Music Review: Ellie Goulding "Anything Could Happen"

Ellie Goulding

Anything Could Happen

Album: Halcyon

Year: 2012

       Fair warning: this review may get upsetting. It was one of those songs where I read the lyrics and thought “is she really singing about death?”I looked it up to be certain and it was.

       Ellie Goulding and her boyfriend, haunt the site where they died in the mystical “Anything Could Happen.”

        Celestial synths with Goulding’s “oh’s” set a metaphysical tone. Goulding and her boyfriend, now ghosts, search for the part of the ocean where they were found. Once they find the spot, they shed their shirts. She tells her boyfriend not to look at her. She does not want him to see the marks and burns which are all over her body. They descend into the water, trying to find answers. Pieces of the plane wing get stuck between her toes. She picks it up, seeing the the faded numbers and touches it, remembering her excitement she had. Within a split second, the stress and fears which had consumed her, stopped and she was at peace. (“Stripped to the waist/We fall into the river/Cover your eyes/So you don't know the secret/I've been trying to hide/We held our breath/To see our names are written/On the wreck of '86/That was the year/I knew the panic was over.”)

              It was unexpected and sudden. However, the day before the flight she had a twinge. She believed it was nerves but it wouldn’t go away. (“Yet since we found out/Since we found out/That anything could happen/Anything could happen/Anything could happen/Anything could happen/Anything could happen/Anything could happen/Anything could.”)

        The “oh’s” from the beginning get a brief solo.

          She and her boyfriend had decided to take the trip as a way to reconnect. Every conversation had turned into a battle, both wanting the upper hand in the relationship which resulted in deep-seated resentment. Finally, as a last-ditch effort, they planned to work things out in a place away from their jobs and home. Now, the pettiness over who picked out dinner for the night and the silence which followed, is seen as wasted time. (“After the war we said we'd fight together/I guess we thought that's just what humans do/Letting darkness grow/As if we need its palette and we need its colour/But now I've seen it through/And now I know the truth.”)

            The chorus is sung again.

       The “oh’s” return for another brief solo.

          In the bridge, she vows to be there for her boyfriend. However, she is ready to move on without him She has found what she needed..(“Baby, I'll give you everything you need/I'll give you everything you need, oh/I'll give you everything you need/But I don't think I need you.”)

       In the final part, she remembers her thoughts on heaven. She believes it will be what she imagined. It is the better place. The human world has become too harsh, a hell she no longer wants to see. (“ I know it's gonna be/I know it's gonna be/I know it's gonna be/I know it's gonna be/I know it's gonna be/I know it's gonna be/I know it's gonna be/I know it's gonna be/Oh, whoa.”)

      At the end, she leaves her boyfriend and goes to heaven. (“But I don't think I need you/But I don't think I need you/But I don't think I need you/But I don't think I need you.”)

     Goulding’s shivering, bleak vocals tremble, anticipating the dread which will unleash on her when she relives her last day. She mourns for the life she once had, wishinig she could fix her mistakes. However, she’s finally accepted her life is over and there is nothing she can do. Her boyfriend, however, has not and will keep returning, thinking it might change things.

     The otherworldly atmosphere, provided by the ethereal dance beat, gives the single its emotional power. It’s inspirational  and melancholy at the same time.

    The grim “Anything Could Happen” has a glimmer of hope hidden in its shadows.

    Now, I’m off to find something insufferable perky that will make me think of happy things like puppies and Christmas.