We know that Blink 182 has always been considered the goofy, fun-loving pop rock kid on the mainstream charts, but with the release of their self-titled album, a new side to Blink 182 was revealed. The song I Miss You expresses the greatest part of this dark feeling that is consistent throughout the album. Even the music videos for this album were no longer bright and comedy-filled, but raw, intense, and sad.
The lyrics to I Miss You are quite simple to understand, but it’s this simplicity that creates such a powerful connection between the band and their listeners. And while the emotions are predictable when someone listens to I Miss You, the metaphorical images are not. After analyzing much of Blink 182’s work, I found that Mark Hoppus has a better grip on coming up with one-liners with high relevance to the topic compared to Tom Delonge. Of course, Delonge has shown quite a bit of the more poetic side of him since he played with Angels and Airwaves.
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Blink 182’s words created a very gloomy environment for I Miss You from the very beginning. When Hoppus sings “Hello, the angel from my nightmare. The shadow in the back of the morgue”, he is trying to express the feeling of being alone and having his mind terrified by this ghostly image. Most likely, this image is a woman from a broken relationship. He continues with “The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley. We can live like Jack and Sally if we want, where you can always find me and we’ll have Halloween over Christmas…” recounting the strange forgotten love of his to the characters. Jack Skellington and Sally from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.
I really think adding that cinematic relationship was a risky movie. Personally, when I hear lyrics that make obvious references to movie characters, I start to think twice about that particular band. I start to analyze how good his lyrical abilities are and most of the time I realize that most of his material, musical or lyrical, is sometimes not as original as I once thought. Of course, Blink 182 are in no danger of losing their mighty status as pop rock legends. It was risky business to make that connection, but I Miss You really uses that metaphor well.
Tom Delonge’s verse from I Miss You isn’t nearly as charming in its emotional references. His verse reflects the horrible pain one feels from everyday events that never made sense until their partner left. When Delonge says “This strange and sick darkness creeps in so haunting every time”, he is mentioning how strange and scary it is to feel alone. One could assume that this song could be about the end of a long relationship. blink 182
I honestly don’t understand how “hesitant to call” can be related to spiders catching things and eating the insides. I guess that’s why I sometimes feel like it goes on with “…And while I was watching, I counted cobwebs from all the spiders, catching things and eating their innards as indecisiveness to call you and listen to your treasonous voice” which is really cool. . Blink 182 uses images and comparisons for the surface layer only. I mean, really, it’s hard to have a completely different concept for every song a band decides to write. Eventually, bands double down on content or use phrases and words for a quick appeal. I think that’s what’s going on in that line from I Miss You.
The rest of the song’s performance can be subdued, but I think the lyrical intentions are obvious when Blink 182 repeats “I Miss You” more than a dozen times. Overall, this song is simple, but it oozes substance just like the rest of Blink 182’s work. And it’s a very strong representation of the style used throughout their self-titled album.
