Formerly president of Poetry Slam Incorporated, the non-profit organization that oversees all poetry slams in North America, Taylor Mali makes his living entirely as a spoken-word and voiceover artist these days, traveling around the country performing and teaching workshops as well as doing commercial voiceover work. He has narrated several books on tape, including "The Great Fire" (for which he won the Golden Earphones Award for children's narration) and is also the author of several books and cds of original poetry and spoken word.
Playground Love
Taylor Mali Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you're my favorite flavor
Love is all, all my soul
You're my playground love
Yet my hands are shaking
I feel my body remains
Time's no matter, I'm on fire
You're the piece of gold
The flashes on my soul
Extra time on the ground
On the playground love
Any time, anywhere
I'm your playground love
The song "Playground Love" by Taylor Mali is a unique and romantic piece that describes the feelings of a high school lover. The song talks about the love and attraction that the singer has for their partner. The singer explains how their partner is their favorite flavor, and love is all that their soul is filled with. The feelings that the singer has for their partner are so intense that they describe it as hurting and causing their hands to shake, and their body to feel a rush of adrenaline. Time is no matter, and the feeling of love is all that exists in the moment.
The chorus talks about how the partner is a piece of gold that illuminates their soul, and their love is like an extra time on the ground of the playground. It means that love is a moment that they want to hold on to, and it is something they want to cherish forever. The last line, "Any time, anywhere, I'm your playground love," further solidifies the idea that the singer is willing to go to any length to prove their love to their partner.
In conclusion, the song "Playground Love" by Taylor Mali is a beautiful piece that describes the intensity and passionate love between two high school lovers. The song talks about how love can overpower everything and make the singers feel electrified with each other's presence.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a high school lover
I am a person who loves during their high school years
And you're my favorite flavor
Out of all the choices, you are the one I like the best
Love is all, all my soul
My entire being is filled with love
You're my playground love
You are the person I love to spend time with and play around with
Yet my hands are shaking
I am nervous and anxious
I feel my body remains
Even though I am nervous, I am still present and focused
Time's no matter, I'm on fire
I am so in love that time does not matter, and I am burning with passion
On the playground love
In the midst of this youthful love and passion
You're the piece of gold
You are a valuable and precious part of my life
The flashes on my soul
You bring brightness and excitement to my life
Extra time on the ground
I want to spend as much time as possible with you
On the playground love
In the midst of this youthful love and passion
Any time, anywhere
I am willing to be with you anytime, anywhere
I'm your playground love
I am the one who loves you and wants to be with you
Contributed by Natalie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@pepperyk4
In case you haven’t realized it has somehow become necessary for old white men to tell me how to speak (?)
They like, interrupt a conversation that isn’t even theirs, and are like “speak like you mean it” and like “the internet is ruining the English language.”
And they like, put my “parentheticals,” my “likes” and “ums,” and “you knows” on a wait list.
Tell them no one will take them seriously in a frilly pink dress. Or that make-up.
Tell them they have a confidence problem. That they should learn to speak up, like the hyper-masculine words were always the first to raise their hands.
Invisible red pens and college degrees have been making their way into the middle of my sentences. I’ve been crossing things out every time I take a moment to think.
Declarative sentences, so-called, because they declared themselves to be the loudest, most truest, most taking up the most space, most totally white man sentences.
Have always told me that being angry has never helped like, anybody.
Has only gotten in the way of helping them declare more shit about how they’ll never be forgotten like, ever.
It’s like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway were geniuses for turning women into question marks.
It’s like rapes happen all the time on campuses, but as soon as Jon Krakaeur writes about it, suddenly it’s like innovative nonfiction, and not like something girls are like making up for like attention.
And it’s like maybe I’m always speaking in questions because I’m so used to being cutoff.
Like maybe, this is a defense mechanism: Maybe everything girls do is evolution of defense mechanism.
Like this is protection, like our “likes” are our knee pads.
Our “ums” are the knives we tuck into our boots at night.
Our “you knows” are best friends we call on when walking down a dark alley.
Like this is how we breathe easier.
But I guess feelings never helped anybody.
I guess like, tears never made change.
I guess like everything girls do is a waste of time (?)
So welcome to the bandwagon of my own uncertainty.
Watch as I stick flowers into your “punctuation mark” guns, ’cause you can’t just challenge authority. You have to take it to the mall, too.
Teach it to do the “bend and snap.” Paint its nails, braid its hair, tell it it looks like, really good today.
And in that moment before you murder it with all of the in your like, softness, you let it know that like this, like this moment is like, um, you know, me using my voice.
-Melissa Lozada Olivia
@amishtyagi8636
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 🎙️ Introduction and Observation
- The speaker introduces the topic of the uncoolness of sounding certain and observes the prevalence of uncertain language in communication.
01:10 🤷♂️ Society's Inarticulation
- Reflects on the societal shift towards uncertainty and the decline of conviction in expression.
- Questions the loss of conviction and the impact on societal discourse.
02:20 🗣️ Call to Action
- Urges the audience to speak with conviction.
- Emphasizes the importance of expressing beliefs with determination.
- Highlights the need to go beyond questioning authority and actively assert one's perspective.
Made with HARPA AI
@beepboopblorp
Melissa Lozada-Oliva has entered the chat.
@jeridkrulish2143
"I'm pathetically weak and I'll remain this way and it's your fault."
@LiveyOmarandmiaherrera
I highly recommend Melissa Lozada-Oliva’s poem by the name Like Totally Whatever. For anyone doing homework on this, it’s an excellent counter point.
@amesailor
Being triggered by the words of another just because of their sex and skin color isn't a good counter argument. It made her and everyone applauding her look defensive and desperate.
@LiveyOmarandmiaherrera
@@amesailor I'd argue that she is pointing out a behavior that she finds disrespectful - that is, correcting someone else's speech, or being critical of slang instead of engaging with the actual conversation. The fact that she observes this behavior from people with more social capital - those with authority, those older than herself, those with more validated opinions historically - is relevant to her point.
I like these two poems together because they both point out flaws in the other's perspective. Taylor Mali does not consider the role slang and 'uptalk' have in social situations or among marginalized groups. Conversely, Melissa Lozada-Oliva doesn't engage with formal communication. The 'talking with authority' part is left out in her response, possibly because she acknowledges that there is a time for speaking or communicating clearly and with more traditionally accepted language. When you consider both poems, you end up with a core debate about who is taken seriously, and whose job it is to validate the voices of the young, uneducated, or socially marginalized. Both poets believe in the power and importance of young people's voices in changing the world. One calls on young people to present themselves with intention and purpose. The other calls on those with authority to listen to, or perhaps simply accept, young women as they are and choose to be.
@LemurJackson
@@LiveyOmarandmiaherrera you absolutely wrecked that guy ya know
@LiveyOmarandmiaherrera
@@LemurJackson lol thanks, I think that comment's one of my best internet moments
@loretta1925
@@LiveyOmarandmiaherrera love your comparison!! Could not agree more.
@n.c.435
maybe saying "um" or "like" is a way of thinking what they're going to say next.
maybe speaking in questions is, like, us using our voices.
@robmic8180
As a linguist, I can say all these thing indeed have very communicative purposes of different sorts