Have you ever been captivated by a song, humming along to the rhythm, only to find yourself questioning the true meaning behind a particular lyric? This exact scenario unfolded for me with the chart-topping hit “Closer” by The Chainsmokers, featuring Halsey. The duo, comprised of Andrew Taggert and Alex Pall, are no strangers to creating earworms, and “Closer” was undeniably one of their biggest.
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Image alt text: The Chainsmokers performing at VELD Music Festival in 2016, showcasing their energetic stage presence.
If you somehow managed to miss The Chainsmokers’ rise to fame, “Closer” was the song that was practically inescapable in 2016. Whether you were in a shopping mall, a coffee shop, or just about anywhere with a sound system, chances are you heard its catchy melody and relatable lyrics. To refresh your memory, you can listen to a preview of the song on iTunes. Just a few seconds will likely bring the tune flooding back.
closer chainsmokersImage alt text: “Closer” single art featuring The Chainsmokers logo, promoting their hit song.
The sheer ubiquity of “Closer” meant that repeated listens were inevitable. It was during one of these unavoidable encounters that I started to truly pay attention to the lyrics. Beneath the infectious beat, the song tells a simple yet relatable story: a chance reunion between former lovers in a bar, leading to a nostalgic and perhaps impulsive reconnection.
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Image alt text: Atmospheric image of a dimly lit bar, representing the setting where the characters in “Closer” reconnect.
The chorus is undeniably catchy, embedding itself in your mind long after the song ends. It’s within this memorable chorus that a particular line sparked my curiosity: “Baby pull me closer in the backseat of your Rover, that I know you can’t afford by that tattoo on your shoulder.”
Wait a minute… “by that tattoo on your shoulder?” Did I really hear that correctly? This line immediately raised a question.
On subsequent listens, I focused intently on that specific phrase. And each time, it sounded like: “Baby pull me closer in the backseat of your Rover, that I know you can’t afford BY that tattoo on your shoulder.”
What?! Was the song suggesting that the narrator could somehow discern the woman’s financial status based on a tattoo on her shoulder? This interpretation led to a couple of immediate and perplexing questions.
Image alt text: Close-up shot of a shoulder tattoo, symbolizing the lyrical focus on “tattoo on your shoulder” in song analysis.
Firstly, is it even possible to make such a judgment? Can someone genuinely look at a tattoo and conclude, “Ah, you can’t afford a Range Rover”? Is this a known phenomenon within tattoo culture, a secret code of financial standing etched onto skin?
As someone who appreciates tattoos but wouldn’t claim to be an expert, I considered my own limited knowledge. I can appreciate the artistry of a well-executed tattoo versus… well, something less refined. But differentiating between a tattoo belonging to a Range Rover owner and one belonging to a Hyundai driver? That seemed like a stretch.
Image alt text: Humorous image of a tattoo of a car tire, playfully suggesting stereotypical or low-cost tattoo designs.
Secondly, was this observation being voiced aloud during a moment of intimacy? The line begins with “Baby, pull me closer…” This doesn’t sound like an internal monologue. Considering other somewhat judgmental lines in the chorus, perhaps the entire song is a series of unfiltered, slightly awkward pronouncements.
Regarding the car in question, a Rover, be it a Range Rover or Land Rover (the lyrics are ambiguous), generally falls into the higher price bracket. Certainly more expensive than, say, the reliable but less glamorous Toyota Corolla, a vehicle often associated with musicians starting out.
Image alt text: Luxurious Range Rover car, visually representing the aspirational and expensive vehicle mentioned in the song lyrics.
A quick online search confirmed that Land Rovers start around $36,000 USD, while Range Rover models, especially when fully loaded, can easily reach six-figure price tags. This context made the lyric even more puzzling. It’s understandable to be surprised seeing a former flame in a luxury SUV, especially given the verse lyrics hinting at a less affluent past. But the focus on the tattoo remained baffling. Just how revealing was this tattoo?
My mind then jumped to an extreme example – the infamous tattoo from a Jackass episode involving Henry Rollins and a bumpy Humvee ride. The resulting tattoo was… less than perfect.
Image alt text: Humorous GIF of a poorly executed tattoo from Jackass, exaggerating the idea of a “bad” tattoo.
Of course, it was highly improbable that the tattoo in “Closer” was that disastrous. The song aims for a romantic, summer anthem vibe. The Chainsmokers likely intended listeners to envision something more along the lines of…
Image alt text: Romantic image of a couple embracing, representing the intended romantic undertones of The Chainsmokers’ song.
But with the “by that tattoo” interpretation, the image conjured in my mind was closer to this:
Image alt text: Humorous image of a person scrutinizing a shoulder with a magnifying glass, playfully depicting the exaggerated lyric interpretation.
Then, a more outlandish, yet strangely compelling, idea struck me. What if it wasn’t just a bad tattoo? What if it was… a prison tattoo?
Suddenly, everything clicked, in a bizarre, over-the-top narrative. A prison tattoo! That’s how he knows she can’t afford the Rover! It’s stolen, and she’s fresh out of a four-year prison sentence! That explains the years of silence! Even the line “Pull the sheets right off the corner of that mattress that you stole from your roommate back in Boulder” took on a new, criminal dimension. Who steals a mattress from a roommate? Someone with a prison background, perhaps! Orange is the New Black suddenly seemed relevant.
Image alt text: Still image from “Orange is the New Black,” referencing the prison context humorously applied to the lyric misinterpretation.
At this point, I recognized my imagination had veered wildly off course. I needed to find the actual story behind the “tattoo on your shoulder” lyric.
“Bite that tattoo on your shoulder”
A quick online search for “Closer lyrics meaning” led me to Genius.com, complete with commentary from The Chainsmokers themselves. The truth was far less dramatic than my prison escape fantasy. Halsey’s character wasn’t an ex-convict. There was no prison tattoo. She wasn’t the one who drove off in a broken-down car – that was Andrew’s character. The Rover wasn’t stolen; it symbolized the kind of privileged upbringing associated with “bratty” girls who receive luxury cars as gifts.
And the biggest revelation? It wasn’t “by that tattoo on her shoulder” at all. The actual lyric is “BITE that tattoo on your shoulder.” The intention was a passionate, intimate gesture, a bite on the shoulder in the heat of the moment. I had completely misheard the lyric.
The real story, while grounded in reality, lacked the outlandish intrigue of my misinterpretation. It was a bit like the letdown after watching Shutter Island.
Image alt text: Movie poster for “Shutter Island,” referencing the film’s plot twist as a metaphor for the unexpected true meaning of the song lyrics.
For those unfamiliar with Shutter Island, spoiler alert: the elaborate conspiracy involving the KGB and psychiatric experiments turns out to be a delusion. The protagonist isn’t an FBI agent; he’s a patient. A thrilling build-up leading to a rather mundane truth.
Similarly, “Closer” took me on a humorous journey of misinterpretation, only to arrive at a much simpler, less sensational reality. While initially disappointed by the lack of a dramatic backstory, perhaps I was taking it all too seriously. After all, the song itself contains the repeated line, “We ain’t ever getting older.”
But let me tell you, Chainsmokers, from someone who once echoed that sentiment: one day, you will get older. And on that day, you might find yourself listening to a new song, and a lyric will catch your ear, prompting you to ask, “Wait, what did they just say?”
In the meantime, you can watch the lyric video for “Closer” – a video that has amassed nearly two billion views. It’s a testament to the song’s enduring popularity, even if some of us occasionally mishear a lyric or two along the way.
