Song Meaning

Duncan Sheik's "What Is Love" (especially in the Gabriel & Dresden remix) isn't some simple query; it's a descent into the disorienting landscape of desire and the search for meaning within fleeting encounters. The opening lines immediately plunge us into a space of anxiety: a "nightmare" of death, jolting the narrator awake in the dead of night next to an unknown person. This isn't just about a bad dream; it's about the fear of losing oneself, of a symbolic drowning in the depths of emotion or experience. The "trembling man" holding the narrator's mouth shut suggests a suppression of truth, a desperate attempt to contain the scream of existential dread. The lyrics then pivot, attempting to ground the narrator in the present moment. "I try to think / To make it slow" speaks to a conscious effort to process the chaotic feelings. The lines "If this is real / I have to see / I turn on fire / And next to me" suggest a willingness to confront the intensity of the experience, even if it's overwhelming. This "fire" could represent passion, but also the burning pain of self-discovery. The repeated lines, "It looks good / It tastes like nothing on earth," are particularly haunting. This is pleasure devoid of substance, an experience that offers superficial appeal but ultimately leaves a void. Ultimately, the song circles back to the central question of love's nature, or perhaps its illusion. The closing lines, "It tells me how it feels to be new / And every voice belongs to you," hint at the seductive power of novelty and the way another person can seem to offer a fresh start. But the repetition also suggests a loss of individual identity, as if the narrator is becoming a vessel for someone else's desires or expectations. The multiple voices that whisper "true" erode the sense of self further, leaving the listener to wonder if this pursuit of love is a genuine connection or just a beautiful, empty echo.