RY X’s “Howling” delves into the complexities of love and human connection. It captures the intoxicating, primal pull between two souls, each lost in the other’s essence. The songwriter speaks about a consuming, almost spiritual love that leads to vulnerability. The song’s mysterious and poetic lyrics hint at the euphoria and surrender involved in love, even touching upon themes of spirituality. The song isn’t just about a person; it’s about the captivating feeling of being hopelessly ensnared by someone else’s aura.
Want to unlock the beauty and depth of this haunting song? Stick around. We’re diving deep into the heart of “Howling.”
“Howling” Lyrics Meaning
Let’s jump right in with the opening lines: “Hot nights coming / Keep the car running / Lavender fingers / Swallow my pollen.” Right away, the atmosphere is palpable. We’re in a space laden with desire, urgency, and a touch of the ethereal. Lavender signifies calm and serenity, while “pollen” could be interpreted as the essence of a person. It’s as though these lovers are so in sync, they’re components of the same tranquil but passionate environment.
As we move to “Gold I swam into your spell / On the rite of God we fell,” we delve into spirituality. The ‘rite of God’ phrase hints at a love so powerful and consuming that it almost seems divinely predestined. The use of “gold” also symbolizes purity and value, emphasizing how precious this connection is.
“You were plush and I laid bare / You had me howling.” Here, “plush” and “bare” show the contrasting dynamics in love. One is lavish and full of life, the other vulnerable and exposed. The howling is both literal and metaphorical—literally, it could be the primal sounds of love, and metaphorically, it’s the uncontainable feelings of passion and yearning.
“Under your sin / You had me howling” captures the theme of surrender and culpability. Love isn’t always pure; it’s sometimes tinged with sin, moral complexities, and surrender to raw, human instincts. But it’s precisely this complicated mix that makes it so irresistible.
The repetition of “You had me howling” reinforces the uncontrollable nature of this love. It’s not a whisper; it’s a howl, a visceral expression of something beyond words. The “Blush” repeated at the end accentuates the innocence and vulnerability that love exposes, contrasting sharply with the ‘sin’ and ‘howling’ we heard earlier.
The Story Behind “Howling”
RY X wrote this song at a time when he was deeply contemplating the concepts of love and human connection. He was in a state of vulnerability, pondering the power dynamics, the yin and yang, that make love both beautiful and terrifying. This depth of thought bleeds into every line, every word of the song.
Adding to the backdrop of “Howling,” RY X also found inspiration in different art forms like poetry and visual arts, and even in nature itself. The emotional state that led to this composition was a cocktail of personal experiences, intellectual musings, and aesthetic influences. That’s why you see the amalgamation of themes—love, spirituality, and a touch of the natural world—in a single, cohesive narrative. This song isn’t just an emotional outpour, but a thoughtfully crafted piece that encapsulates a very specific yet universally relatable human experience. It reflects a moment in the songwriter’s life where love was both an enigma and an answer, a maze and a map.
The song seems to be a cathartic release, an encapsulation of these musings on love, sensuality, and spirituality.