Nobody

“Nobody” is the ninth track from Japanese-American musician Mitski and her fifth studio album titled “Be the Cowboy”. The song is a an indie-pop discussing themes like alienation and wanting a lover. The track was written by Mitski and produced by Patrick Hyland.

Speaking to music publication Genius.com, Mitksi broke down the meaning of song , its verses and its inspiration

– Speaking about the first verse: “I was in Kuala Lumpur and I was in KLCC, which is the city center and I subletted a little studio apartment. I literally just opened the windows to hear other people being alive. Kuala Lumpur is really vibrant, like there are a lot of city sounds.
Malaysia is a tropical country, so it’s summer all year round. Even in the city center, there are trees everywhere and there’s a lot of traffic, a lot of cars, a lot of different kinds of people living. It’s just a really vibrant country and city. It’s kind of like New York City. I don’t think as many people as New York City, but definitely just as much honking as New York City.”

– The pre chorus: “Pity is an emotion you have for someone who’s like lower than you. I don’t want your fucking pity. Can you just sit next to me? Don’t even talk. Just please don’t talk. Just be next to me and I want to feel another human being, being around me and that’s it. Don’t judge me.”

– The second verse: “That was literal, like I have gained weight and I’ve lost weight and I’ve been big and I’ve been small. I’ve tried this clothes, I’ve had this hair cut. I’ve done everything I could to my body and still nobody wants me. Just like what will it take? What will it take to be wanted? What do I need to do to be desirable? That’s where it came from.”

The music video for “Nobody” was released via Mitski’s YouTube channel on the 26th June 2018. Directed by Christopher Good, shows Mitski drinking a milkshake with a clone of herself, while she wakes up in a yellow bedroom and watches TV. Mitski then starts to receive letters, and a painting of a portrait with no face is left outside her house. The video ends with the camera zooming out, showing Mitski leaving the set. As of late November 2020, the video has 8.7 million and has over 207 thousand likes.

Release Date: 26th June 2018

Songwriter: Mitski

Producer: Patrick Hyland

Label: Dead Oceans

Music Video Release Date: 26th June 2018

Music Video Director: Christopher Good

Chart Rankings: “Nobody” by Mitski did not manage to secure a place in the mainstream charts, however the song is Mitski’s most streamed track on Spotify, with 42.4 million streams.

The lyrics to “Nobody” can be accessed here: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/mitski/nobody.html

Mitski’s Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2uYWxilOVlUdk4oV9DvwqK?si=7YCh9KXZTdSmXqHY8Z35AA

Mitski’s: Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mitski/497546276