What The Fk Was She Thinking? The story behind the lyrics on Jade Imagine's debut EP

Melbourne four-piece Jade Imagine has just dropped their love letter to lo-fi, slackker-fuzz/dream pop that is debut EP What The Fuck Was I Thinking, out now on Courtney Barnett's Milk Records label. It's not only a fantastic debut EP, it's just a cracking EP full stop. The group will be taking it on the road thorugh May, and to mark its release we asked frontwoman Jade McInally to pick out some of the lyrics on the release, and tell us just exactly what the fuck she was thinking when she wrote them. Tuck in below, and check those dates down the bottom:

1. Stay Awake

Lyric: “Though I kinda miss the dreamscapes, the desert sand/Weird tiny fishes in the promised land.”

Around the time of writing Stay Awake, I was having very weird sleeps and strange dreams. This line came from one of my dreams, wherein I was lost in a never-ending Dali-esque desert, when I strangely stumbled upon an oasis pond with fish that would shrink in size the closer I got.

2. You & I

Lyric: “Every night the same dream repeating/I keep getting stuck, I keep getting stuck…”

Again with the dreams, I was having these crazy recurring ones and at the same time I was having certain relationship problems… I guess there’s a metaphor in there somewhere for dreams reflecting reality and being stuck in old behaviour patterns.

3. God Is A Crown

Lyric: “God is a crown.”

Seriously, this just came out on the page and I’m still trying to figure out what the f*ck I was thinking - if anyone can decipher this lyric, please do tell…

4. Esteem

Lyric: “Hold on to people ‘cause you need them to feel good/Surround yourself with others cover up the dirt, and stay in the world.”

Everyone has some dark sides of their personality. Some people choose to ignore them and party their troubles away (not saying that’s good or bad, just a thing I’ve noticed). I guess this lyric just refers to the idea of being comfortable with spending time by oneself.

5. Walkin’ Around

Lyric: “The Clairvoyant said the ocean is my saving grace.”

This is gonna come across sounding super hippy but I will say it anyway - I saw a clairvoyant last year and she told me a lot of things. She said my mum ought to watch her blood pressure as she gets older. She told me that my dad was like Peter Pan… she said I should live near the ocean because it’s my ‘saving grace’. I still live in Melbourne inner ‘burbs, just FYI. One day I’ll probably go back to the Sunshine Coast.

6. Tell Her She’s Dreamin’

Lyric: “You kill me, you’ll kill this, you’ll kill it.”

You kill me because you don’t see how awesome you truly are. You’ll kill this - you’ve got this. Life, you can do it. You’ll kill it - believe in yourself. You’re going places, kiddo.

TOUR DATES:

Sat6 May - Corner Hotel, Richmond w/ Cash Savage & The Last Drinks

Fri 12 May - The Tote, Collingwood w/ Rolling Blackout Coastal Fever

Fri 19 May - The Gaso, Collingwood w/ Pearls, Lalic & Poppongene (EP LAUNCH)

Thu 25 May - The End, Brisbane w/ Low Drive (EP LAUNCH)

Sat 27 May - Golden Age Cinema, Sydney w/ Noire (EP LAUNCH)

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