This Love Is For Gentlemen Only

Phoenix “Lisztomania”

Maybe you’ve heard this song before?

The lyrics to “Lisztomania” are entirely inscrutable as a whole, but there are enough phrases that ring out and demand identification that it’s hard to listen without trying to make sense of every line. Obviously, English is not Thomas Mars’ first language, but previous Phoenix songs were rarely so cryptic — if anything, he erred on the side of directness and simplicity. It could be that as his life has become more public, he has opted to obscure his self-expression somewhat with strange imagery, random asides, and allusions to things that have no obvious connection to the apparent theme of the song. Usually songwriters start out this way and become increasingly open, so it’s odd to find someone move in the opposite direction.

Here’s a possibility: Maybe he just doesn’t care what the words are because he knows that with a song like this, it barely matters. It’s all in the sound, and especially the spring in the beat, the shuffle of the guitar, the plinking of the piano, and the keening of the melody. Romantic joy, romantic confusion, romantic angst, romantic foolishness. It can be whatever we want it to be, as long as the romance is there, and oh God, it is.

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