Break may be over and done, but Spring has come, and the best way to enjoy the changing season is to find music that matches the time of year. Spring is a time of rebirth, or growth both naturally and emotionally. The weather gets warmer, the trees regain their beautiful green leaves, the Quad fills with students lounging between classes and enjoying the long-awaited sun. And with it all, Spring brings the need for different music – some songs are just meant to be listened to during a certain time of year. “Open Season” by the High Highs is one such song, and is completely emblematic of all the sentiments around Spring.
“Open Season” begins with an easy guitar strum, making a melody that sounds the way the sun rising feels. It’s the music that would play in a movie as the sunlight gradually crept into a room, music that would describe what it’s like to stand outside and realize the weather is warming as we slowly approach summer. Then we hear the first verse, and listeners are told, “you can leave it all in your mind.” This line is extremely symbolic of the rebirth heavily associated with the Springtime. Any negativity you may feel or have felt in the past can be left behind in your mind, as if to not make it into your actions. By leaving negativity behind, we can be reborn with the Spring: come into this season with a new mindset, a new lifestyle. This is reinforced in the next verse when the High Highs sing “It is really all in your mind.”
The next verse is where we hear lyrics that link to the emotional and physical growth that happens during the Springtime. “Look at all the trees in the light / They are growing all in your mind”, the imagery of the trees blooming, of them sitting in the light as they grow, is descriptive of the natural awakening of plants and trees and animals that occurs in the Spring. The birds come back with their song, new animals are born and grow, plants blossom and drink up the light that starts to stay out longer and longer as more time passes. And just as in nature, we see growth in ourselves too. In letting go of any negativity of the winter months, in embracing the changing seasons, there can be a growth in our minds and our attitudes.
Although the lyrics are heavily symbolic and perfectly match the typical motifs of the Spring season, the song is mostly instrumental. The guitar, the drums – slow and melodic – the keys, all come together to make you feel as though you are in a coming-of-age movie. There is no better way to describe the song other than it simply feels like Spring. It sounds like it, it embodies the energy, it opens your ears and your heart to the possibilities that changing seasons bring.
“Open Season” is in my opinion the song of Spring. Perfect for a stroll along the Quad, to play as you hammock, or as you read at the Arboretum. This song was meant to be listened to in the Spring, I thoroughly recommend giving it a listen as the trees turn green and the sun continues to shine through March and April!
