Music Review: Pharrell "Marilyn Monroe"

Pharrell

Marilyn Monroe

Album: GIRL

Year: 2014

         Pharrell’s new girlfriend is far more beautiful than any of his celebrity crushes in the  sophisicated “Marilyn Monroe.”

           Elegant strings open the single, setting a classy tone. In the intro, he says he doesn’t want a conventionally pretty woman. He wants a woman whose spark lights up all features. (“Different.”)

             Pharrell dedicates the single to everyone who dreams of true love. (“This one goes out to all the lovers/What can we do? We're helpless romantics/We can not help who we're attracted to/So let's all dance, and elevate each other.”)

            In the chorus, he says he is smitten. He knows that she likes him back. She has more charisma than Marilyn Monroe. She can command a room better than Cleopatra. She has the determination and strong will that would make Joana of Arc jealous. (“Dear diary, it's happenin' again/This energy, like I'm 'bout to win/I just close my eyes and visions appear/She's everything I want, and it's crystal clear/Not even Marilyn Monroe/Queen Cleopatra please/Not even Joan of Arc/That don't mean nothin' to me/I just want a different girl/Girl, girl, girl, girl/Girl, girl, can't another good boy keep it this thorough.”)

                His friends don’t think she exists. However, he says he has no reason to fake an interesting girlfriend. He can’t describe her. To truly get her, people have to see her in person. (“Why, why do I have to lie?/Pretend, make believe or hide her?/When I love what I've described/But then again, I don't need no adjectives for this girl.”)

                 The chorus is sung twice.

                  In the bridge, he says she’s awesome and it’s ok to show her off. (“What's wrong with that?/What's wrong with that? Yeah/What's wrong with that?”)

            In a cameo, Kelly Osbourne salutes the music. (“In honor of the groove and all who's surrendered to it/We say thank you, and we take it back.”)

             He’s been waiting for the right girl for a long time. He didn’t expect her and then there she was, talking to him while they were in line. He gives her a hug and says he won’t be like her previous boyfriends: belittling and condescending. He doesn’t want to do anything to harm the relationship. (“Wished so hard, I wished so hard that it came true/Then my lucky star, I guess you came from behind the moon/I put my arms around her, and I promise not to abuse you/Since now I found you, why the hell would I want to lose you?”)

              The chorus is sung twice to end the single.

             Pharrell’s breathless vocals float, reaching far into the sky. He can only think of his beautiful girl who can best any pop culture icon. Marilyn Monroe has become overrused but he is able to make about his crush, which lets the reference fade into the  background.

              Kelly Osbourne’s cameo, offbeat and random, makes total sense in the context of the song. She’s commenting on the music. Plus, it just sounds really cool.

             The  quirky  “Marilyn Monroe” does it own thing: making excellent use of strings and perfectly timing them to the R&B beat.