"On My Mind" by Ellie Goulding, Thursday, July 7, 2022

 

After her major breakthrough hit, "Lights" in 2010, Ellie Goulding became an international star. The UK singer has had a slew of hits following "Lights." In her two singles with Calvin Harris, "I Need Your Love" and "Outside," Goulding shows her radiance, singing bright EDM. While "Lights" remains her biggest Hot 100 hit, Goulding's second biggest song was released prior to her third record Delirium. While that song appears as track 9 on the eclectic record, it was the film Fifty Shades of Grey that "Love Me Like You Do" is associated with, not Delirium. 

WAIT, I COULD HAVE REALLY LIKED YOU.  In 2015, I thought Delirium was a great record, on par with Carly Rae Jepsen's Emotion. But in the years since its release, I certainly haven't revisited Delirium as much as Emotion. Both records are long, but Emotion seems more cohesive and in retrospect. Delirium feels long listening to it in 2022. From the disorienting "Intro" leading into "Aftertaste," listeners are introduced to an almost Middle Eastern sound that blends with synthesizers. This darker-sounding electronic music starts one theme of record. But then the third track "Something in the Way You Move" the album begins another musical theme of super-sweet, euphoric pop music. Goulding's third record would benefit by trimming some of the redundant tracks and the ones that lyrically go no where. The problem with listening to the entire album is sometimes the sweetness is overbearing on tracks like "Around U" and the tracks start to blend into each other. 

Photo of Ed Sheeran with arm tattoos. Photo by
Eva Rinaldi. Source: Wikipedia Commons.

YOU WANTED MY HEART, BUT I JUST LIKED YOUR TATTOOS. "On My Mind" was one of the bigger singles from the record, though nowhere a big as "Love Me Like You Do." The song tells a story about a misunderstanding between two romantic partners, the speaker just wants something casual, and the listener falls for the speaker; however, by the chorus, though, the speaker starts to think about the listener romantically. Music critics have read "On My Mind" as a response to Ed Sheeran's 2014 song "Don't." Although neither Sheeran nor Goulding have confirmed that their songs are about each other, tabloids have shown a romantic link between the two stars and the details in "On My Mind" and "Don't" seem to give more evidence to this relationship. Both songs paint the girl as cold and calculating, but "On My Mind" shows Goulding's ambivalence. Furthermore, from the attitude presented in "On My Mind," Goulding doesn't sound like she was trying to fool the listener, but he misread the signals, expecting more. Of course we may never know the true story. But just a friendly reminder: make your intentions clear up front, and you might avoid being the subject of a break up song.

Music video:

Live on Jimmy Fallen: 

Read “On My Mind” by Ellie Goulding on Genius