A season characterized by warm weather, good vibes and a distinct lack of seasonal affective disorder. I genuinely think that people can be circumstantially shown to be happier during the summer time.
This idea starts when we are too young to actualize the world, in the form of long and blissful breaks. Months of free time without the encumbrance of school. Free time to sit around, explore ourselves and discover new relationships. But behind this warm and fuzzy facade hides an insidious truth: summer is transient and is always followed by fall, a season characterized as the start of death.
The possibilities of and opportunities of summer are gone, and the chill of winter is on the horizon. Skies turn grey, the amount of usable daylight drops rapidly, and many people turn inward, both physically and mentally 1
Summer is a temporary sanctuary, a reprieve from the humdrum of daily life. It is a time and a place where we can just exist without worrying about the ebbs and flows of daily strife. The warmth brings with it simplicity and joy that invokes memories of childhood.
Summer is a recurring motif that you find throughout Frank Ocean’s discography. He consistently equates this season with nostalgia, primarily in relation to childhood and more adolescent years.
strawberry swing
The first track off of Nostalgia Ultra, it immediately establishes the central theme of overwhelming nostalgia associated with past events. The end result being a strong emotional response.
Although not directly referencing summer, “swinging, kicking, hand painting strawberries” is a references to past memories. Frank paints a vivid picture of innocence that i couldn’t shake for the entirety of the song. Although he establishes a harmless backdrop, the forefront turns violent:
The entire Earth is fighting, all the world is at its end
Just in case, an atom bomb, comes falling on my lawn
I should say and you should hear I’ve loved
I’ve loved the good times here, I’ve loved our good times here
This juxtaposition helps to highlight the idea that regardless of how precious or important some moments are, they are inevitably set to come to an end, despite our relentless efforts to preserve them.
Cry, cry, cry, even though that won’t change a thing
Our valiant efforts to resist to the change will not make a difference since childhood/summer is ephemeral. However, beginning with this line, I find that Frank begins shifting his perspective which fits in with the greater narrative of the song. Crying won’t change thing. Time will move on however, our memories and our experiences won’t change either. Those will live with us forever to be dreamed about and cherished. Chris Martin’s verse, although unrelated to Frank’s subject matter, shares a similar view regarding shifting perspectives. He outlines that objective niceties are meaningless without the proper context.
As an aside, both these songs call back to the Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever, a song dedicated to John Lennon’s childhood.
Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see
Going back to the theme of childhood innocence, both John and Frank seem to rightfully indicate that their current life, despite all their achievements and body of work, fails to parallel the simplicity of childhood.
Lastly, Frank Ocean is a master of frisson or musical chills. He masterfully uses audio signals to elicit greater meaning and really pull the listener in. strawberry swing ends with a crescendo-ing alarm clock that violently thrusts the users out of the nostalgic backdrop and into the “real world”. This solidifies that the preceding song was simply a dream and the rude awakening also symbolizes Frank’s disdain with the real world.
Some things are so powerful that they immediately draw an emotional response without any prior warning. This is one of those moments that carries emotions through the sound waves to the point where it feels deeply personal. I don’t personally know Frank Ocean but the roller coaster set up by strawberry swing made me feel like for an instance in time, we were sharing the exact same sentiment: daydreaming about more simpler times, and becoming more anxious about growing older.