SZA is an American Soul R&B singer and songwriter. She has been making music since 2010 and has two albums. Her name is derived from the supreme alphabet and stands for Sovereign (S), Zigzag (Z), and Allah (A). For many listeners, her voice serves as a grounding vibe, from the emotional music that we resonate with to her honeydew voice.
1. Prom
Her song “Prom” recounts the feeling of adolescence and carelessness. Through the use of the lyrics “I promise to get a little better as I get older,” she discusses her inability to mature at her youthful age. In contrast, her partner is already adapting to the changes of adulthood and growing up, and finds her behavior sort of insulting. She is attempting to run and hide from her responsibilities and the pressure of being an adult. Overall, this song resonates with listeners who are graduating either high school or college and starting to transition into adulthood. It reminds them that it is okay to not have it together at the moment, and they don't need to have it all figured out.
2. Pretty Little Birds
“Pretty Little Birds” is an extended metaphor referring to the feeling of heartbreak and hurt within relationships and how you let it affect you. SZA describes the negative obstacles of relationships that the listener has experienced and compares it to a small baby bird hitting a window a few times. Continuing deeper into this, she sings the words "You still ain't scared of no heights” to show that even after heartbreak, the listeners are able to gather themselves and move forward, continuing to love their next partner with the same openness and emotion. Towards the end of the song, she mentions that she would go miles for her partner, but her wings "don 't spread like they used to,” spotlighting the universal truth that after heartbreak, one is cautious to open up and to trust. This is a realistic truth that resonates with her listeners and connects them to her music, making the song very powerful.
3. Sweet November
In this song, SZA is recounting the experience of loving a partner who has continuously hurt her, and she knows that this partner is no good for her. However, she continues to ignore this truth and shuns it, wishing for just the bliss of that person to continue to be in love with her. In a sense, she knows that this is no good for her, but she is “drunk” on this person’s energy. The good times and love she has for this partner seems to outweigh the bad things they have done to her in the past. This is a common situation that springs up in society, especially within youthful relationships:: young people tend to love so hard that they are blinded from the red flags of the relationship. This type of understanding helps build a bridge between listeners and SZA, almost seeming as if the artist knows and understands how they feel.
4. Go Gina
Within a society like today, judgment is present everywhere:: assumptions about people’s lives just from a simple look at a person. In this song, SZA compares herself to a girl named Gina. SZA has been making decisions for her own life, and Gina is overly critical of her choices, calling her “stoned” and saying she's been “dropping out.”. However, SZA replies, saying that “You can mind your business. I belong to nobody.” This song ultimately refers to the judgment of how young women choose to live their lives, and says that it's better for those who make assumptions to mind their business with their own lives. Which is, generally, a message I think we can all get behind.
5. Garden
Last but not least, we will end with SZA’s song “Garden.” The song begins with an intimate atmosphere and details all of the great love within the relationship of SZA and her partner. However, they both are keeping things from one another, establishing emotional walls and not completely opening up their hearts. From the lyrics "Open your heart up, hoping I never find out that you’re anyone else, cause I love you just how you are,” we can infer that both SZA and her partner are afraid that if they open up about their pasts, it will change the beauty of their love. This refers back to the title of the song: within a Garden, they are only showing the pretty flowers and hiding the ugly roots of their past underneath, a simple struggle that anyone with a bad heartbreak has experienced.
Her song “Prom” recounts the feeling of adolescence and carelessness. Through the use of the lyrics “I promise to get a little better as I get older,” she discusses her inability to mature at her youthful age. In contrast, her partner is already adapting to the changes of adulthood and growing up, and finds her behavior sort of insulting. She is attempting to run and hide from her responsibilities and the pressure of being an adult. Overall, this song resonates with listeners who are graduating either high school or college and starting to transition into adulthood. It reminds them that it is okay to not have it together at the moment, and they don't need to have it all figured out.
2. Pretty Little Birds
“Pretty Little Birds” is an extended metaphor referring to the feeling of heartbreak and hurt within relationships and how you let it affect you. SZA describes the negative obstacles of relationships that the listener has experienced and compares it to a small baby bird hitting a window a few times. Continuing deeper into this, she sings the words "You still ain't scared of no heights” to show that even after heartbreak, the listeners are able to gather themselves and move forward, continuing to love their next partner with the same openness and emotion. Towards the end of the song, she mentions that she would go miles for her partner, but her wings "don 't spread like they used to,” spotlighting the universal truth that after heartbreak, one is cautious to open up and to trust. This is a realistic truth that resonates with her listeners and connects them to her music, making the song very powerful.
3. Sweet November
In this song, SZA is recounting the experience of loving a partner who has continuously hurt her, and she knows that this partner is no good for her. However, she continues to ignore this truth and shuns it, wishing for just the bliss of that person to continue to be in love with her. In a sense, she knows that this is no good for her, but she is “drunk” on this person’s energy. The good times and love she has for this partner seems to outweigh the bad things they have done to her in the past. This is a common situation that springs up in society, especially within youthful relationships:: young people tend to love so hard that they are blinded from the red flags of the relationship. This type of understanding helps build a bridge between listeners and SZA, almost seeming as if the artist knows and understands how they feel.
4. Go Gina
Within a society like today, judgment is present everywhere:: assumptions about people’s lives just from a simple look at a person. In this song, SZA compares herself to a girl named Gina. SZA has been making decisions for her own life, and Gina is overly critical of her choices, calling her “stoned” and saying she's been “dropping out.”. However, SZA replies, saying that “You can mind your business. I belong to nobody.” This song ultimately refers to the judgment of how young women choose to live their lives, and says that it's better for those who make assumptions to mind their business with their own lives. Which is, generally, a message I think we can all get behind.
5. Garden
Last but not least, we will end with SZA’s song “Garden.” The song begins with an intimate atmosphere and details all of the great love within the relationship of SZA and her partner. However, they both are keeping things from one another, establishing emotional walls and not completely opening up their hearts. From the lyrics "Open your heart up, hoping I never find out that you’re anyone else, cause I love you just how you are,” we can infer that both SZA and her partner are afraid that if they open up about their pasts, it will change the beauty of their love. This refers back to the title of the song: within a Garden, they are only showing the pretty flowers and hiding the ugly roots of their past underneath, a simple struggle that anyone with a bad heartbreak has experienced.
ENDING NOTES
SZA’s music takes listeners on a journey throughout various scenarios, but almost each and every one is such a universal experience that they are able to truly understand and internalize the message. As a listener, seeing as though my experiences can be recounted in such beautiful music, it makes me feel closer to the artist and creates a craving for her music. Being able to create music that people can identify with is a key factor in gaining a bigger fanbase, and SZA understands this very well. I wish her the best o9f luck for what's next to come after she retires with her next album.. Good luck, SZA!
ARI JACKSON
