One of
the marks of a great song is it allows for multiple interpretations that build
with listens, over years, and across people. But then there are those songs
that staunchly resist any solid interpretation, those songs that move you and
mean something to you that you can
never quite verbalize and that fact keeps you going back to it. While I’m sure
many other songs fill this category, “40’” by Franz Ferdinand is a big one for
me. I’ve been trying to get a handle on this song for ages, yet like the foam
forty feet beneath the narrator’s feet it’s always out of my reach.
Early
on in their collaboration, Nick McCarthy and Alex Kapranos planned to form two
bands; a pop group (which became Franz Ferdinand) and a more folk-orientated
group (which never really came to be.) However, a vestige of that folk group
exists in the work of Franz Ferdinand in the form of “40’.” According to
Kapranos, they “thought the other band would probably do that one” as the song’s
main riff draws influence from rebetika (Greek folk music.) Kapranos also claims
it’s about “trying to catch the emotions you feel when you’re faced with an
incredibly immense decision” and I think that comes through in both the lyrics
and music. Decisions can be paralyzing, especially when you build them up in
your mind. The musical surges in “40’” perfectly encompass how that anxiety feels
and the outro is the sweet calm that follows finally taking the leap.
My
attempts to glean clear meaning from the song have over the years led to different
lines holding most of my focus while obscuring the rest. Personal phobias are the
likely reason behind my initial focus on the aspects of height and distance.
More recently, though, the line that really grabs me is “Salt scales upon my
drying arms.” Scales as a metaphor came up a lot in interviews Kapranos did
during the promotion of Franz’ last album, Right
Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action. In the context of RTRWRA, the scales
mask vulnerability and shedding them can allow one to find strength in that
vulnerability. By contrast, “40’” appears to be about building them up, even if
only temporarily. The image of salt scales implies that the narrator has been standing
at that precipice for an extended period of time, because (and I could very
well be wrong) salt would likely make skin raw first and then prolonged
exposure would draw out moisture. Skin care and other logistics aside, the
larger point is that the narrator waits for these scales to build before he leaps
the forty feet (if he leaps) and the scales are protection from what comes
after.
Another
thing I find interesting about the lyrics are the references to “cold,” “cooling,”
and “calm,” which stand in contrast to the surging nature of the music. The narrator
says, “Burn my back beneath the sun, but I am cold beneath the burning rays.” One
could take that literally, his focus is so concentrated on the impending decision
that even the sun can’t affect him. Cold also denotes a lack of emotion, which
could be seen as a negative. However, in this case, the “coldest calm” seems to
suggest clarity and resolve. He’s stood long enough to know what he wants to
do. Perhaps this is projection on my part, but despite my frequent anxiety and tendency
to drag my feet, when I do come to a
decision I tend to feel that matter-of-fact about it. Clear cut and cold; this
is what’s happening.
Franz Ferdinand is loaded with contradictions and “40’” might be one of their
starkest with its heightened and calm emotions. I doubt this analysis has fully
bridged that gap for me (only time will tell), but I do think it’s been
lessened at least a few feet.
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