Harvey by Alex GLyrical interpretation
First, let's take a look at the lyrics
'Success for my buddies, success for my friendsSuccess is the only thing I understandHead back home to the place I grew upGive my medals to the ones that I love
I'll chase Harvey through the door in the wallHe says, "never catch me never miss me at all"Drool comes down from the corner of his mouthI say, "I love you Harvey you cut it out"
I love winning baby I want it allI wanna prove that I got the ballsHarvey keeps on playing with his foodHe doesn't understand what big boys do
He wakes up in the middle of the nightI run in and turn on the lightRun my hands through his short black hairI say, "I love you Harvey I don't care"'
Not only is Alex G a master of lyrical warp to tide the wave of nostalgia from his discography, he is also an excellent songwriter. Whether or not he gives full on, deep meaning to his songs, I interpret lyrics my way. Many poets or writers do this. They write something without giving much lore or backstory to it, not much for proof of anything.They leave their product open for the interpreter, just like us. So, here is my interpretation of Harvey by Alex G.
I'll do the lyrics in sections at a time.
'Success for my buddies, success for my friendsSuccess is the only thing I understandHead back home to the place I grew upGive my medals to the ones that I love'
This song starts off strong, by immediately focusing on success, success, success. At they start, Alex talks about giving success to his buddies and his friends, and then that it is the only thing that he understands. The first two lines are not selfish, as he wants to give success to his peers, but then he sounds quite selfish as he says that success is the only thing he understands. 'Head back home to the place I grew up, give my medals to the ones that I love'.This is a very important line. Instead of saying 'I give my medals' he says 'give my medals'. This could indicate possibly that Alex, or whomever the character is, only returns to a home where he grew up to give medals, or to have others give it to him. While he does give the medals to the ones that he loves, he seems to only go home when it is to boost his ego, to shame others for possibly not being as successful. This is incredibly selfish.
'I'll chase Harvey through the door in the wallHe says, "never catch me never miss me at all"Drool comes down from the corner of his mouthI say, "I love you Harvey you cut it out"
Alex (or the character) seems to have a strong superior complex in this song. 'I'll chase Harvey through the door in the wall'.Alex says this matter of factly. I WILL chase Harvey through the door. 'He says 'never catch me never miss me at all'. The character speaking to Alex seems to stand up against him, saying that Alex shouldn't/can't catch him, in some ways, this could make Alex feel inferior. 'Drool comes down from the corner of his mouth'.This is where I think that Alex is in fact, talking to himself.'I say 'I love you Harvey, you cut it out'.Because of Alex's superiority complex in this song, perhaps when the other character said 'never catch me' it was really Alex's subconscious, what he thinks of others.For example 'no one else can catch me, or miss me because I am so successful, I am the great Alex G!'.
'I love winning baby I want it allI wanna prove that I got the ballsHarvey keeps on playing with his foodHe doesn't understand what big boys do'
Alex continues this selfishness in this part of the song. 'I love winning baby I want it all'. Now, he seems to be greedy. His obsession with winning and success has caught up and made him more greedy. 'I wanna prove that I got the balls'. Could simply be a reflection of Alex's or the characters past, either in this song or real life. Perhaps people told him he didn't have the balls, or in other words, was too scared to become successful.'Harvey keeps on playing with his foodHe doesn't understand what big boys do'Is another important line.If what I'm thinking is true, and Harvey and the other character are really just the same people, then this could indicate that Alex thinks he is still just a naive little boy, who thinks success is the world, the 'only thing he understands'. The start of Alex's greed. 'He doesn't understand what big boys do' could also mean that many people who are caught in the eye of success and winning do not realise how selfish it can be at times, and that 'big boys' should be kind and share with others. This is technically a full-circle story.
Onto the last few lines now.
He wakes up in the middle of the nightI run in and turn on the lightRun my hands through his short black hairI say, "I love you Harvey I don't care"'
Many people asked if Harvey was a dog, or non-human character, but Sandy Alex G on Reddit confirmed that Harvey is a human character.
From this lyrics, maybe we can see that Alex is just a scared little boy, not a big boy. He wakes up in the middle of the night, just like a scared kid or anxious human. He thinks he's oh-so successful when really he's forgotten that he is just a human after all. And humans feel success, and sadness in their lifetime, it is the human rules. 'Run my hands through his short, black hair, I love you Harvey I don't care'. This could be many things. It could be Alex's reflection of a cry for parental love, a message that the small kid in them is still safe and warm.'I love you Harvey I don't care'. Whether Harvey/Alex be selfish or successul, sad or whatever, perhaps all he wants is for someone to tell him 'I love you Harvey I don't care'. Which, if interpreted right, can be a message to those who are willing to be open to it, that success isn't always great, and people CAN love you for who you are. In other words, you don't have to be successful for people to love you.Thank you.
If anyone else sees this, Harvey is one of my favourite Alex G songs. As well as Water, Memory, Sorry, Sandy, and Sarah.I would love to hear the opinions of other fellow Alex G lovers/listeners!