoulder, me behind the wheel
Like on the night my brother died you stayed right next to me
That’s the kind of love that never leaves so now you know

That, darling, I’m trying
But it’s no use
I feel like I’m climbing
But I just don’t think I’ll make it over you
And I know it’s shameless
But it’s the truth
Oh, I just don’t think I’ll make it

So does it ever cross your mind
To try again to make it right
And make up for the love we left behind?
I’d give anything for one more chance
To fix the broken in our past
So tell me, am I crazy thinking
We could have it all

‘Cause, darling, I’m trying
But it’s no use
I feel like I’m climbing
But I just don’t think I’ll make it over you
And I know it’s shameless
So if you want the truth
Oh, I just don’t think I’ll make it over you
You
I just don’t think I’ll make it over you

Look below the album image for the same lyrics, but with my choice of key quotes highlighted.

Then, scroll past the highlighted lyrics for the next task.

Moncrieff, ‘i just don’t think i’ll make it over you.’

ACTIVITY 3

By now, then, you’ve got lots of words and phrases highlighted. If you haven’t already labelled the techniques (assonance, repetition, half-rhyme etc.) in each highlighted quote, do that now.

Next, consider what each quote suggests about love and about the loss of love? Make notes or thread your ideas together to form a full unseen poetry-style essay.

If you’re writing the essay, maybe you can try doing what we always like to do at Sound of Pen and take your essay from a place of darkness to an ending point of light! How can you do that? Maybe start by examining the pain caused by the loss of love (the relationship breakdown) but end by zooming in on the fact that Moncreiff’s love remains so powerful and so endless. And maybe he’s not, “crazy, thinking we could have it all.” Perhaps we can leave our essay in a place where the fulfilment of these loving feelings seems inevitable! Even if not, surely the power of his love helps us to believe that such passion exists in the world. And anything that helps us to believe that can only be a good thing!!

ACTIVITY 4

Once that’s done, have another look at the video. How is the video directed and choreographed in a way that suits the ideas you came up with when analysing the lyrics. What do you notice about the dancing, setting, props, lighting, positioning that ties to the vision of love and loss you developed when listening to the words of the song? Make a list of all your ideas.

Here are some ideas that Ania and Thea came up with:

cigarette symbolises health problems (difficulties breating) that fit with how he feels without her.
he starts in shadow – the darkness of his life without her – and moves into light when he thinks about her (this might be just a false sense of hope).
the mirrored dancing reflects how perfectly in tune they were with each other.
both on the floor – the lowness of their position implies difficulties perhaps – but they’re side by side, underlining their love and the importance of it.
the dishevelled party setting hints at the turbulence – the ‘honeymoon’ period – that couldn’t last.
a party setting suggests there should be other revellers but it’s just them underlining their fixation on each other – their relationship has come at the expense of other friendships.
blank white walls underlines their intense focus on each other – no distraction.
the big plant represents nature and growth – she has grown (away from him?)

That’s it! I hope you loved spending time with Moncrieff and that you can see how the ideas you came up with today are relevant to the texts you’re studying (or, vice versa, how the work you’ve done on your texts in the classroom informed your reading of Moncrieff!). If you want me to check your work over or if you have any questions, send a message to jc@soundofpen.com or via the form at the bottom of the ‘About‘ page. Thank you 🙂