Love and Quantum Physics

I don’t usually write explanations of my songs or lyrics, but I thought (given the nature of this project/collaboration) that it would be fitting to give a little more info about this tune.  Click past the break for the gritty details…

The inspiration:

   The new Pam-n-Ryan tracks were everywhere on the internet,
but they all sprung from the same source: a music filter called The
Listener. I was piping one of them through the Tata’s tinny stereo.
Pam Prior was singing about love and quantum physics.
   They really do match the old tracks perfectly, I said. I could whis-
per in Scheme’s ear through small speakers in each earring. The frequencies are the same. The vocal tics are the same. She has a Canadian accent…
   “Since when can you analyze music?” Scheme said.
   I just downloaded an open-source library. I’m infinitely extensible.
   “We’ll see. What else?”
   Well, Ryan Kelly whistles a lot, which is helpful, because that’s a
hard thing to fake.

That quote is Robin Sloan’s prose describing the song that I was going to write.

Now, I’m a smart kid, but my particular intellectual strengths lie more on the “words” side of the brain than the “science-y stuff” side.  So, naturally, I Googled “quantum physics” and came up with this:

What is Quantum Physics?

Quantum physics is a branch of science that deals with discrete, indivisible units of energy called quanta as described by the Quantum Theory. There are five main ideas represented in Quantum Theory:

1. Energy is not continuous, but comes in small but discrete units. ¹
2. The elementary particles behave both like particles and like waves. ²
3. The movement of these particles is inherently random. ³
4. It is physically impossible to know both the position and the momentum of a particle at the same time. The more precisely one is known, the less precise the measurement of the other is.⁴
5. The atomic world is nothing like the world we live in. ⁵

The first thing that popped into my mind (both upon reading Robin’s words and the Thinkquest article) was that I do not understand this concept.  Then I thought to myself: “Hey, you know what else you totally don’t understand?  Love!”  So I decided to use quantum physics as a metaphor for my usual complete lack of comprehension at the end of a relationship.

So, that’s the broad concept.  I also threw in some specific references to the definition (“I’ve given up on trying to know where you are and where you’ll go” being a nod to point number 4 in the list) and some subtle and blatant nods to the wording of the definition (“wave,” “discrete”), albeit with completely different meanings.

Anyhoo, I’m quite pleased with the song and I’m super-excited to flesh out the instrumentation and add Joan’s vocals to make it a true “Pam-n-Ryan” track.  And at the risk of bragging, I’m incredibly proud of the whistling solo, which is undoubtedly the best whistling performance that I’ve ever put to tape.

“I’ll Never Understand (Love and Quantum Physics)”
Words and music: Matt Ryd
Concept: Robin Sloan 

Verse 1:

I’m stuck trying to flee the scene
and take back what I didn’t mean:
all the solutions I didn’t know were wrong.

I’m trying to find the path
that avoids inciting wrath
and keeps up the balance that we depend upon.

It’s like you’re in a different world that I can’t hope to visit.
I’m stuck dodging waves in water I can’t tread.

Chorus:

It’s okay—it’s alright:
I’ll concede I lost this fight.
I’ve given up on tryin’ to know
where you are and where you’ll go.
Try your best to be discrete;
toss me a wave as I retreat.
Had to give up everything that I’d planned to learn you’re a thing I’ll never understand.

Verse 2:
Recoiled in bitterness,
I give up, under duress,
trying to convince you that I can change your mind.

My vocabulary lacks the words to conceive
a summary of what we’ve left behind.

Seems like there is no difference between our love and quantum physics—
both subjects that go right over my head.