Shakira Underneath Your Clothes
Editor's Review:As the second track and single off Laundry Service by Shakira Underneath Your Clothes is a breathtaking departure from the tropical-laced "Whenever, Wherever", the songstress' English debut single, and the rocky "Objection (Tango)", the lead-off track of the album. Other than being her first English ballad there's really not much to explain musically from this song. It is a sufficiently crafted pop-rock ballad. Lyrics-wise, nonetheless, the song is obviously about a solution, and the place where the solution is, underneath a man's clothes. I'm just not sure what the problem is (if you catch my drift). Anyway, it basically starts out that way - as a solution. Then a twist is discovered with the last phrase of the chorus. The twist is unclear at first - check out the lyric
"There's the man I chose "...being such a good girl honey"? You may think it was the MAN that was being good in this case... how's that for a debate subject? To help with the debate hints are given in the second verse, where the woman is running out of excuses and lies. But then, check out the bridge. You would be forced to decipher this one too. Fortuneately for me, deciphering it I also had to think very hard to decipher what she meant by the following lyric in the bridge: "As every voice is hanging from the silence I don't know about you, but I began to ponder... this is what summarizes the tune! The lady has to turn her world upside down (lamps hangig from a ceiling [they usually don't hand they stand up]; silent voices [voices aren't silent]; being "a good girl honey" instead of bad), in order to appreciate the good things in life - underneath the clothes of a man. What good territory! All-in-all the verses hold together lyrically very well and are extremely well crafted in such a way that the song, though quite poetic like practically almost every song from Shakira, the meaning of the song conveys itself in a language that listeners can understand - unless you don't understand English. Way to go Shakira Underneath Your Clothes is a winner!
Shakira Underneath Your Clothes - digital music download availability
Charts: U.S. pos: #9 Album: Laundry Service (2001) Shakira Underneath Your Clothes - top
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