Sam Smith's "Unholy"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where the hell did you get that it was about a gay romance? Did you even listen to the lyrics?

I thought that at first too. It seemed more in line with Sam Smith's brand to be calling something like that out.

+3
I thought the main singer was having the affair and the other singer was just singing about her own affairs too but I never really dissected or thought about the meaning at all beyond it playing a few times.
Two posts in this thread had to be written by a chatbot, right? Do/ could they ever post here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a catchy song but if you understand the meaning it’s sad. I always feel really bad for women in this situation.

+1

This song is a little heartbreaking because it happened to me.

Sam Smith is a TALENT though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But Kim is trans. So that's another whole layer.

It doesn’t matter. The song clearly is about a man and woman.

No it’s not. It’s about a man on the lowdown and how that’s such a turnon to the singer.

What lyrics suggest that please? They were posted earlier in the thread.

You have to listen to the song and know something about the performers. The meaning of a song is obviously far more than the words! It’s a sexy song playing on the well established trope of a “straight” man getting off with men (or tran women in this case). The “narrator” of the song is clearly getting off on the idea of the “dirty dirty boy.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s a catchy song but if you understand the meaning it’s sad. I always feel really bad for women in this situation.

+1

This song is a little heartbreaking because it happened to me.

Sam Smith is a TALENT though!

yeah well the trope of the hot “str8” guy on the DL depends on the existence of a cheated-on straight woman at home for its frission. so it is a bit dehumanizing. the man still has all the sexual agency and the woman it just decoration for the men … even the gay men in this context.

[Anonymous]

Petras is trans correct? Sam Smith is gay. That’s why I thought it was about a gay affair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Petras is trans correct? Sam Smith is gay. That’s why I thought it was about a gay affair.

Same! I'm surprised to hear this song ISN'T about a gay extramarital affair because I def got that vibe.

[Anonymous]

Watch the video. The lyrics can certainly be interpreted as being an affair with a woman but the video suggests otherwise, which is the singers' interpretation of the song.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Watch the video. The lyrics can certainly be interpreted as being an affair with a woman but the video suggests otherwise, which is the singers' interpretation of the song.

Thanks to you I went and checked out the music video. I was never curious before. It's a really good video.

My takeaways:
- the wife is "pure" (white dress, white coat, performing a gender role)
- he leaves their bright neighborhood and descends into a sort of underbelly for his thrills
- he is checking out both male and female strippers as he enters the red-lit club, indicating bisexual
- it's really hard to tell but he seems to be mostly orgying it up with cis women....did I miss something?
- at the end the wife takes off her white coat and her wig, and seems to suggest she's not who she seems to be (nonbinary instead of female? Trans?)

[Anonymous]

When’d Sam get so fat and ugly? It’s stunning what’s happened to him. He seems to be fighting serious mental health problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unholy was written by the songwriting "hit making dream team": James Napier, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Henry Walter, Blake Slatkin, and Omer Fedi.

Here is the meaning of the song. Unholy is a song about an adulterous relationship. The singer talks to a man who is cheating on his wife and cannot keep things quiet. The rumors have spread, even though his wife doesn’t know about them yet. In the song, Kim Petras plays the role of the girl the man is cheating with, interpreting her as a woman playing with a sugar daddy.

The song’s beginning explains that the wife doesn’t know yet that her husband is a cheater. The first lines describe the act of cheating as “something unholy”:

"Mummy don’t know daddy’s getting hot at the body shop
Doing something unholy"

Then Sam Smith talks directly to the cheater, and the words they pronounce are full of disgust:

"Lucky, lucky girl, she got married to a boy like you
She’d kick you out if she ever, ever knew
‘Bout all the s**t you tell me that you do
Dirty, dirty boy, you know everyone is talking on the scene
I hear them whisperin’ ’bout the places that you’ve been
And how you don’t know how to keep your business clean"

They are obviously taking the part of the wife, who doesn’t know he’s a cheater. He should feel lucky to have her. Instead, he acts unrespectfully and cannot even keep his actions secret.

The song’s dark mood highlights how the referred actions are wrong. Using the term “unholy” implies a divine perspective on the situation. God’s judgment is invoked on it and rely on His punishment, eventually.

The lines sung by Kim Petras show the dirty perspective of the girl the man is cheating with: she’s only looking for money and benefits from this relationship, and she does her part to cover him when needed.

"Mmm, daddy, daddy, if you want it, drop the addy
Give me love, give me Fendi, my Balenciaga daddy
You gon’ need to bag it up, ’cause I’m spending on Rodeo (Woo)
You can watch me back it up, I’ll be gone in the AM
And he, he get me Prada, get me Miu Miu like Rihanna
He always call me ’cause I never cause no drama

And when you want it, baby
I know I got you covered
And when you need it, baby
Just jump under the covers"

Unholy is an accusation of infidelity, and the meaning behind the lyrics is: your behavior is unacceptable, and you don’t deserve the woman you have as your wife. I’m not asking you to be careful or fix it because you don’t even get to earn my help. You are out of the behavior a good man should have. I condemn your actions as something unholy and hope somebody will do justice.

