Flora Cash You’re Somebody Else is a song filled with bittersweet melancholy and beautiful intimate lyrics. This incredibly touching song is found on many playlists today. But what makes it so great? Let’s find out and let’s get creative!
Flora Cash is a music group of two people: Shpresa Lleshaj and Cole Randall. They are from Sweden and America. Interestingly enough they met online on Soundcloud through each other’s music. Their song “You’re Somebody Else” was their breakthrough. Which was written in practically 24 hours. This shows that for quality you don’t have to always spend months or years!
But it would be a shame to judge them by only one song. Their entire catalogue is a beautiful melancholic musical journey. If they really make their Spotify playlist with favourite songs and not their record company, then you get a good look into their influences. The playlist is jam-packed with stuff I also love such as:
- The Doors
- Pink Floyd
- Band of Horses
- Radiohead
- Bon Iver
- Twenty One Pilots
- Sufjan Stevens
Video Tutorial: Flora Cash Song Analysis
You can read my full songwriting analysis below. If something is not clear or you just prefer to watch and hear real music check out my video tutorial.
Chord Progression and Instrumentation
You’re Somebody Else Chord Progression
The chord progression itself is a normal minor chord progression. Which is often used for chord progression looping and songwriting. Progressions that are suitable for looping or basing an entire song on are more circular. This means that there never is a strong cadence like there would be in an i-V-i chord progression. The Roman numeral analysis would be i – VI – III – VII.
Also in this song, the chord progression is repeated throughout.
How the progression is played on guitar
If you want to play ‘You’re Somebody Else’ on guitar then you need to put a capo on the 6th fret. You can play the chords in a fingerpicking style, or a combination as Cole Randall does. He gently strums the upper part of the chords. If you don’t do this, then except for the Bbm, avoid playing the top notes from the progression above.
A nice detail about how it’s played is that you have this note that is repeated during each chord. It’s the note Db, in the TAB’s it’s on the 6th fret of the G string. When you play a repeated note like this it’s called a pedal note. Especially when this pedal note is in the bass you can play some awesome melodies and chord progressions.
Instrumental arrangement
In any song, the type of instruments used is important to how it sounds. In the beginning, we have just one soft-sounding acoustic guitar. It’s playing all alone in the high register. This already evokes a lot of emotion. After the subtle intro, Cole’s fragile singing is introduced. Later the heavy bass sound and drum samples are introduced. It gives the song a raw edge en creates a big contrast with the beginning. This supports the meaning of the song.
Lyric Writing Techniques
The lyrics can have a big impact on your song’s structure. You can also find this in my analysis of Phoebe Bridgers song Motion Sickness. With this song, a question that I asked in my video is “Why do the lyrics and vocals of Flora Cash go straight to the heart?”.
Direct address and call and response
Of course, the topic and choice of words matter. But in this song, they use direct address. Lyrics that address you directly often tend to have more impact. The singer is directly addressing us as an audience. This already became clear from the title of the song.
Mostly the audience tends to remember the first sentence and last sentence of the verse and chorus. Flora Cash plays with this concept, by repeating the last part of each sentence of the verse. Not only does this create a sort of call-and-response effect and extra melodic closure, but it also emphasizes the words that are repeated. This makes it easier to remember them. And it gives them more weight.
And speaking about repetition, the song starts and ends with the same beautiful lyric: “I saw the part of you, that only when you’re older you will see too.“
Flora Cash You’re Somebody Else Lyrics Meaning
The song has multiple meanings and I don’t want to speak for the group. But this is what I think and what I could find. According to the duo, the main lyric is about speaking to yourself. Not so much to a different person. Sometimes when you are dealing with psychological issues you can feel like a stranger to yourself.
This was the original meaning of the lyric. But over time it has had multiple possible interpretations. Such as the feeling of losing someone you love because they have changed and become a different person.
The Songs Structure
Songs that have a repeating chord progression like this one, can become boring. So you need to be extra careful. You need to be sure that your song stays fresh and that it doesn’t lose speed.
They were aware of this. Here is what they came up with. The first verse has three repetitions of the chord progression. But the second verse, which is after the chorus, is only played once. Also, the lyrics and melody of the pre-chorus often stay the same. But in this song, they don’t.
The shortening of the verse and changing of the pre-chorus melody and lyrics, make sure that the song doesn’t lose its momentum and speed. It doesn’t become boring.
Conclusion
You’re Somebody Else by Flora Cash uses different things, like the instruments, how they play them, how they sing, and the words they use, to make the song sound sad, honest, and intimate.
The direct address, smart repetition and call and response effect make the lyrics super effective. They also keep the listener interested by playing around with the song structure. Overall it is a perfect example of how music can show hard and personal feelings in a simple and good way.
If you enjoyed this song analysis, then check out some of my other songwriting analyses. For example, The Foo Fighters – Rope, Tame Impala, Phoebe Bridgers, The Beatles and more.