Today’s Song: Call Your Ex and Sing Silly Boy Blue’s “Hi, It’s Me Again”

Silly Boy Blue’s romantic and melancholic “Hi, It’s Me Again” is like a memory you never want to stop reliving.

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Listen: “Hi, It’s Me Again” – Silly Boy Blue

In Brazil there’s an expression we use when an ex or former crush texts you after you’ve spent a long time without speaking: “oi sumida” (it roughly translates to “hi, you’ve disappeared”). The type of people who text you “oi sumida” aren’t normally ones with the best intentions, those who like the chase and will leave you on read as soon as you show one iota of interest. That’s one way to reach out to an ex.

Then there are the moments of catharsis, the phone calls that are two separate monologues rather than a dialogue, conversations that are used for closure and a need to get things off your chest for the last time rather than anything else. Silly Boy Blue, on her American debut single “Hi, it’s Me Again”, is doing the latter.

The song is calm and thoughtful, and takes its time with the build-up as Silly Boy Blue does with her storytelling. The song crawls into your ears just like intrusive thoughts about a former lover find a way into your head as you’re trying to move on: at first you’re intrigued, then you’re seduced, and suddenly you’re in way too deep there’s no turning back.

Silly Boy Blue - Hi It's Me Again — Hi It’s Me Again – Silly Boy Blue

For a while, a little while
You’re sitting on my mind
You’re too shy, the perfect match
The one that didn’t last

There’s still a part that won’t move on
(I’m sorry)
And I still need those stupid songs
(I’m sorry)
Well do you read the interviews ?
(I’m sorry)
And get the hints i left for you

Silly Boy Blue, aka Ana Benabdelkarim, says about the song: “Hi, It’s me Again” is a song that I wrote instead of texting or calling an ex, because I couldn’t find the words at the time. These are all the things I wish I could’ve said and asked, that’s why it’s called like that. It’s just before resilience, when you start to understand the breakup, but you still have so many questions popping in your head, and I chose to write them down instead of being the crazy ex lover, again”.

She is lost in thought, flipping through the photo album in her mind trying to understand just what went wrong, She’s open and vulnerable, not scared to ask questions and find the answers she needs to move on.

How do you feel at night when she sleeps in your arms ?
Am I still in your dreams ? If I ever was
I let the message in the drafts
Do you still hear about me, about what I do, about how I feel
Do you miss me too, when you hear songs that makes you blue ?
I don’t mind, not knowing how, or when you’ve made me past
But for a while, a tiny little while, I hope you’ll call me back

There’s a lot of space in “Hi it’s Me Again”: space to breathe, to think, space that houses all your best moments dearly as watch them become memories, space to finally move on. It’s in the space that all that’s best left unsaid about the relationship resides and listeners can fill in the gaps with their own experiences. The magic resides in the song’s quietness and its ability to captivate any audience with the sheer feeling that rests behind each word and sound. There are no radio-ready hooks, bubblegum pop sounds, or cliché beats to sell “Hi, it’s Me Again” – the song stands on its own and it fully delivers.

I’m treating darkness like a friend
(I’m sorry)
Wondering how is it gonna end
(I’m sorry)
And all those chosen ones that weren’t you
(I’m sorry)
And all those pretty swords that weren’t true

“Hi, It’s Me Again” sounds almost like a lullaby, hypnotising you into a romantic, melancholic trance. When its three and a half minutes are done, it feels like no time has gone by and yet you are touched and changed for experiencing the song. It’s addictive, so you play it again and again, like the memory of a love from the past you don’t want to stop reliving and can’t let go of. It keeps you hanging on, like the best and worst kind of love.

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