The one thing in the world that will always be more painful than somebody you’re interested in not wanting to speak to you is somebody who was previously interested back in you no longer wanting to speak to you. Coming to terms with the loss of anyone close, whether they be a friend or lover, is never easy. With “Whirlpool,” Told Slant, the artistic moniker of singer-songwriter Felix Walworth, we get to experience this feeling firsthand. With wonderful metaphors and simplistic instrumentation, it is difficult to think how this style of song could have been done any better.
Beginning with nothing but a finger-picked acoustic guitar, the song immediately gives off Nick Drake vibes, recalling the simplistic yet ear-catching acoustic riffs of the 70’s. Before singer-songwriter Felix Walworth begins singing, another acoustic guitar joins the mix, occasionally adding in accent notes to flesh out the song’s sound even further. Directing his words at somebody, Walworth sings, “When we talk it’s like a whirlpool / By the time your words get to me / They’re just silt making clouds in the creek.” From this, we can gather that whomever he is singing to is somebody who he has great feelings for. Equating them talking to a whirlpool reminds me of the saying when you have “butterflies” in your stomach. That being said, it would seem that they rarely get the chance to talk, as he mentions that by the time anything is actually said, the words are simply silt flowing down a creek. The verse ends with Walworth confirming this lack of communication, “And I just want to hear you speak / Please.”
As we enter the second verse, everything in the song begins to pick up. Extra acoustic guitars further fill the mix, while Walworth starts singing in at a more rapid pace. In effect, the song becomes a bit chaotic to follow, perhaps purposefully simulating words in a whirlpool. Then, using a little science as another metaphor, Walworth sings, “The sky’s not blue it is everything else / That it won’t bounce back, that it keeps for itself.” Of course, as we know, the sky is indeed not blue. The reason the sky appears blue is that it is the easiest color to be scattered across our atmosphere, while every other color which the sun beams at it is more easily reflected. Taking this into account with whomever he is trying to speak to, we can see that he is simply suggesting that this person is very closed off. He ends the verse with, “And the sky’s not blue, it’s the only thing it can’t hold / So it gives it to you.”
The song glides towards its conclusion with Walworth repeating the lines, “I just want to know you / But that’s hard / Because I used to.” Taking into consideration the past verses, a clearer picture is finally painted. The lack of communication is only made more painful because of the previous state of their relationship. In this loss, he finds himself wanting nothing more than to hear from this person. After an emotional vocal delivery, the song takes time for a folky instrumental section, including banjos and mandolins. The song finally fades out, leaving us to reflect on the last section of the song. Coming in at under two and a half minutes, the song could be considered incredibly slim, but I believe that what it delivers in both lyrical content and simplicity makes those short two minutes feel longer than they are.
