Restless
Velvet Belly Lyrics

The lyrics of Velvet Belly's song "Restless" convey a sense of transience and impermanence, with the singer likening herself to a gust of wind that comes and goes, waking the listener up briefly before leaving them to grapple with their loneliness. The opening stanza sets the tone for the rest of the song: "I'm just a gust of wind / The rattle in your window / I've come to wake you up / To say hello." The imagery of the wind rattling the window seems to suggest a restlessness or unease, and the singer's brief appearance signals a fleeting connection – she's only there to say hello before moving on.

In the second stanza, the singer continues to emphasize her impermanence, describing herself as "Bringing fresh air to breathe in / I've come to wake you up / To say goodbye." Here, the wind is framed as something revitalizing and necessary, but the goodbye signals the transience of the encounter once again. The final stanza repeats the earlier refrain and adds a touch of ambiguity. The singer asks, "Maybe you think I'm evil / 'Cause I come close / And then I go," but it's unclear who the "you" is that she's referring to. Is it the listener, who might see her as a tease or a flirt? Or is it someone else entirely, perhaps someone the singer has encountered in her own life? The final lines drive home the sense of restlessness and loneliness the singer is trying to impart: "And I leave you restless in the night / I'm here to remind you about / Your loneliness."

Overall, the lyrics of "Restless" capture a sense of fleeting connection and loneliness, using the imagery of a gust of wind to convey a transient moment of connection before disappearing. The repetition of the refrain underscores the sense that this isn't a unique encounter – the listener has been here before and will likely experience it again. The final ambiguity of the singer's intentions leaves the listener to grapple with how much agency they have in their own feelings of restlessness and isolation.