"I Met Up With the King" First Aid Kit

"I Met Up With the King"


First Aid Kit




"I Met Up With the King" is a song about both a male and female experience.  It encompasses frustration, expectations, and disillusionment of two roles.   I think the first verse is about masculinity and how the ability to live up to the expectations of that role will eventually fade.  The king is old and no longer can be the typical "Man", but he pleads to not be thought less of.  However, it is no use, his masculinity has diminished, he could no longer meet expectations of people.  I think it also shows the crisis of masculinity as the king tries to keep his grip on the fleeting masculinity.  The second verse I think is a plight for the female experience.  It speaks to women being seen for their beauty and not their mind.  And women falling for the trick, of thinking their worth is in their body.  It also signifies the worth and power of a woman being stripped away by this process and "no one believ[ing]" that this has happened.  I think this song shows the helplessness in trying to conform to the expectations of femininity and masculinity and even the powerlessness to fight against it.  You can hear the tragedy and anger in the singer's voice.  I also wanted to point out that it is the feminine voice singe and the theme of helplessness in lyrics is here, however it is different because it is used to critique the content.  But, it does not come to an empowering resolution at the end, it still is tragically powerless. 

  


Lyrics: 
I met up with the king
He confessed his body was burning
I met up with the king
His body had begun to rot
And he said don't think less of me
I'm still the same man I used to be

But no one believed him
No one believed him

I once knew a pretty girl
And she was in love with the world
And she loved a young man
Who loved her body but never saw her mind
He took everything she had kept
And then he took everything else that was left

But no one believed her
No one believed her

I feel just like the king
As I fall on the muddy ground
I feel just like you gal
There's people thinking
They know something now
Well I don't know anything at all
And we mean nothing to history
Well thank God

So tell me do you believe me?
Do you believe me?
I bet you don't
I bet you won't

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmania.com/i_met_up_with_the_king_lyrics_first_aid_kit.html
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