By Kiki Arochas, Staff Writer
There are many ways that you could have heard “Hide and Seek.” Perhaps you love Jason Derulo’s debut hit “Whatcha Say,” whose chorus was sampled from this song. Or maybe you’re familiar with the iconic SNL skit “Dear Sister,” the legendary parody that featured the song heavily. Whether or not it was ever on your radar, Imogen Heap’s acapella track is a beautifully written and uniquely vocalized song that requires a deep dive.
Where are we?
What the hell is going on?
Although she has never stated it explicitly, based on what Heap has said, this song recounts her feelings after her parents separated and her father remarried. Feelings of betrayal, hurt, anger, and confusion reverberate prominently throughout her lyrics.
The dust has only just begun to fall
In the words of Genius.com: “This is an allusion to the idiom of dust settling, meaning that a situation has calmed down.” Heap is insinuating the opposite: the horror has only begun.
The furniture removed from the house has left imprints in the carpet, sinking circles that leave ghostly images of what was, representing that which Heap has lost.
Spin me ’round again and rub my eyes
When busy streets a mess with people
Would stop to hold their heads heavy
These words are here to emphasize her hurt and denial: She struggles to accept her new reality. “Busy streets” reflect Heap’s realization of pain being a worldwide phenomena.
In the chorus, Heap now reflects on childhood memories she once shared with her now divorced parents: playing hide and seek, playing with toy trains and sewing machines.
All those memories, all the times we had together: they were here first. They are where the parents truly belong, not in this new family, with me picking up the broken pieces of what is left.
“Oily marks” remain where pictures, which once displayed a happy family, once hung. This calls back to the imagery employed with the crop circles:” ghostly images that show the remnants of what once was.
Before the takeover, the sweeping insensitivity
Before the divorce, the total lack of regard for Heap’s feelings. The song’s climax will reveal these bitter emotions in full. “Sweeping insensitivity” could be read within the ‘home’ theme and imagery employed so far: sweeping as in a broom, while sweeping meaning a total encompassing insensitivity.
Hide and seek
Oh, you won’t catch me around here
Blood and tears (Hearts)
They were here first
The blood and tears, (which I’m understanding to be in reference to the phrase ‘blood, sweat and tears’) the effort to make the relationship work, predated the two parents quitting, and leaving Heap in the dust. “Blood” also references the familial ties that were there before. Heap now transitions into the climax of the song:
Mmm, that you only meant well?
Mmm, that it’s all for the best?
Heap sarcastically repeats the clichè adage all divorcees tell their kids: We only meant well. It’s all for the best. All those useless phrases and words that do little to justify the hurt and loss Heap has experienced.
Mmm, that it’s just what we need
Another adage is responded to: “This is just what we need.” Her response is simple: You decided this. I didn’t need my life destroyed because the two of you couldn’t resolve your problems. This was purely selfish, without Heap’s feelings taken into account.
Ransom notes keep fallin’ out your mouth
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut-outs (Paper word cut-outs)
On my listens, I always understood this to mean that both parents were saying unhelpful, random words in a vain attempt to make Heap feel better, while really lacking any emotional availability or understanding for her plight. However, Genius interpreted this line as describing both parents using Heap to “get back at each other,” using her as leverage. This is referenced in “ransom notes” and “newspaper (word) cut-outs,” which are often used by kidnappers to keep them anonymous.
Speak no feeling, no, I don’t believe you
You don’t care a bit, you don’t care a bit
Heap exposes her parents’ lack of caring and how their selfish actions have affected her. No matter what they say, they made their decision, moving on and leaving her with nothing but memories of everything she has lost. The rest of the song sees her emphasizing this point.
Ransom notes keep fallin’ out your mouth
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut-outs
Speak, no feeling, no, I don’t believe you
You don’t care a bit, you don’t care a bit, you don’t care a bit.