The Twist is a track off one of the album Midnight Organ Fight recorded by the artists Frightened Rabbit. The album was released in April 15th of 2008. The Twist is not the most popular song on the album. I'd give that title to Heads Roll Off. And it's not the first song I ever heard by the band - The Modern Leper; and it wasn't even named as one of the top ten Frightened Rabbit songs by Stereo Gum (The 10 Best Frightened Rabbit Songs). However, The Twist is a song that has stuck on me every since I first heard it and it's one of those songs I can keep going back to but never feels dated. It's been there so many times in my life: when I struggled being an adult, when I struggled being a young parent, when I struggled being a husband, and then it was there when I lost the girl I love. It's not a complicated song, so let's break it down.
As with most songs that you never tire of, The Twist, is has a catchy musical arrangement and contains relate-able lyrics. Let's start with the musical arrangement. The song begins with a simple repeated piano chord that only changes for a single note and then repeats again. No drums. No guitar. About 10 seconds in, Scott Hutchinson begins to sing the first verse, however, that piano rhythm continues over Scott's shaky, rattled voice. At the 25 second mark, backing vocals couldn't come at a better time, while Scott goes silent. When he starts singing the second verse, the sparse piano continues with no other instrument and the backing vocals disappear. This musical simplicity amplifies the insecurity and confusion in his voice. Around the 50 second mark, after his second verse is complete, a cymbal is tossed in and the backing vocals return, which contribute to the anticipation that something bigger is coming. The piano, backing humming vocals and cymbal are all present as he sings the chorus: "So twist and whisper the wrong name... ". Immediately following the end of the chorus, drums finally comes in; about 90 seconds into the song. It's not a typical backing drum beat, it's more of a patter on and a patter off between the backing vocal hums. About the 1:35 mark, Scott begins the third and final verse of the song. Now we have the piano, cymbal, backing vocals and drums all backing him. And you can feel that something is going to break soon. And we get that when the verse finishes; at the 2:16 mark, right when he says "I need human heat" for the second time. At this point in the song, the beat speeds up and it almost feels like it cuts to entirely different song. The piano beat changes to a fast keyboard sequence of chords and a rhythmic snare drum beat, that we have not heard at all. The backing vocals also change to something I can't understand, but it's different than before. The pace of the song quickens as we get closer to the end. Scott squeals a few times about his need for "human heat" and then the song abruptly cuts off for the end after 3.31 minutes. Thus, the song itself only has about a minute of a rhythmic drum beat and a more upbeat keyboard progression of chords. But the musical arrangement isn't the only element of this makes it a classic, the lyrics and signing complete it.
Scott begins, simply enough, expressing his lust for this person whom he's watching dance
Do the twist in the twisting outfit
The loose tie with, the loose limp wrists
Lift your dress enough to show me those shins
Let your hair stick to your forehead
His desperation, which becomes more defined later, begins here, as he is a sucker for just a little skin, even her shins. "Let your hair stick to your forehead" tells us that she's sweaty and disheveled, but he's perfectly fine with that.
Did you blush then when our hips touched?
I can't tell, you're already red
Am i right? you give me the signs
Is that pink mist or just lit dry ice
He's fragile and fears rejection, so he's desperate for any sign of mutual attraction. He questions his own instincts but the fragility in his waving voice when he sings the word "signs" indicates that he's worried that these lustful feelings aren't mutual.
Then we're treated to the chorus for the first time
So twist and whisper the wrong name
I don't care nor do my ears
Twist yourself around me
I need company i need human heat
I need human heat
This is where it becomes how clear his desperation is. You can call him anything you want, he just needs someone right now. He needs human heat. A clever way to explain that he is desperate for companionship, and my favorite line.
The third and final verse.
Lets pretend I'm attractive and then
You won't mind, you can twist for a while
It's the night, I can be who you like
And I'll quietly leave before it gets light
His self doubt apparent, he begs her to stay and dance with him. He'll betray himself, he whomever she needs through the evening. And he signs the chorus again.
So twist and whisper the wrong name
I don't care nor do my ears
Twist yourself around me
I need company i need human heatI need human heat
Thinking of needing heat, means he's cold. He needs warmth to live again. And the image of heat radiating off someone and permeating into him is what I see when I hear this line. And fortunately, he repeats this line several times with his wobbly vocals and different pacing.
He then repeats the chorus but alters the lyrics a bit.
Twist and whisper the right name
I'm David, please
The twist is that you're just like me
You need company, you need human heat
You need human heat
He drops some great lines here, as the song ends. He reveals that, as desperate for companionship as he is, what he really wants is someone who knows him. "Whisper the right name. I'm David, please". And then, he reveals the twist. She's just like him. Everyone there is just like him. Everyone wants companionship in their life. Everyone needs human heat.
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