Grace Kelly by Mika
I wanna talk to you
Last time we talked Mr Smith you reduced me to tears
I promise you that won't happen again
Do I attract you?
Do I repulse you with my queasy smile?
Am I too dirty?
Am I too flirty?
Do I like what you like?
I got to be wholesome
I could be loathsome
Guess I'm a little bit shy
Why don't you like me?
Why don't you like me without making me try?
I tried to be like Grace Kelly (mmmm)
But all her looks were too sad (ahhh ahhh)
So I tried a little Freddie (mmm)
I've gone identity mad!
I could be brown
I could be blue
I could be violet sky
I could be hurtful
I could be purple
I could be anything you like
Gotta be green
Gotta be mean
Gotta be everything more
Why don't you like me?
Why don't you like me?
Why don't you walk out the door!
[Getting angry doesn't solve anything.]
How can I help ya
How can I help it
How can I help what you think?
Hello my baby
Hello my baby
Putting my life on my brink
Why don't you like me
Why don't you like me
Why don't you like yourself?
Should I bend over?
Should I look older just to be put on your shelf?
I tried to be like Grace Kelly (mmmm)
But all her looks were too sad (ahhh ahhh)
So I tried a little Freddie (mmm)
I've gone identity mad!
I could be brown
I could be blue
I could be violet sky
I could be hurtful
I could be purple
I could be anything you like
Gotta be green
Gotta be mean
Gotta be everything more
Why don't you like me?
Why don't you like me?
Walk out the door!
Say what you want to satisfy yourself
Hey!
But you only want what everybody else says you should want
you want
I could be brown
I could be blue
I could be violet sky
I could be hurtful
I could be purple
I could be anything you like
Gotta be green
Gotta be mean
Gotta be everything more
Why don't you like me?
Why don't you like me?
Walk out the door!
I could be brown
I could be blue
I could be violet sky
I could be hurtful
I could be purple
I could be anything you like
Gotta be green
Gotta be mean
Gotta be everything more
Why don't you like me?
Why don't you like me?
Walk out the door!
Oooh, oooh!
[Humphrey, we're leaving.]
Kaching
Mika, a Lebanese born, London based singer-songwriter, has topped UK charts with his upbeat, quirky melodies and unique vocals. But prior to signing his first record deal in 2006, Mika was rejected by labels who saw promising talent in his voice but encouraged him to compose songs with more conventional and commercial lyrics like those of the British pop star Robbie Williams, in order to be more popular and therefore successful. Eschewing this advice, Mika was inspired to write “Grace Kelly,” a song which references the great actress who played a variety of different roles and assumed numerous different identities throughout her career. Through such references, the songwriter creates an interesting and somewhat absurd, yet catchy mockery of those who change their style, behavior, or appearance simply to appeal to fans or to please recording tycoons seeking to make a profit.
The song begins with a dialogue between a man, the supposed “Mr. Smith,” and a woman, who many believe to be Grace Kelly. Though this conversation does not actually appear in any of Kelly’s films, the reference to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a Hitchcock film from the same time period, allows Mika to create his own sample of dialogue with a kind of Grace Kelly-esque voice. Assuming the role of another right from the beginning of the song creates an image upon which the songwriter builds as his lyrics continually question identity and the idea of artists reinventing themselves to be popular. This idea, central to the meaning of the song, appears throughout the first stanza in a series of questions, apparently from the musician to his fans, “do I attract you, do I repulse you...?” The rhetorical questions begin to create a satirical tone as Mika seems to be mocking those in the music and film industries who recreate themselves in order to appeal to the public. The parallel rhyming phrases, “Am I too dirty, am I too flirty,” contribute to this satire, especially as the stanza continues, adapting an inquisitive, almost whiny tone when the speaker begs the question, “why don’t you like me, why don’t you like me without making me try?”
