Geeky Nerd

This post can be considered a follow-up to my first post. In this article I continue talking about issues I have found with the lyrics of the Disney animated film Encanto(2021).

This time the main subject is the lyrics of the song “What Else Can I Do” sung but Isabela, another older sister of Mirabel.

This time my accusations have a bit more ground since i can explain them from a purely grammatical point of view.

The issue comes from a single line that Isabela sings:

I’m so sick of pretty, I want something true, don’t you?

It conveys something true for her situation, but it relies on the context so heavily that it can almost be interpreted as: I’m tired of lying(being pretty), I want something true(ugly). It happens due to the opposition of “pretty” and “true” in the song. As if it’s saying that pretty cannot be true.

Again, just like with the first song, I believe many people would say that it’s uncalled for and the lyrics make sense for the story, so why I’m bothered by it so much. Well, allow me to rewrite Isabela’s line: “I’m tired of being/looking pretty, I want to be true, don’t you?“

At first glance the meaning is the same, but there is one difference: now she is talking strictly about herself instead of creating a general statement.

I know, it’s not a big deal but allowing for some false general statements in a family film is not very good either. Another reason why it bothers me is because many times nowadays a person may hear a song but not know where it comes from, so the potential listener may lack the context to understand it’s true meaning.

Either way, in general the song is good and this is it’s only issue. Thank you for reading it out. I desperately needed to share it because I hate it when lyrics in songs are misleading or confusing.