Over the summer, the cinematic masterpiece of Barbie released, with a hit soundtrack featuring many well-known musicians. One of those, as many of you know, is Billie Eilish, with her hit track “What Was I Made For?” being featured in the tracklist. This song, perfectly exemplifying the tragedy of losing one’s purpose in life, resonated with far too many listeners across the world. Especially those in Generation Z.
Not for nothing, but our generation is faced with a rather grim future ahead of us. Unfortunately, many argue we’re the most depressed generation of humanity ever. We have a lot going against us; climate change, the horrible political polarization, the steeply increasing cost of college, and the failing job market, making it hard to get a stable job out of college. There are far too many issues to list that have us all rolling in our sleep, but they’re there. So, a song about losing purpose and “forgetting how to be happy”, as Eilish sings, isn’t something we find peculiar. It’s almost perfect at describing how this generation feels.
In all this mental struggle, it’s so easy to forget what we look forward to. It’s far too easy to forget why we go on; to question “what we were made for.” This track exemplifies the feeling of clinging onto that desperation for purpose and hope. She sings, “What was I made for? / ‘Cause I don’t know how to feel / But I wanna try..” That sense of purpose is gone, and without knowing where to go next, nobody knows how to feel. But Eilish knows that, perhaps far too well. In an interview with Billboard magazine, she confirmed that she, too, thought she couldn’t write music anymore. She capitalized on that feeling, and what became of that was a phenomenal piece of music.
Luckily, the track ends on a hopeful note. “What Was I Made For?” ends with an acknowledgement of happiness, saying “Think I forgot how to be happy / Something I’m not, but something I can be..” Eilish ends the song saying she can be happy. Even though it’s easy to fight those feelings indefinitely, to “fall down” in a pool of emotions you “used to float” in, there’s always that hope, that knowledge that you can fix yourself and return to normalcy.
We all experienced COVID. We all know what isolation and sadness feel like- what the loss of motivation, and the uncertainty in the hope of the future feels like. So we all know how it feels to become unsure of our life’s purpose. But, we also know how to be happy, and what it’s like to finally come out of that slump and smile again.
This isn’t Eilish’s only song that has extremely relatable themes, mind you. Another great example would be “TV”, a song released on her second EP, titled Guitar Songs. “TV” is about getting in a fight with someone you love, and the feelings of guilt and sadness you feel afterwards. She even makes a quick notion that she’s losing her sense of purpose here, too, with the line “What’s the point of anything?” at the end of the first verse.
“TV” is full of so many perfect lines, each having a defining emotion that’s perfectly encapsulated. There are great examples everywhere you look, like with the line “I’ll try not to starve myself just because you’re mad at me”, a line with that self-destructive feeling after you hurt your loved one. Even later on toward the end of the song, with “The internet’s gone wild watching movie stars on trial / while they’re overturning Roe v. Wade”, discussing the frustration with the Depp v. Heard case taking all the eyes of the public while the Supreme Court overturned the infamous Roe v. Wade case. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum (as it is irrefutably a political topic), you have to admit that this was really frustrating, and that you understand exactly how Eilish feels when she sings that line.
I could sit here for hours and hours talking about all of the accredited hits of Eilish that discuss realistic and relatable topics that many of us face today. Songs like “Getting Older,” about growing up and how it feels like the joy is sucked out of everything as time progresses, “ilomilo,” a song about not wanting to end up alone and separated from the one you love, “GOLDWING”, about how it feels to want to protect a treasure of a person from being manipulated and taken advantage of by people who don’t appreciate them, all address relatable themes. But the list goes on and on with others, such as “Halley’s Comet,” “Bored,” “idontwannabeyouanymore,” “Everybody Dies,” “i love you,” “8,” “wish you were gay,” “xanny,” and of course the awarded and beloved “Happier Than Ever.” Every single listed song can’t be described with just “relatable.”
They’re all realistic, they’re all emotional – they’re all Generation Z, and all Billie Eilish. It’s why she’s the defining voice of our generation, serving as the only musician who truly understands us, and speaks for us.