This is a song about somebody else. Or is it? Fink (Fin Greenall) has an entire portfolio of great date night songs. His lyrics are typically sexy while still being highbrow. “Looking Too Closely” is not a date night song, but its lyrics are brilliant nonetheless. At first blush, I thought he intended this song for a friend who is a tad sensitive when it comes to receiving advice. Hence the two lines he uses to open the song: “This is a song about somebody else / So don’t worry yourself, worry yourself.”
And I could be wrong about anybody else
—Fin Greenall
So don’t kid yourself, kid yourself
It’s you right there, right there in the mirror
You don’t wanna hurt yourself, hurt yourself
Again, I originally thought this song was to a friend. After softening his approach, I thought Fin was coming clean and telling that friend, “Actually, this is about you. I love you.” But for me, the major reveal here is “you right there, right there in the mirror.” The friend is his reflection. I believe he’s talking himself out of self-loathing and, potentially, self-harm.
This song works because sometimes we need a friend to talk us out of our slumps. Among the hardest things I’ve had to learn is how to be a friend to myself. In my younger years, I would often quip, “I’m my own best friend!” It wasn’t uncommon for me to take myself to dinner or to a movie solo. Now that I’ve mellowed with age, I’ve resumed that habit. And I’m learning to befriend myself allover again.
This may be the most sobering song to grace the Hangover Cafe sessions. Sober up, people.
