Cool Enough (song)

Infobox Song
Name = "Cool Enough"


Border =
Caption =
Type =
Artist = Nicole Atkins
alt Artist =
Album = Neptune City
Published =
Released = October 30, 2007
track_no = 4
Recorded =
Genre = Indie rock, Pop Noir
Length = 5:25
Writer = Nicole Atkins
Composer =
Label = Columbia / Sony BMG
Producer =
Tracks =
prev = "Way It Is"
prev_no = 3
next = "War Torn"
next_no = 5
Misc =
Audio sample? =

"Cool Enough" is a song by singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins. [cite web | last = | title = Discogs | work = | publisher = |date= | url =http://www.discogs.com/release/1144048 | accessdate = 2008-01-25 ] It appears on her 2007 album "Neptune City".

Themes

The song is about a young adult looking back at the changes that have occurred since her coming of age in a small town. Her old friends have either left or grown distant, and she no longer feels any connection to her town. She looks to the person to whom she’s singing to help her leave and start a new life.

The song begins with the singer ruminating on the many ways “to leave your past” and “watch it die.” She realizes that her childhood dreams have “faded” and “changed” as she recalls the days when she and her friends would try anything, including sleeping on the beach, if it “seemed cool enough.”

That willingness to try anything has now been replaced with the trepidations of adulthood, and she no longer looks up to her former “hometown heroes.” So desperate is she to escape the ennui of the town, she tells the person “I don’t care where you’re going. Just take me with you.”

The song ends with the realization that time may bring a different perspective on her town, but for now, she needs to leave.

Music

The arrangement shares some qualities found in the work of Atkins muse Angelo Badalamenti. In particular, the song features a twangy guitar and echoing Mellotron similar to those found in Badalamenti’s theme song for the television series Twin Peaks.

References