The complete lyrics

Mummy don’t know daddy’s getting hot at the body shop
Doing something unholy

Lucky, lucky girl, she got married to a boy like you
She’d kick you out if she ever, ever knew
‘Bout all the s**t you tell me that you do
Dirty, dirty boy, you know everyone is talking on the scene
I hear them whisperin’ ’bout the places that you’ve been
And how you don’t know how to keep your business clean

Mummy don’t know daddy’s getting hot at the body shop
Doing something unholy
He’s sat back while she’s dropping it, she be popping it, yeah
She put it down slowly
Oh, he left his kids at home
So, he can get that
Mummy don’t know daddy’s getting hot at the body shop, doing something unholy (Woo)

(Kim Petras)
Mmm, daddy, daddy, if you want it, drop the addy
Give me love, give me Fendi, my Balenciaga daddy
You gon’ need to bag it up, ’cause I’m spending on Rodeo (Woo)
You can watch me back it up, I’ll be gone in the AM
And he, he get me Prada, get me Miu Miu like Rihanna
He always call me ’cause I never cause no drama

And when you want it, baby
I know I got you covered
And when you need it, baby
Just jump under the covers

Mummy don’t know daddy’s getting hot at the body shop
Doing something unholy
He’s sat back while she’s dropping it, she be popping it, yeah
She put it down slowly
Oh, he left his kids at home
So, he can get that
Mummy don’t know daddy’s getting hot at the body shop, doing something unholy


From: https://auralcrave.com/en/2022/09/07/sam-smith-unholy-the-lyrics-and-the-meaning/

This is actually quite helpful! The change in perspective confused me, but I think you’re right, that’s what’s going on in the lyrics. It’s the same story from multiple points of view.

[Anonymous]

I've obviously hear the song but never watched the music video before this thread sort of prompted me to do so. It's obviously about him going to a sex club and cheating on his wife. At the end, the car literally has the words "liar" and "cheat" painted on it.

For those saying that this is about a gay affair, I disagree. First off, Petras is a trans woman. Trans women that look like women attract men that are attracted to women. Kim Petras transitioned young, avoided most of male puberty, had bottom surgery, and looks as much like a cis woman as a trans woman can. A man attracted to her is not gay. Gay men are attracted to men just like straight women are. Straight and bi men are attracted to trans women. Smith goes by they/them pronouns and I believe is nonbinary. They're obviously queer so if I had to guess, they're probably pansexual.

[Anonymous]

I'm 6:10 above.
I forgot to mention in my reply, the cinematography of that music video is amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Watch the video. The lyrics can certainly be interpreted as being an affair with a woman but the video suggests otherwise, which is the singers' interpretation of the song.

Thanks to you I went and checked out the music video. I was never curious before. It's a really good video.

My takeaways:
- the wife is "pure" (white dress, white coat, performing a gender role)
- he leaves their bright neighborhood and descends into a sort of underbelly for his thrills
- he is checking out both male and female strippers as he enters the red-lit club, indicating bisexual
- it's really hard to tell but he seems to be mostly orgying it up with cis women....did I miss something?
- at the end the wife takes off her white coat and her wig, and seems to suggest she's not who she seems to be (nonbinary instead of female? Trans?)

I love how far as a society we have come that a song about this kind of stuff (gay/trans/poly/queer/binany fluid) was a number-one chart topping song for several weeks which is still hugely popular. Who would have ever thought? I love the song and also that progression in our society. Although we have still a long way to evolve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Watch the video. The lyrics can certainly be interpreted as being an affair with a woman but the video suggests otherwise, which is the singers' interpretation of the song.

Thanks to you I went and checked out the music video. I was never curious before. It's a really good video.

My takeaways:
- the wife is "pure" (white dress, white coat, performing a gender role)
- he leaves their bright neighborhood and descends into a sort of underbelly for his thrills
- he is checking out both male and female strippers as he enters the red-lit club, indicating bisexual
- it's really hard to tell but he seems to be mostly orgying it up with cis women....did I miss something?
- at the end the wife takes off her white coat and her wig, and seems to suggest she's not who she seems to be (nonbinary instead of female? Trans?)

I love how far as a society we have come that a song about this kind of stuff (gay/trans/poly/queer/binany fluid) was a number-one chart topping song for several weeks which is still hugely popular. Who would have ever thought? I love the song and also that progression in our society. Although we have still a long way to evolve.

A song about adultery? Those have been hits for a long time.

Not sure I'd want to say that's admirably progressive though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Watch the video. The lyrics can certainly be interpreted as being an affair with a woman but the video suggests otherwise, which is the singers' interpretation of the song.

Thanks to you I went and checked out the music video. I was never curious before. It's a really good video.

My takeaways:
- the wife is "pure" (white dress, white coat, performing a gender role)
- he leaves their bright neighborhood and descends into a sort of underbelly for his thrills
- he is checking out both male and female strippers as he enters the red-lit club, indicating bisexual
- it's really hard to tell but he seems to be mostly orgying it up with cis women....did I miss something?
- at the end the wife takes off her white coat and her wig, and seems to suggest she's not who she seems to be (nonbinary instead of female? Trans?)

I love how far as a society we have come that a song about this kind of stuff (gay/trans/poly/queer/binany fluid) was a number-one chart topping song for several weeks which is still hugely popular. Who would have ever thought? I love the song and also that progression in our society. Although we have still a long way to evolve.

A song about adultery? Those have been hits for a long time.

Not sure I'd want to say that's admirably progressive though.

Agreed. I thought the lyrics were sort of suggesting that the singers were getting off on it. Infidelity isn't where you celebrate sensuality, love is.