Music Review: Donna Lewis "Fool's Paradise"

Donna Lewis

Fool’s Paradise

Album: Now in a minute

Year: 1996

         Her ex-boyfriend’s spell over her has been broken in the lithe “Fool’s Paradise.”

           Glinting synths open the single, setting a  mesmerizing tone.   He throws his arms out, full of a dozen roses and bows. The stage rotates and he is bed with another girl. He says he is a better man because of her. She has taught him the meaning of love. In the next scene, her family is seated. He impresses them with his endless charm. Her sisters swoon and her father pats him on the back, welcoming him as one of their own. The curtain falls. In the next act, he looks into the mirror and there is a weaker man stands, unable to look back. However, his reflection can be heard murmuring every lie he told. Unbeknownst to him, all the women have figured it out and can hear also. (“Manipulated romance/Pretty speeches in the dark/Banging on your big drum/You captivate their hearts/But the underneath the mask/Is a man of straw/A master of excuses/Closing every door.”)

            In the chorus, she’s in the audience, watching it unfold.  Each time someone mentions his name, she puts her hands over her ears. His monologues explaining his behavior do not move her. She doesn’t clap for him as he apologizes. She won’t enter his world again. (“And I don’t wanna hear your name/I don’t wanna feel your pain/And I don’t have to play your game/I’m stronger and things have changed/I’m no longer in fool’s, fool’s paradise/I’m no longer in fool’s, fool’s paradise/Fool’s paradise.”)

He can maneuver a word, changing its shape and exposing its true nature. He competes with other writes, tracking his legendary status. A mention by another author will make the walls shake in his home. His fear of failure controls him, encroaching on his relationships. After he recovers, though, he finds another girlfriend to destroy. (“Your poetic inspiration/Is a work of art/But your obsession with glory/Rules a self-centered heart/Accumulative hatred, living in fear/And when the bitterness is over/Another victim appears.”)

           A second chorus is sung, with a minor edit. (“So I don’t wanna hear your name…Fool’s paradise.”)

            A variation of the chorus ends the single. (“And I don’t wanna hear your name/I don’t wanna feel your pain/I’m no longer in fool’s paradise/Fool’s paradise/I’m no longer in fool’s/I don’t wanna feel your pain/I’m no longer in fool’s paradise/I don’t wanna hear your name.”)

       Lewis’ glassy vocals observe her ex-boyfriend’s actions, appreciative that she is not engulfed inside, suffocating from his ego. Bitterness is still inflames her, though. A part of her is angry with him for getting away with his treachery and cruelty. She is also angry with herself for buying into it once.

           For those who are unfamiliar, she can be considered a lighter version of Ellie Goulding. Personally, I would love to hear Goulding cover Lewis’ hit “I Love You Always Forever.”

       The articulate “Fool’s Paradise” revisits its heartbreak, reviling the scene yet can’t loose its chains, either