“Sympathy” by Vampire Weekend on Late Night

     You’re just not going to be able to name a better song that references arrogant mosquitoes. And we are not going to be able to identify a preferred song from Vampire Weekend. We are neither defenders or detractors of Vampire Weekend, but we find the late night performance of “Sympathy” irresistible. It hits our speakers at least once a day. The studio recording of the track is good, the performance on Stephen Colbert is noticeably better.

     The individual attractions to “Sympathy” are many and varied. The first is the keyboard hook that has the sound of a loop from a female choir. There is also a Latin-style guitar, bongos, abrupt tempo pauses, a strong bass line, and intriguing lyrics. The components of “Sympathy” were carefully selected from a “Lazy Susan” with an arrangement of ear treats.

Lyrics of “Sympathy” by Vampire Weekend

Alone in someone's bedroom

She firmly took my hand

The isolation ended

I began to understand

In the ping-pong match of constant desire

I was never gonna get ahead

'Cause I was looking in the mirror

Now we've got that sympathy

What I'm to you

You are to me

Let's go

Judeo-Christianity

I'd never heard the words

Enemies for centuries

Until there was a third

In the ping-pong match of constant desire

I was never gonna get ahead

'Cause I was looking in the mirror

Now we've got that sympathy

What I'm to you

You are to me

Let's go

Diego García

Surrounded by the waves

Lonely in the ocean

But in every single way

It was full of love

In the warmth fed a feeling

Now we've got that sympathy

What I'm to you

You are to me

Let's go

I didn't have your sympathy

But I knew where to start

Explaining to you patiently

That the one who broke my heart

Would have broken yours

And thrown the pieces in the river

Now we've got that sympathy

What I'm to you

You are to me

Let's go

Desperate for an enemy

But too afraid to kill

Use the pain of someone else

And triumph for their will

And spill the blood

Of the arrogant mosquitoes

Now we've got that sympathy

What I'm to you

You are to me

Let's go