Never Gonna Give You Up: decoding the lyrics (spoilers - they aren’t cute)
One of the most important lessons I learned at university came via the great Bill Leahy — Head of the School of Arts at the time.
He had us decode pop song lyrics and, from that day onward, my eyes were forever open.
Turns out, love songs aren’t always as cute as they initially sound. Not when you take away the lovely melody and really look at the subtext of the lyrics. For example:
Little Things - One Direction
What he says:
I know you never loved the sound of your voice on tape
You never want to know how much you weigh
You still have to squeeze into your jeans
But you're perfect to meWhat he means: You’re chubby and eccentric, but I still like you.
A million love songs - Take That
What he says:
A million love songs later
And here I am trying to tell you that I care
A million love songs later
And here I amWhat he means: I’m shit at articulating myself, so I guess I’ll stay in the friend zone.
Today we’re going to be looking at Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley.
Here’s our man, just in case you need a refresher…
A classic, I think you’ll agree.
So, what is Rick actually saying to his female?
Never Gonna Give You Up
We're no strangers to love
You know the rules and so do I
We begin with Rick setting the expectation about his specific brand of romance — dude is already approaching this in a very practical, no-bullshit way.
Which is kinda unromantic, if I’m honest.
He’s acknowledging that he’s been through the relationship wringer before, which tells us the dude has been pretty unsuccessful and is now looking at future romantic relationships in a more pragmatic, transactional way.
Again…not that cute.
A full commitment's what I'm thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy
Dude has gone in. He’s not up for being fuck buddies or playing love games and he’s feeling pretty confident that no other gent is going to extend you the same courtesy. He’s one of a kind…because he’s willing to offer monogamy.
It’s the best offer you’ll get, babe.
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand
Rick goes on to tell you (rather forcefully, if I’m honest) that he’s got something to say. You’re going to listen.
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Rhetoric…clever boy. This is quite self-explanatory; he’s setting out his relationship manifesto and it all seems to focus rather heavily on the negative aspects of romance.
Doesn’t bode well.
We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it
This is the section of the song where Rick uses his intimate knowledge of you — gathered from many years of friendship — to cut through the elaborate mating dance of generic courtship.
He straight up tells you that you fancy him.
Inside we both know what's been going on
We know the game and we're gonna play it
Rick refers back to the known expectations of romance and proposes that you just get on with it. Because, like, you already know there’s a mutual thing going on.
He shuns subtext and spits in the face of subtlety. He wants to get this relationship on the road and he’s jumpstarting it.
And if you ask me how I'm feeling
Don't tell me you're too blind to see
Tryna be coy? Rick calls bullshit. Don’t bother asking him how he’s feeling — you already know.
Rick then goes on to repeat his manifesto and continues to tell you that you know exactly what’s going on here, so you should stop dicking around and just start a relationship with him.
NO ONE ELSE WILL MAKE YOU AN OFFER AS GOOD.
When you strip it down to the bare bones like this, Rick isn’t that romantic at all. In fact, if he weren’t ginger, I’d be pretty tempted to tell him to bugger off.
Happy Valentine’s Day :)
