In his work entitled, The Lover's Dictionary, David Levithan recounts the ups and downs of romance. Specifically, Levithan uses words to describe the aspects of the relationships. It is a quite revealing book in the sense that there is a unique structure to it whereby the words read like a dictionary. Arguably, the overall tone of the novel is similar to that of Drake's "Hotline Bling." The song, along with the music video remains a viral sensation because of the antsy and catchy dynamics that are woven within it. Lyrically, Drake tells the story of an ex, who has finally decided to move on from a relationship that had more downs than ups. The following paper explores Levithan's book with the video.
First Verse
Drake opens the song with the hook, "you used to call me on my cell phone/late night when you need my love/call me on my cell phone" (0:32-0:38). Immediately, the music listener is thrust into a narrative about an old flame. Likewise, Levithan describes a relationship he's seemingly been in. One of the first adjectives that Levithan uses is aberrant, where he expresses sleeping with a woman on the first date. He states "it turned out we had both met people online before, and we had both slept with people on first dates before" (Levithan 12). To the reader, Levithan is remembering the fun and frolic of love that initially started the relationship just as Drake it. There is a mushy quality to the work as he goes on to state "measure the hope of that moment, that feeling" (Levithan 12), which essentially refers to the memory being quite remarkable and noteworthy enough to not only recall, but to write about.
Similarly, Drake is equally finding memories of a relationship being notable as he recounts, "ever since I left the city you got a reputation for yourself now" (1:05-1:06), which points to the ex-moving on with Drake believing that he was the best thing to ever happen to his ex. This is evident with the lines that follow, "everybody knows and I feel left out, girl you got me down, you got me stressed out" (1:07-1:15). The Lover's Dictionary expresses a sameness, noting that "everything else will be measured against it," (Levithan 12) within the first adjective aberrant. The reader can glean through this that the relationship Levithan speaks of was so powerful that he will begin using it as a measuring stick against future relationships.
There is a sense of loss that Levithan feels as the novel progresses, and as the reader comes to understand the introspective nature by which he feels about the relationship. He writes, "love is one kind of abstraction [] I must embrace the idea of you instead" (Levithan 14). This is very unique to the overall tone of the novel in that he is contrasting the fluctuation in emotions he feels about having been in a relationship that was very intoxicating. In the same vein, by saying he is stressed out, Drake is articulating the fluctuations of the relationship he was in.
Second Verse
In the second verse, Drake is relaying to the listener and viewer of the video that he and his ex do not get along. He comments that "you make me feel like I did you wrong, going places where you don't belong" (2:04-2:10). The visuals in the music video conversely, do not match that of the lyrics. Drake saunters around and dances while delivering what can only be interpreted as a loss of a relationship that was not only memorable, but one-of-a-kind. There are words in The Lover's Dictionary that mirror this, such as abyss, where it states "when I regret everything you've taken from me" (Levithan 15). The reader is left to integrate the details of the relationship on their own accord.
Hook and Bridge
The hook begins with the previously mentioned line "you used to call me on my cell phone, late night when you need my love" (0:32-0:38). For Drake, the memories are overwhelmingly positive. The Lover's Dictionary makes mention of this in several places such as the adjective akin, where it states "we were painting by numbers, starting with the greens. Because that happened to be our favorite color. And this, we figured had to mean something" (Levithan 18). In writing that, Levithan is explaining the context of how he and his lover were meant for each other. With respect to the bridge, Drake finds himself pondering over what might have been with "these days all I do is wonder" (2:54-2:55). The tone is yearnful. In one part of The Lover's Dictionary, the author writes that "someday you'll ask me to give up something I really love, and then it's going to get ugly" (Levithan 27). This is different from that of Graham's song, as it appears as though Levithan is more or less not yearning for what might have been, but understands that the relationship has concluded, even as he reflects.
Works Cited
Graham, Aubrey. "Hotline Bling." YouTube. Cash Money Records Inc., 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxpDa-c-4Mc&spfreload=10>.
Levithan, David. The Lover's Dictionary: A Novel. London, UK: Macmillan, 2011. Print.
