I Can Change

"And if you're looking for change

I'll be what you're looking for

Even if it's not who I am

I can change
I can change for you

I can bend
I can break
I can shift
I can shake
Place the trail through the drive of rain
Girl I can change for you"

I Can Change - Brandon Flowers

Let me first acknowledge the fact this song has an amazing sound. It's cool, it's edgy, it's the guy from The Killers telling us how hip he is. I first heard Brandon Flowers singing I Can Change live on The Graham Norton Show and I thought it was well on its way to being the hit of the European summer. But oh how these lyrics about changing for this girl really grind my gears. 

Sometimes new relationships can cure our flaws. I've heard of laziness, drinking problems and smoking habits disappearing and being replaced with exercise and nourishing hobbies with the help of new partners. And if this is what Brandon Flowers meant by he can change, then sure, go for it. Let your new bae guide you to a healthier place. 

Fundamentally changing who you are for someone else, however, is what I have a problem with. I watched someone I know go through five boyfriends and she went from an army chick to an emo to a bogan motorbike riding lass to a tea obsessed hipster to, currently, a vegan. Each boyfriend she adopted a new personality and I think she's never found out who she really is. 

I couldn't imagine changing who I am for a man. I have my passions, my hobbies and my favourites, and these make up who I am. And if I was to start morphing into someone else, would that man still love me? After all, he's the one who fell for the crazy, chocolate loving, cricket obsessed, musically minded, wannabe traveller, dinosaur hunting girl. Imagine if he wanted me to give up this blog - madness!

So let this song - this fantastically sounding but lyrically frustrating song - be a tune to take with a grain of salt. Because you - you are quite great, and you shouldn't have to change that for anyone.