Anyone who has heard of Flora Cash probably knows them through their hit “You’re Somebody Else”. This song proved to be the one that brought them into the mainstream. Even though, they still have quite a niche fanbase. Their sound is unique in their own way, and that’s why their fans love them. Before it made a significant impact on the charts, this song was a part of the album “Nothing Lasts Forever (And it’s fine)”. It went viral in 2018 after it was used in Mexican commercial. It was an instant hit in the country and soon spread to other parts of the world.
The life that is poured into the songs created by the duo Flora Cash is perhaps due to their real-life involvement with each other. The musical duo consists of Shpresa Lleshaj and Cole Randall. Shpresa originally hails from Albania. She escaped from Kosovo there as the region was infamous for military conflict. Stockholm is known all over the Europe for producing amazing music artists. There, she met Cole Randall, and both of them soon found out that they share a similar taste for indie music. They shared their playlist with each other, and it was an instant match. On paper, it sounds like a script of a Hollywood romantic movie, but it all happened with Shpresa and Cole. Apart from that, almost no one knows the meaning behind their stage name – Flora Cash. It’s a secret that they’ve left for their ardent fans to figure out.
“You’re Somebody Else”, after going viral, was in the Top 10 Billboard’s Alternative Songs and Adult Alternative Songs charts in the November of 2018. Eventually, the song would finally be certified as platinum by RIAA in 2021.
What does the Title mean?
The title of the song is quite vague, and thus, open to interpretation. However, taking the couple’s real-life love story in the context, it is about a fear of losing a loved one. In a relationship, people grow together. Unfortunately, some people also grow apart. When you no longer know the person with whom you had fallen in love with, there is a sense of insecurity that creeps in. Throughout the song, this feeling is explored. There are also undertones of derealization. It’s a condition wherein an individual loses touch with reality. The anxiety that comes along with it is unexplainable.
Verse 1 – What does it mean?
“I saw the part of you
That only when you’re older, you will see too
You will see too
I held the better cards
But every stroke of luck has gotta bleed through
It’s gotta bleed through
You held the balance of the time
That only blindly I could read you
But I could read you
It’s like you told me
Go forward slowly
It’s not a race to the end”
The first verse seems to be from the perspective of an individual in a relationship that has just started. There is always an anxiety present that you might lose the person you are with. On a positive note, you see something in that person that they themselves don’t see. The first two lines are about that very insight. When you get into a serious relationship, it’s not always about the looks. There’s something deeper that you find – a whole universe in your partner. The first verse is all about two people exploring that universe within each other. Instances like how the time stops when they are together and how they can read each other without any of them using words. The last line has a lamenting tone as if the speaker did not heed the advice of their better half. A relationship is not a race towards the end. It’s a journey like a dance or a music performance. It’s not about getting to the end but feeling the ride to its core.
Chorus – What does it mean?
“Well, you look like yourself
But you’re somebody else
Only it ain’t on the surface
Well, you talk like yourself
No, I hear someone else though
Now you’re making me nervous”
The chorus is completely related to derealization disorder and anxiety. The speaker is nervous about whether their better half is still the same. It seems to them that their partner has changed from the inside, yet on the surface they’re still the same. A mild version of this sensation can arise from miscommunication. However, when it is coupled with anxiety disorders, panic attacks, and derealization, it can be devastating. The contradictory lines such as “you talk like yourself” and “I hear someone else though” hint that this delusion is borne out of the speaker’s own mind and they subconsciously acknowledge that fact.
Verse 2 – What does it mean?
“You were the better part
Of every bit of beating heart that I had
Whatever I had
I finally sat alone
Pitch black flesh and bone
Couldn’t believe that you were gone”
Verse 2 is about loss and reminiscing. It appears that they’ve lost the person they were with and they’re still not over that fact. “Pitch black flesh and bone” describes how empty they feel within and it’s as if they are nothing more than a breathing dead body. After all, it’s often love that makes us feel alive.
Most listeners would agree that the love between two people has its own life. It evolves as people do. Thus, on the surface, it changes appearances. Yet, the question of has it evolved into a deeper version of itself or become shallow begets an anxiety that a lot of people have experienced. The latter half of the second verse touches upon this very anxiety that makes people question where did the person that they loved go? It’s a hard truth that quite a few relationships don’t make it to the end, and it happens all around us. That is another reason why we get insecure about whether the love would last or not. Biased by the events that happen around our world, we begin questioning whether the person that we loved is the same as before or not? It’s a rabbit hole that can lead to the end of a relationship.
Bridge – What does it mean?
“Where are we?
Where are we?”
In the bridge, the speaker is lost. They’re trying to find where did they as well as their partner as a couple go? Apart from that, if the listener is a couple as well, they might interpret it to be questioning the stage in which their relationship is. In relationships, a lot of people try to get somewhere. However, it’s all about the ride. The milestones such as marriage and kids, and whatnot are constructed in our minds.
Outro – What does it mean?
“I saw the part of you
That only when you’re older, you will see too
You will see too”
The outro is quite similar to verse 1. The difference is the placing of the lyrics. By placing the first three lines of the verse 1 at the end of the song, the track ends with hope. This hope is about finding love and how beautiful it is to be in a relationship with somebody you love. If you’re in love with someone, you will seem them for who they are. A part of them that even they might not be able to see. It is this outro that helps people make sense of the song in a positive light. Coupled with the soothing voices in the song, the outro is like a warm blanket on a snowy day.
Conclusion
As the lyrics of this song are quite open-ended, it’s open to multiple interpretations. However, considering the fact that the artists are married in real life, it is probably about their own insecurities that they have creatively expressed through this song. Not only does this song inspire hope for the broken-hearted but also sheds light on how people with mental illnesses such as derealization disorder and severe anxiety tend to suffer.