Rhyming "wholesome," with "loathsome," creates two contrasting images and identities which the speaker attempts to assume in order to win the admiration of fans. The songwriter expands these differing identities in the following stanza through allusion to Grace Kelly, for whom the song was entitled. But finding "her looks were too sad," the speaker then tries "a little Freddie," a reference to Freddie Mercury of Queen, a singer to whom Mika has been compared. The ABAB end rhyme scheme of "Kelly / Freddie," and "sad/mad," helps to create an almost sing-songy rhythm which heightens the satirical mocking tone of the singer. With the final line of this stanza, "I've gone identity mad!" listeners fully understand the intentions of the songwriter in mocking the identity crises of those in the spotlight who lose themselves in order to please the public.
The song then takes a nonsensical turn as it moves to the chorus and the writer begins rattling off things he "could be," like "brown, blue, violet sky." The ridiculous rambling continues with the juxtaposition of the slant rhyme "hurtful" and "purple." The two words, having nothing to do with each other, seem to have been chosen only in an attempt to create a rhyme. The absurdity of the chorus allows Mika to rise to a whole new level in mocking his fellow musicians. Their behavior, which he views as ridiculous and absurd, is reflected in his choice of ridiculous and absurd lyrics and images. The simple and concise lines "I could be brown... I could be purple..." in the chorus build anticipation for the delivery of the longer, "I could be anything you like," creating sentence structure that mimics the importance of the lines. Mika returns to his simple diction with the parallel, rhyming lines "gotta be green, gotta be mean," again choosing contrasting words seemingly unrelated aside from their similar sounds. The simple diction of these two short lines again creates an anticipation for the arrival of the longer line, "gotta be everything and more," a line which brings light to the strange, contrasting, and unrelated images developed in the preceding lines. The random thoughts such as "I could be violet sky," and "gotta be green," while ridiculous and nonsensical, help the songwriter to communicate the feelings of other musicians or actors who think they must be "everything and more," to their fans, even if it means accepting a fake or absurd identity.
The song then reverts back to the almost whiny tone of the preceding stanza as the singer wonders "why don't you like me, why don't you like me without making me try," and then in frustration suggests "why don't you walk out the door!" The temper tantrum that occurs at the end of the chorus is juxtaposed with the input of a voice of reason, which advises that "getting angry doesn't solve anything." Mika then returns to the pattern used in previous lines with the witty and concise parallel phrases, "how can I help ya how can I help it," building up to the longer "how can I help what you think," creating a whining, despairing tone that reflects the excuses of those who say they "can't help it," in response to their absurd behavior. The repetition of "hello my baby," and "why don't you like me?" is interrupted by the line "putting my life on the brink," meant to describe those who live on the edge, seeking thrill as a remedy for their unhappiness in order to seem adventurous, exciting, and therefore appealing to their fans.
After this digression of sorts from the pattern created throughout the rest of the song, Mika returns to the use of short rhyming parallel phrases such as "should I bend over, should I look older," citing almost desperate attempts to figure out what type of identity or appearance would be most desirable to fans. These pleas are all out of the desire for their CDs and movies to be purchased, displayed, and "put on your shelf."
The song then repeats the chorus once, followed by the lines "say what you want to satisfy yourself." This is the first time throughout the song that Mika, previously acting as other musicians would in an attempt to mock and satirize their behavior, eschews this false identity and can be heard voicing his own ideas in an almost demeaning and condescending tone. Though the rest of the lyrics target his fellow musicians and their absurd behavior, this is the first and only point in the song where he can be heard speaking directly to them, instead of about them, saying "you only want what everybody else says you should want." With this, the chorus repeats, completing the song's ridicule of the rich and famous who adapt their behavior and identities in order to comply with what others want or tell them to be.
At the close of the song, a voice suggestive of Grace Kelly can be heard saying, "Humphrey, we're leaving." This reference, most likely to Humphrey Bogart, an actor prevalent during the same time period, may have been employed on the part of the songwriter in order to voice Kelly's disgust with and desire to leave her surroundings, possibly the set of a movie, because of the ridiculousness or absurdity of others' behavior.
