The last time I listened to a Halsey song was in 2018. It was a time where I was coming out of my edgy teen phase. Her songs from the Badlands album were repeated daily. From Colours to Ghost, I listened to it all. Since then, I hadn’t felt the need to listen to her new stuff. I thought I would try to get back into her music and rate ‘I am not a woman, I’m a god.’ to see if Halsey’s music still holds up.
Introduction
The music is very dramatic, with a fast-paced beat that immediately grabs your attention. And gets you primed to listen to something good. We hear the introduction of the song as a spoken word bit immediately.
‘I am not a woman, I'm a God
I am not a martyr, I'm a problem
I am not a legend, I'm a fraud
So keep your heart, 'cause I already got one’
It matches the song's tone and works well as the first set of lyrics to keep us interested and signal it as a female power song.
Pre-chorus and the first verse
We then move on to the pre-chorus and the first verse. The music starts to incorporate some melodies that sound like lutes into the beat and helps exaggerate the royalty and god-like feeling of the lyrics. It adds layers to the song itself and gives it a nice depth that makes me want to keep listening. The lyrics also become a lot more dynamic and play about with the rhyme scheme a more as well.
Every day, I got a smile where my frown goes
A couple bodies in the garden where the grass grows
I take 'em with me to the grave in a suitcase
Maybe I could be a different human in a new place
Oh
I just wanna feel somethin', tell me where to go
'Cause everybody knows somethin' I don't wanna know
So I stay right here 'cause I'm bеtter all alone
Yeah, I'm bеtter all alone
I enjoy the rhyming between goes, grows, suitcase and place. It helps with the song's rhythm and speeds it up a lot.
Imagery
I find the imagery of the grave in a suitcase and being a different human in a new place to be keeping with Halsey and their style of dramatic death and violent imagery that she has always used in her songs. Whilst it isn’t shocking to hear it definitely elicits a shocked reaction from the listener.
In terms of Halsey and their singing ability, the lyrics sound full, and that the runs are very smooth and in key and don’t falter.
Second pre-chorus and second verse
I would also say the same for verse two and the second pre-chorus, which has some fascinating imagery that keeps me engaged with the song.
Every morning, got a hollow where my heart goes
I never listen, but I see it with my eyes closed
I know you, I remember from the grass stain
Maybe I could be a better human with a new name
I enjoy the hallow where my heart goes image, and it sells the depression of the woman/god in the song. And the repetition of the ‘I just wanna feel something’ lyrics for the pre-chorus helps reintroduce the isolation and brings things together.
The chorus
However, for all the praise I give, ‘I am not a woman, I’m a god.’ I don’t enjoy the chorus all that much.
I am not a woman, I'm a god
I am not a martyr, I'm a problem
I am not a legend, I'm a fraud
So keep your heart 'cause I already got one
Don’t get me wrong, the lyrics are nice and empowering, and it worked in the intro, and I still enjoy hearing them. The song's beat drops whenever the chorus comes, and considering this is already a pretty dramatic song, I’m expecting something equally dramatic in the lyrics. And it just isn’t there.
I mean, they’re nice, but it feels empty. Like there’s more to it. It’s like reading instapoetry when it doesn’t fully explore the poem, and you’re left needing more because they haven’t written enough. Halsey usually has some emotional and hard-hitting choruses. And I get style changes, and songs require different things, but this didn’t entirely work for me. And when you look at the stunning music video, it feels like there needs to be more in the chorus to tie it all together.
Ultimately I’m giving I’m not a woman, not a god two and a half stars. I enjoy listening to it. The song has some great imagery that holds my attention! But the chorus, whilst a nice empowering bit, take me out of the song. Guess I’m sticking to Badlands and New Americana for now!
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