Missy Higgins' *The Special Two*

Hmm, I'm finding this a surprisingly difficult review to write considering how much I love this song. And for all its depressing ability, I do love this song. For those who haven't heard it, the song pretty much tells the story of a girl post dumping. She did some kind of wrong that resulted in her getting dumped and she's been wallowing for a few days, and has now made a vow to make it up to her ex until they become *the special two* again.

I'll break this up into the three components of why I like this song.

Firstly, the lyrics - http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/missyhiggins/thespecialtwo.html
I think they're simply brilliant in the way they capture the desperation of her attitude at the realisation of what she's lost, but also the joy at what they were when they were together as well as including the reminder that by reliving a relationship over and over in your mind, it prolongs the pain and prevents one from moving on. The lines are particularly intense in the chorus, about *these hands/arms will not be taught to hold/need another*.

Secondly, the manner in which it is sung. I personally am not a big fan of Missy Higgins and in her other songs, find her broad accent distracting. But in this instance, I find it quite effective. For instance, the broadness at the beginning when she's singing about not having seen the sun and with a whiskey hangover, in comparison to the sweetness of how she *will fight for you*, and then the passion of the chorus. Many times while she's singing, the moments when she inhales a breath are clearly audible. To me, these add to the desperation of her situation, it is so important to her that she must confess all this that she's breathless.

The music/instrumentation. It comes in a series of waves. It starts off with just her and a piano and slowly a string section and backing singers come in with a crescendo over the chorus, which disappear again at the beginning of the second verse. In the third verse, the song narrative moves from interior to exterior view and is accompanied by a key change with quick short notes before returning to the original. Its as if the external world has kept on moving whereas she's stuck in her break-up/irrational state of mind, out of rhythm with everyone else.

The intensity of the lyrics, the feeling underlying her singing, the emotional rollercoaster of the music...these three components in conjunction, result in a song so depressing, so disturbing, so brilliant...it leaves me drained. Or as Su-ling says, "It gives me goosebumps." 'Nuff said.