Music Review: Sia "Big Girls Don't Cry"

Sia

Big Girls Don’t Cry

Album: 1000 Forms of Fear

Year: 2014

              Sia’s brave face disappears once she’s alone in the powerful “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”

            A ruminative piano opens the single, setting a questioning tone.  No one knows to mess with her. They never know what to expect from her. She’s not afraid to speak her mind, even it pisses someone off. She doesn’t want put up with anyone’s manipulation. But no one actually knows her. (“Tough girl in the fast lane/No time for love, no time for hate/No drama, no time for games/Tough girl whose soul aches.”)

                In the pre-chorus, she wipes the counter and adjusts things to pass the time, even though it doesn’t have to be done. She looks at her cell phone. As usual, no one is texting her. She sits on the couch and decides to watch television for the night. She rubs her forehead with her hand. It seems like have time has stopped. (“I'm at home, on my own/Check my phone, nothing, though/Act busy, order in/Pay TV, it’s agony.”)

             In the chorus, her chin trembles and she heads to the bathroom. On the toliet, she cries. When she is through, she looks in the mirror. Her eyes are red. Her makeup has streaked in light lines across her face. Since her breakup with her ex, her life has become empty. (“I may cry ruinin' my makeup/Wash away all the things you've taken/And I don't care if I don’t look pretty/Big girls cry when their hearts are breaking/Big girls cry when their hearts are breaking/Big girls cry when their heart is breaking.”)

            She lives without a care. She has stopped caring about anything. She may have the success but no one will ever remember her.  (“It's lonely at the top, black outs and airplanes/And I still pour you a glass, of champagne/Tough girl whose soul aches.”)

                 The pre-chorus and chorus are sung again.

                 In the bridge, she leaves work for the day. No one misses her. (“I wake up, I wake up, I wake up/I wake up, I wake up, I wake up/I wake up, I wake up. I wake up/I wake up, I wake up,. I wake up/I wake up, I wake up…alone”)

             The chorus is sung again to end the single.
 

             Sia’s closed off and tries not to feel. However, she feels every thing. Her vocals are constricted, as though it’s hard to speak. She is able to turn the cliché on its head by losing the brave face. As she asserts, it’s surface. She wants to change but has no idea.

           The melancholy    “Big Girls Don’t Cry” is messy and complicated, which makes it perfect.