The Musician Insight

An untypical track covering a deep subject: An introduction to originality

Bachelorette is based on a fairytale written by Björk herself: she initially wrote it for Stealing Beauty (a movie made by Bernardo Bertolucci), along with poet Sjón, and touches on a sensitive subject, one which we can find in the entire album.

In 1996, Björk is a victim of an attack by a fan, which puts the media into a frenzy: she left London and went to Spain to finish the recording of her album Homogenic. One of its tracks is Bachelorette, a song which can be understood differently depending on how we see it: as a reflection of the attack, with Björk imagining what the other thinks and wishes or as a more general personification of love.

The introduction sets the tone, one of a cinematic piece, with strings, drums and a piano. The atmosphere is full of darkness and mystery, and like in all of Björk’s work, this song is a musical experiment. With her singing technique, she is opening us to a unique vision of the voice as an instrument. Sjón’s poem is well constructed and has a sharp penmanship, with phrases like “I’m a whisper in the water, secret for you to hear” and “You’re the intruder’s hand, I’m the brand that you break”.

Bachelorette is a song to discover, with open ears!

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