Lyric Beakdown: Houdini

The international pop superstar Dua Lipa is… well, first of all, do you know of her?

Because, while I stand by my descriptor, she remains lesser-known (it seems) given her heights of success in music.

So, if you didn’t know, she’s a singer-songwriter from the UK (and originally from Albania). Her early breakout hits include: “Be the One,” “IDGAF,” and the ever-iconic “New Rules.”

Oh, you never heard that? Well… I’ve got six words for you: “One: don’t pick up the phone.” Yeaaahh, that one! 🪩🚱🎊

And she later releases “Dance the Night” for the Oscar-winning Barbie movie. Just the box-office record-breaking film of the century so far… no big deal.

So… on to the title in question: Houdini.

“Time is passin' like a solar eclipse/ See you watchin' and you blow me a kiss/ It's your moment, baby, don't let it slip/ Come in closer, are you readin' my lips?” *

Now, before we can even get to the lyrics —(yeah, sorry) we have to talk about the subject.

Extra points if you know this… who is Houdini? I think most of us have a sense. Oh, something about magic tricks.

Yeah, wrong! Not really. Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-American stuntman turned magician. But not with a table or hat… no, it was stunts and escapes he was known for. Escape artist became his title. 🤲🕴️🦄

His later performances would likely be banned today, for reasons of bodily safety. So, it’s no small thing to make an homage to him.

** And the first lyrics do tie in here: time passing and — more importantly — “don’t let it slip.”

Don’t let the moment slip. Something about that is so familiar. So haunting, actually… so tortured.

Because we’ve all let “our moment” slip in some way, at some point in our lives.

But there is the flirty invitation to “come in closer.” That can evoke so much in our primal mind.

But it does twist the meaning though, when she then alludes to “reading my lips.”

“They say I come and I go/ Tell me all the ways you need me/ I'm not here for long/ ~~ Catch me or I go Houdini! ~~

🎶🎵🎼🎤

I come and I go/ Prove you got the right to please me/ Everybody knows/ ~~ Catch me… or I go Houdini! ~~”

~ Da da d-da da, daaah! Da da d-da da, daaah!

Sorry, so catchy… kept the beat going for a moment. You get it if you’ve heard the song.

So, obviously there’s a whole H of a lot to unpack there.

You can go from place to place and… despite increasing people you know… not ever feel needed.

So interesting how that’s the first thing mentioned. Well, the second.

“I come and go,” and then “tell me all the ways you need me.”

🤙🏽🤝👏❤️‍🔥

So she doesn’t need to stay there… but she needs to be needed. And that could be what makes her stop moving in. Maybe stop “looking.”

Reminds me of the lesser-known Tracy Chapman hit as well.

“Give one reason to stay here…/ And I’ll turn right back around!”

So tell me why you need me, or I might move on again. Give me that reason to stay. Give us what we’re looking for. Maybe the big truth… of all romances.

“Catch me”… or I’ll be gone.

Catch me… or “I go Houdini.”

Da da d-da da, daaah! No, no, anyway….

So it’s an emotional full-circle, shall we say. At least it is with the post-chorus lyric.

I think we all know where this is going. In a song about protecting yourself and your heart… there’s usually the thing that will break the cycle.

So perhaps this time it’s only fitting to let the last lyrics speak for themselves and close out our story.

A story about a girl who, to protect her heart, became just as good at escape and disappearance and as the enigmatic master himself.

🎤🎼🎶🎵 . 🕴🏼🪄🩻🎖️ .

“If you’re good enough/ You’ll find the way/ Maybe you cause a girl to change/ (her ways)

Do you think about it night and day?/ Maybe you could be the one… to make me stay. ~”