Broadcast / Come On Let's Go - EP / 2000
Come On Let's Go
seductive but faintly ominous calm
A hypnotic, repetition-driven track that offers reassurance while sounding faintly unsettling, as if the comfort on offer might be a form of control. Broadcast pair a simple pop refrain with lyrics that waver between tenderness and quiet menace, making the listener unsure whether the speaker is a friend, a lover, or something more possessive.
dependency isolation reassurance versus control distrust of others identity dissolution
Who's speaking
A first-person speaker addresses a 'you' directly, positioning themselves as a guide or protector; the tone is intimate but the reliability of that protection is left ambiguous, since the speaker's motives are never explained.
What happens
The song moves from an offer of guidance to a warning about the untrustworthiness of others, then to a promise that abandonment won't happen because the speaker will always be there. Each repetition of the chorus tightens the circle around the addressee, moving them away from the outside world and toward sole reliance on the speaker.
How it's built
Built on short, plainly rhymed verses that alternate with a two-line pre-chorus and a driving, mantra-like chorus repeated with minimal variation. The lack of a bridge or key change reinforces the song's circular, incantatory feel; the final chorus drops the closing refrain, ending on the reassurance itself rather than the invitation, which locks the listener into the sentiment rather than releasing them from it.
Section by section
Opening verse
The speaker immediately establishes an unequal relationship, positioning the addressee as incapable of managing alone and themselves as indispensable..},},},},},},}}}, but corrected below.}
Craft
- repetition/anaphora
- The recurring call to leave and follow functions almost like a chant, wearing down resistance through sheer reiteration rather than argument.
- ambiguous address
- The identity and intention of the speaker are never clarified, letting the song read simultaneously as a love song, a cult-like recruitment, or an internal voice of self-reassurance.
- rhetorical questioning
- Questions about the futility of trusting strangers work to dismiss outside relationships, subtly isolating the addressee further.
- conditional promises
- Statements framed as hypothetical support ('if you...') mimic comfort while actually establishing dependency, since the aid is always contingent on the addressee's uncertainty.
Reading it
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Context
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Listen for
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About Broadcast
Broadcast were an English band formed in Birmingham in 1995 by Trish Keenan and James Cargill (bass). Their musical style blended elements of 1960s psychedelic songwriting with early electronic music and samples from esoteric sources.
1995 - present / Birmingham
Full biography and catalogue