The song “Complicated” is built upon a – surprise, surprise – relatively simple arrangement. Even singing about complications can get, well, complicated.
The song begins with a funky, keyboard groove. Quickly, jazzy saxophone and tinkly piano come in. The first verse complains about people’s busy lives. This couple just wants to plan a simple dinner together. However, modern life keeps interrupting their plans.
At one point the music drops out with the line, “I love you and you love me.” This line is sung over one of the song’s simplest portions, mainly an acoustic piano part. It’s a straightforward declaration. The difficult part, though, is acting out these feelings. When two people love each other, the only natural thing for them to do is spend time together. However, circumstances are seemingly conspiring to keep them apart. It’s almost as if the devil has a name: Complications.
When the song revs up again, however, it does get just a little more complicatedly. Various influences can be heard winding their way through the recording. The way the song stops and starts at certain points, may remind you of Yes’s “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” which was when Trevor Rabin produced that English band’s 90125 album. It’s not nearly as jarring as is that track, but there are auditory similarities.
That Yes song was released in the 80s, and there are plenty of elements on this song that bring that decade’s musical era into focus. The song’s jumpiness is a bit like Thomas Dolby’s work at the time. Also, the track’s overall melodic pop-iness gives it a Thompson Twins (remember them?) vibe.
Mr MooQ asks repeatedly why love needs to be so complicated. An equally valid question, though, would be why life is so complicated. We have so much more technology now, intended to simplify our lives, yet we feel more and more that modern life is too complicated. How does that happen?
The song’s lyric tells about how two individuals have separate plans. These two individuals are constantly answering phone calls. Toward the end of the track, the song’s singer apologizes for missing a date. He had perfectly good intentions. We all have worthy intentions to do the right things. We want to spend time with the people we love the most. We especially want to be with our romantic partners. However, we cannot control the world and all those x-factors that shield us from doing what we most want to do.
The song’s lyric never completely resolves itself. We’ll likely never again live in a simplified world. One cannot un-ring the bell, so to speak. This is a song absolutely everybody can relate to, from the busy businessman, to the soccer mom trying to keep her kids’ schedules straight.
Toward the track’s end, right before a saxophone solo, Mr MooQ sings, “I still believe in the miracle of you.” These are words of hope and dedication. He may not be able to make all the pieces fit, all the time, but he’s never going to give up trying. That’s sometimes the best we can do; dedicate ourselves to doing our best. We should shoot for the simple, yet always expect unexpected complications.
-Dan MacIntosh
