Lyrics: Hide Away

Daya, an American pop singer, released a single in August 2015 called "Hide Away."

What's striking about this song is the lyrics which calls for "decent" boys and sexual restraint, at least on the first couple of dates. Nowadays that's a rarity. Here are the words.

Boys seem to like the girls who laugh at anything
The ones who get undressed before the second date
Girls seem to like the boys who don't appreciate
all the money and the time that it takes
to be fly as a mother
Got my both eyes out for Mr Right
Yeah, see I just don't know where to find them
but I hope they all come out tonight

Where do the good boys go to hide away, hide away
I'm a good, good girl who needs a little company
Looking high and low, someone hardly know
Where do the good boys go to hide away, hide away

Boys seem to like the girls who like to kiss and tell;
Talking them up about things that do so well
I want to find a boy who is down for the chase
putting in the time that it takes
To be fly as a mother
To supply all of my hearts amends
Suit and tie 'cause undercover
He's gonna save a life like superman

In the music video the dads are portrayed as overprotective, but in a funny and lovable way.

The "Where do the good boys to hide away, hide away," part can mean two different things. The first, the audience can reason that the boys are driven away from the dads who chase away boys they deem unworthy - or just any boy in general in order to shield their baby girl. The second interpretation, without the visuals, is literally. Daya is upset that modern dating has devolved into a give-and-take where if you want to "get it," you can "get it," that it's just a matter of finding someone willing to shed their clothes, open their legs and open their mouth for the member. I'd even say that this critical look at dating has a sense yearning for "the good old days" where women, though 'chased' after, found men who courted their possible life partner. Their 'invisible chastity' belt was their dignity and self-respect, all with the aid of social norms.

I'll also commend the music video for being quite uneventful. There wasn't any make-out scenes with tongues intertwined. No implied sex or nudity. It just featured a girl going out on the date (hopefully not ruined by the overprotective dads) and enjoying herself. Food. Bowling. A pool party where the swimmers keep swimsuits on, just enjoying each others company and their youth. It's the fathers that worry.

The line -

Girls seem to like the boys who don't appreciate
all the money and the time that it takes
to be fly as a mother

 reverberates with me. In the past couple few years I'm gotten into men's style. Though the lyrics tell about the effort to get ready for a date sartorially, which I think it's safe to say everyone does, I'm wondering about our everyday dress when not at work. In some circles jeans are a no-no, like the trad/ivy circle. The trad/ivy circle is seen as conservative dress to the likes of the more metrosexual GQ circles. I like what both have to offer since I don't consider myself belonging to one group for personal style. Fitting jeans that aren't baggy; wearing a button-down with the right length (wearing a dress shirt as a casual shirt, untuck, is sloppy; wearing sneakers on certain occasions and opting for brogues instead etc. are just some of the things I've "upgraded" to since I graduated from college where my style was an eyesore (a dear miss kindly said she was glad I ditched my pre-distressed baggy jeans after we met up a year after graduation).

Within a society whose moral standards haven't actually progressed, but devolved, and where dress standards have also gone south, I am pleased to know this song exists. It touches on a couple of issues that have been in my mind for quite some time.