CHIHIRO

Album

Hit Me Hard and Soft

Label

Interscope Records

Genre

Avant-pop

Duration

3:00

Composer(s)

Billie O'Connell;Finneas O'Connell

Entered Chart

Jun 1, 2024

Peak Date

Jun 1, 2024

Chihro" is named after the main character, Chihiro Ogino, from the Studio Ghibli animated film Spirited Away, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. This song dives into the dark underbelly of the movie's fantastical world. Here's the gist: When 10-year-old Chihiro stumbles upon a mysterious abandoned amusement park with her parents, they unknowingly enter the spirit world. Chihiro's parents are transformed into pigs for indulging in food meant for spirits. To save them, Chihiro works in a bathhouse for supernatural beings. With the help of a boy named Haku, she overcomes challenges and discovers her own courage to break the spell and return home. "The visuals in that movie are some of the best ever - all that Studio Ghibli s--t is unbelievable," Billie Eilish told Rolling Stone. "There's all those visuals of the train in the water after the flood, and it literally looks like an ocean with a train track. I had just watched Spirited Away and Finneas had made that beat. I love that movie. I've seen it so many times." The song itself is a cryptic mix of Chihiro's experience and classic Eilish vibes. We hear her plead with someone to "open the door," which could be from the perspective of No Face, a lonely spirit who becomes unhealthily obsessed with Chihiro, wanting her to let him into the bathhouse. Or maybe it's simply a metaphor for Eilish facing her fears. Then there's the whole "take my love away" bit, hinting at the bittersweet ending of Spirited Away where Chihiro escapes but forgets everything about the spirit world – including Haku. Hayao Miyazaki)'s filmography, especially Spirited Away, has been an influence on Eilish since her 2019 debut album. "Just the way that all that animation is, like No Face... it's like so 'spirit away,'" she told Noisey. "It is so weirdly unrealistic but realistic. It was so dope." With its shimmering synths and dark undercurrents, "Chihiro" ditches the typical pop format, opting for a vibe more akin to exploring a video game world. No wonder a snippet of the song got sucked into a Fortnite trailer a week before the release of Hit Me Hard and Soft.

To take my love away
When I come back around, will I know what to say?
Said you won't forget my name
Not today, not tomorrow
Kinda strange, feelin' sorrow
I got change (yup), you could borrow (borrow)
When I come back around, will I know what to say?
Not today, maybe tomorrow

Open up the door, can you open up the door?
I know you said before you can't cope with any more
You told me it was war, said you'd show me what's in store
I hope it's not for sure, can you open up the door?

Did you take
My love away
From me? Me
Me

Saw your seat at the counter when I looked away
Saw you turn around, but it wasn't your face
Said, "I need to be alone now, I'm takin' a break"
How come when I returned, you were gone away?

I don't, I don't know why I called
I don't know you at all
I don't know you
Not at all
I don't, I don't know why I called
I don't know you at all
I don't know you

Did you take
My love away
From me? Me

And that's when you found me

I was waitin' in the garden
Contemplatin', beg your pardon
But there's a part of me that recognizes you
Do you feel it too?
When you told me it was serious
Were you serious? Mm
They told me they were only curious
Now it's serious, mm

Open up the door, can you open up the door?
I know you said before you can't cope with any more
You told me it was war, said you'd show me what's in store
I hope it's not for sure, can you open up the door?

Wringing my hands in my lap
And they tell me it's all been a trap
And you don't know if you'll make it back
I said, "No, don't say that"

(Wringing my hands in my lap)
(And you tell me it's all been a trap)
(And you don't know if you'll make it back)
(But I said, "No, don't say that")
(Wringing my hands in my lap)
(Tell me it's all been a trap)
(Don't know if you'll make it back)
(Don't say that)
Hm, hm-hm