Heat Waves

"Heat Waves" by Glass Animals is a deeply personal and emotionally complex song about loss, longing, and the difficult acceptance of a relationship's end. Penned by frontman Dave Bayley, the lyrics convey a sense of nostalgia for a past love, particularly centered around memories from "late nights in the middle of June". This specific time is significant as it's linked to the birthday of a deceased friend, and the memories of this person and the relationship are intertwined. The song's core message is the painful realization that the narrator is unable to make their partner happy and that letting them go is the best, albeit heartbreaking, decision. It's a song of inward-directed angst, where the narrator blames only themself for the relationship's failure. The recurring line, "Heat waves been faking me out," metaphorically describes how memories can be deceptive and disorienting, much like a mirage on a hot road, distorting the narrator's perception of reality.

The song unfolds as a deeply personal and introspective monologue, saturated with a sense of longing and melancholic nostalgia. The narrator finds themselves lost in thought, particularly during late nights in the middle of June, a time that seems to hold significant weight and memory. The central theme revolves around the persistent and consuming thoughts of a person who is no longer in their life. This fixation is so powerful that it feels like a recurring, inescapable phenomenon, much like the shimmering heat waves on a summer road that distort reality.

The lyrics paint a picture of someone trying to cope with this loss. At times, the narrator attempts to distract themselves by turning on the television, a conscious effort to avoid confronting the painful reality of their separation from this person. However, these attempts are often futile. In a moment of clarity, the reflections on the screen become a mirror, showing not just their own image but a stark reminder of their shared past and the fact that they are now alone. This moment brings a painful realization: the narrator understands that they cannot provide the happiness the other person needs and deserves. There's a mature, albeit heartbreaking, acceptance that the other person needs a different, better life, one that the narrator feels incapable of giving.

The imagery of "fake water all across the road"—a mirage—serves as a powerful metaphor for the illusory nature of what the narrator thought they could offer. It represents hope or a future that was never truly attainable, which vanishes as reality sets in. As the song progresses, the emotional rawness intensifies. There's a flashback to a difficult conversation, a moment of letting go. The narrator recalls the pain of saying goodbye, acknowledging that while it's the right decision for the other person's well-being, it doesn't lessen their own sense of loneliness and hurt. The line "you look so broken when you cry" reveals a deep empathy and the shared pain of the separation.

In the final verses, the narrator is left to wonder about the other person's life now. They imagine them sleeping peacefully, smiling at their dreams, and wish they could be the source of that untroubled happiness. This longing is coupled with the recurring refrain, emphasizing how these thoughts of the past continue to haunt them. The repetition of "heat waves been faking me out" reinforces the central idea that these memories and feelings are disorienting and deceptive, making it difficult to move on. The song is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the painful process of accepting that some things, no matter how much you want them, cannot be saved.

"Heat Waves" was written by Glass Animals' frontman, Dave Bayley, in May 2018. The song was born from a period of deep reflection and nostalgia, prompted by the upcoming birthday of a close friend who had passed away. This personal event heavily influenced the melancholic and reflective tone of the lyrics, which Bayley reportedly wrote in just an hour. The song was recorded as part of the band's third studio album, Dreamland. An interesting anecdote from the creation process is that actor Johnny Depp was apparently the first person to hear the song. Bayley recalls being in the studio late at night and, after finishing the track, realized Depp was sitting behind him, having been working in another studio. The song's production incorporates hip-hop and electropop elements, with a notable use of 808s and skittering hi-hats, a departure from the band's earlier acoustic percussion. "Heat Waves" was released on June 29, 2020.

