X/Z Song Trader: "Yes I'm Changing"
A Gen X Rocker Discusses Music With His Gen Z Daughter
About X/Z Song Trader: Steve is a music journalist, author and musician. Lucy is a diehard music fan and college student. They have always enjoyed a father/daughter bond over music. Each week one of them picks a song and they both share their perspectives. These are casual conversations based on musical connections. Opinions are their own. Keeping it positive.
Check out the whole X/Z Song Trader series.
Lucy’s Perspective
The kind of funky, indie music that Kevin Parker (of Tame Impala) creates has always been pretty fascinating to me.
I’ve been a casual fan of his music since I was probably in middle school when his album Currents featuring songs like “The Less I Know the Better” and “Let It Happen” was really popular. For a long time I just enjoyed the most played songs from that album and others, and didn’t think too deeply about the lyrics at all.
Listening to Tame Impala is just fun and vibey. Typically, you don’t have to spend much time considering the message of the song, but with this track, that changes quite a bit. I first heard “Yes I’m Changing” around the release of Currents, but it wasn’t until this year that I really gave it a second thought.
I was in the car with a couple of friends over the summer when it came on. I was immediately hooked back into it. Something about the whimsical, otherworldly feeling drew me in. I have probably listened to this song once a day for two months straight, and I’m still not sick of it.
Although the song itself seems to be discussing a break up of sorts, I find more resonance in the lyrics through the lens of someone who is going through a major time of growth and personal change.
The track starts with a remark about a sort of new found maturity and how that has manifested into something other than hate for the first time in his life. To me, that opening remark proves that he is growing, finding it easier to accept things which he cannot control. That theme continues into one of my favorite series of lines:
They say people never change, but that’s bullshit, they do
Yes I’m changing, can’t stop it now
And even if I wanted I wouldn’t know how
Another version of myself I think I found…at last
At this point in my life, change is a state of mind that I am constantly moving in and out of, so I find those lyrics very significant. Change is challenging, often surprising, and always inevitable. Parker establishes this and then continues on to express his disinterest in staying a stagnant person. This promotes change, not as something that should be feared, but as a part of life that we should all accept and learn to love.
As the song continues, he begins to sing more about how the person on the receiving end of this song should begin to accept change as well:
The world beyond that door
Is callin’ out for you (time rolls on)
Arise and walk on through
This song has meant a great deal to me in the past couple of months as I continue to navigate school, work, and general adulthood, especially after turning 20.
I have found comfort in the knowledge that although change can be scary, the payoff of accepting that change is much greater than avoiding it.
I wonder what your experience is with Tame Impala and how you perceive this song as somebody who has experienced a lot of change throughout his life. Do you like the song at all? Does it mean something to you? I can’t wait to know!
Remind the algorithm that RTL exists!
Steve’s Perspective
I listened to this song on repeat while riding the LA Metro to work.
It was a gloomy Monday morning and the cars teemed with commuters. Most had their eyes glued to their phones, but a few—including me—watched the freeway traffic and San Gabriel mountains rush by in a blur outside the rain-streaked windows.
Taking the train to work has been a small silver lining in a year of big changes. Starting a new job within months of losing our family home in the Eaton Fire felt overwhelming, but I tried to just go with it and see where life took me. So far, so good.
I kept this song on repeat until I reached my desk 30 minutes later. It was a perfectly melancholy and hopeful soundtrack to start my week. (And it inspired me to revisit David Bowie’s “Changes” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” on the ride home.)
The ancient Greek quote, “The only constant is change,” has always resonated with me, and I think these lyrics tap into that wisdom.
As you pointed out, the song is about a break up on the surface—but it also seems to be about the inertia of change for each of the individuals. It’s beautiful that the narrator not only recognizes this within himself, but also encourages his (soon to be ex) partner to embrace the inevitability of change as well:
There is a world out there and it’s calling my name
And it’s calling yours, girl, it’s calling yours too
That’s a pretty profound expression of love, even as their relationship dissolves. I appreciate how that sentiment is echoed throughout the song, turning into something of a repeated mantra in the outro.
And I can relate to the changes you’re experiencing.
Decades have passed, but I still remember that slow dawning sense of becoming the person I was meant to be during college. Strange as it felt at the time, I see more clearly now just how quickly my friends and I were evolving. Time will tell if that’s your experience too, or where life leads you on your own unique path, but it’s nice to see you recognizing it in the moment. That took me a lot longer to figure out.
Thankfully, I’ve discovered that’s a feeling I’ll never completely lose as long as I stay teachable and embrace new ideas, experiences, and perspectives. It takes a little more work and intentionality in midlife, but that kind of effort is its own reward as well.
For example, I’ve finally become a Tame Impala fan because of this great song choice. Thanks for helping me dive into an artist I’ve been meaning to explore more deeply.
Dug TI college radio regulars 📻 WLUW I can’t be held responsible for my actions after re-listening to Bandwagonesque 🤦🏼♂️
This is the track that helped me follow Tame Impala from the earlier, more rockin stuff into Parker’s more electronic and dance-y era. The lyrics and delivery are so good it made me a believer.