Music Review: Magic! "Rude"

Magic!

Rude

Album: No Way No

Year: 2013

          Nasri Atweh is hurt after being snubbed by his girlfriend’s father in the blemished “Rude.”

        An oblivious reggae beat opens the single, setting a certain tone.  He buttons up his shirt and practices what he will say to his girlfriend’s father: he will always take care of her, she is safe with him and she’s the most important person in his life. Once he’s confident, he drives over to her parents’ house. After they ask him how he’s doing, he asks if he can speak to her father alone. (“Saturday morning jumped out of bed and put on my best suit/Got in my car and raced like a jet, all the way to you/Knocked on your door with heart in my hand/To ask you a question/Cause I know that you're an old-fashioned man, yeah, yeah.”)

        In the pre-chorus, he says if he can his blessing before he asks to marry his daughter. His father laughs in his laugh and tells him over his dead body will ever that happen. (“Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? say yes, say yes/Cause I need to know/You say I'll never get your blessing 'til the day I die/Tough luck, my friend, but the answer is no!”)

        In the bridge, he objects to being not good enough for her. He tells her father he has established himself and works hard. His approval is no longer needed. He is still going to ask her to be his wife. He tells her father he’ll regret what he said when they bring the grandchildren over to play. His nasty behavior is unnecessary. (“Why you gotta be so rude?/Don't you know I'm human too?/Why you gotta be so rude?/I'm gonna marry her anyway/Marry that girl/Marry her anyway/Marry that girl/Yeah, no matter what you say/Marry that girl/And we'll be a family/Why you gotta be so rude.”)

His father gives him a death stare. He tells him he will only push them away. She cares for him, too. He adds he’s disrespecting his daughter’s wishes also. (“I hate to do this, you leave no choice/I can't live without her/Love me or hate me we will be both/Standing at that altar/Or we will run away/To another galaxy you know/You know she's in love with me/She will go anywhere I go.”)

           In the second bridge, the father won’t back down. (“Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life….tough luck my friend ‘cause the answer’s still no.”)

                 The chorus is sung again.

        In the third bridge, the father refuses to give in. (“Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life…tough luck my friend but no still means no.”)

         Atweh repeats “why you gotta be so rude” three times to end the single.

       Atweh’s dumbfounded vocals aggravate a sticky situation even more. He won’t accept her father’s answer and keeps pushing the issue. He only ends up feeding into her father’s view of him as immature. Both are being stubborn and unreasonable. However, other than proclaiming he doesn’t care (despite wanting her father to like him), he has to let his bruised ego heal first before trying again.

       The needy “Rude” won’t drop the issue, causing more problems.