The rhyme scheme of "Heat Waves" is not strictly rigid, often following a more conversational and free-flowing structure, which contributes to the song's personal and introspective feel. The chorus, however, has a more defined rhyme pattern, with lines like "you" and "June" creating a near rhyme that is both memorable and subtly melancholic. The song's rhythm is a key element of its appeal. It's built around a mid-tempo, hypnotic beat driven by an 808 drum machine, which gives it a contemporary R&B and hip-hop flavor. This steady, pulsating rhythm creates a sense of continuous motion, mirroring the narrator's restless thoughts and the shimmering, wave-like imagery of the song's title. The interplay between the laid-back vocal delivery and the persistent, groovy rhythm creates a sense of tension that reflects the song's bittersweet lyrical themes.

"Heat Waves" employs a range of stylistic techniques to create its distinct and memorable sound.

• Musical Style: The song is a blend of psychedelic pop, R&B, and pop rock, with significant electronic and hip-hop influences. It utilizes catchy 808 drum patterns, underwater-sounding synth leads, and a prominent bassline that gives it a groovy yet melancholic feel. The production is noted for being warm, round, and full, combining electronic elements with acoustic touches.
• Vocal Delivery: Dave Bayley's vocal performance is characterized by a gentle, low-toned, and sometimes falsetto delivery that enhances the song's introspective and vulnerable mood. The use of layered vocal tracks in the chorus creates a sense of unrestrained emotional expression.
• Literary Devices: The lyrics incorporate several literary techniques. Anaphora is present in the repetition of phrases at the beginning of lines, and assonance can be found in the rhyming of words like "cry" and "goodbye". The song also features personification and hyperbole to convey the depth of the narrator's emotions.

"Heat Waves" became a massive and unexpected global hit, marking a significant moment in Glass Animals' career and leaving a lasting cultural footprint. The song was a sleeper hit, gaining immense popularity through its use on TikTok, where its nostalgic and melancholic tone resonated with users creating videos about past memories. It also received a significant boost from its inclusion in the popular video game FIFA 21. The song's success was monumental, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States after a record-breaking 59-week climb, and also topping the charts in several other countries including Australia and Canada. It holds the record for the longest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100. "Heat Waves" was nominated for Best British Single at the 2022 Brit Awards and contributed to the band's Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. The song's music video, filmed during the COVID-19 lockdown by frontman Dave Bayley's neighbors, is a testament to the period's creative constraints and has amassed hundreds of millions of views.

"Heat Waves" is rich with symbolism and metaphors that deepen its emotional impact.

• Heat Waves as a Mirage: The central metaphor of the song is the "heat wave" itself, which symbolizes a mirage or an illusion. Just as heat waves create a shimmering, distorted vision on a hot road, the memories of the past relationship are disorienting and deceptive for the narrator. This is explicitly stated in the lyrics "Heat waves been faking me out," suggesting that the nostalgia he feels is an unreliable and painful illusion of what was.
• Hollywood and Television Screens: The mention of "Hollywood laying on the screen" and using the TV to avoid thinking about the relationship symbolizes distraction and the curated, often false, nature of how we perceive life and relationships. Hollywood represents a fantasy world, a "suspension of disbelief," which the narrator uses to escape his reality until he sees their "reflections clearly," and the illusion shatters.
• Middle of June: The recurring phrase "late nights in the middle of June" is a significant temporal symbol. It anchors the song's nostalgia to a specific time, likely a period of intense happiness in the relationship, but also a time of recurring grief for a lost friend whose birthday was in June, adding a layer of bittersweetness.

The most prominent recurring phrase in "Heat Waves" is "Sometimes, all I think about is you / Late nights in the middle of June / Heat waves been faking me out / Can't make you happier now". This chorus is the emotional and thematic anchor of the song, repeated multiple times to emphasize the narrator's obsessive thoughts, nostalgia, and feelings of inadequacy. Its repetition creates a hypnotic and memorable hook. The imagery of "heat waves" is a recurring motif that reinforces the theme of illusion and distorted reality. The reference to watching television as a means of distraction is another recurring idea that highlights the narrator's attempt to escape their painful memories. Musically, the song is built on a recurring chord progression and a consistent, groovy beat that further enhances its hypnotic quality.