Released: 2015
“Electric Love” by BØRNS can be interpreted as a feverish anthem echoing the heady throes of impassioned love. The song beautifully illustrates the all-consuming allure of a newfound love: intense, electrifying, and impossible to let go.
The opening stanza, “Candy, she’s sweet like candy in my veins/ Baby, I’m dying for another taste” sets the stage for the powerful addiction the artist feels – much like a sugar-high, his love is intoxicating. This addictive quality is further emphasised by the chorus, “Baby, you’re like lightning in a bottle/ I can’t let you go now that I got it,” depicting the love as a force of nature, unpredictable yet exhilarating.
With the lines, “And every night my mind is running around her/ Thunder’s getting louder and louder,” we see a typical pop love song chaos. It paints a vivid aural image of his obsession, where his thoughts are loud and filled with a rumbling intensity that resembles an impending storm. The metaphor, “Thunder’s getting louder and louder,” signifies his escalating longing.
The phrase, “you make my heart beat like the rain,” invokes the comparison of her influence on the speaker to a rainfall’s drumbeat – constant and hypnotically rhythmic. In the line, “Surround me (oh), hold me deep beneath your waves,” the artist portrays the idea of being submerged in the depths of his love’s emotions, akin to a sensory overload in the depths of the sea.
The repeated imagery of “electric love” in the chorus amplifies the theme of the song — a love that is palpable, captivating, and thrilling, just like an electric shock. This phrase becomes a leitmotif throughout the song, symbolising an undeniably powerful attraction that is both a source of pleasure and pain.
In the lines, “Baby, you’re like lightning in a bottle/ I can’t let you go now that I got it/ And all I need is to be struck/ By your electric love,” the song reaches its thematic height. The phrase “lightning in a bottle” alludes to capturing something incredibly rare and powerful, akin to trapping a bolt of lightning. It signifies the rarity and preciousness of such love.
The repeated line “I feel your energy rushing through me” further enhances the electrifying effects of love on the singer, suggesting a physical encounter that heightens his sensations and emotions.
Throughout ‘Electric Love’, BØRNS uses a consistent metaphor of electricity to express the exhilarating, life-giving, and sometimes overwhelming power of love. The song serves as a compelling ode to the enigmatic force of attraction, beautifully capturing the essence of passionate love.
