Heart Attack

     The other day I was driving around in my car, mindlessly listening to the radio. I was listening to the top hits today for some reason, i'm not sure why because I usually listen to country. I often think that alot of the popular music today has meaningless lyrics and is basically just dance music. I was listening to another one of those catchy songs, and was about to change the channel when I heard a couple lines of lyrics that struck me.

    I googled it later and the song is called heart attack. It's basically about her not wanting to fall in love with this guy because she knows she'll just end up getting hurt. One of the verses is:

The feelings are lost in my lungs
They’re burning, I’d rather be numb
And there’s no one else to blame
So instead I’ll take off in a run
I’m flying too close to the sun
And I’ll burst into flames

  At first I wasn't sure if I had heard correctly. Was this popular pop song actually referencing Greek mythology?! I believe that it actually was. The reference of flying too close to the sun clearly has to do with the story of deadalus and icarus. Icarus was told to not fly too close to the sun, but he did and burst into flames. I think that in this song, rather than being a literal reference to it, is a metaphorical reference to the myth. I figure that in the song, this girl knows that she should not be with this boy, yet she is still tempted, just as icarus was tempted to fly near the sun. She has probably been told not to be with him, but yet she still has that desire. It appears in this song that the girl does not give into her temptations. In mythology, there is a common theme of people doing what they are told not to do, and that theme seems to also be in this song.I was just surprised that this reference to mythology showed up in current pop music!