I Went To Hell Last Night

[mellody]

 

lyrics (from the album booklet and adjusted a bit to what he actually sings):

 

I want to hell last night, followed you there
I was standing by your side
The saddest thing I've ever seen
Made me angrier than I’ve ever been

But in the darkest place
Our saving grace
After all we've been through
Though it kills me to say this
There's a little bit of God in you

 

There's a little bit of God in everything
From the sun and the sky and the tears that you cry
There's a little bit of God in everything
From the dirt that we hold
To our diamonds and gold

 

I finally realized
Just how lonely you have really been
Why couldn't I see it before
Is that why you let the devil in

 

In that darkest place I will follow you

 

There's a little bit of God in everything
From the sun in the sky to the tears that we cry
There's a little bit of God in everything
From the dirt that we hold
To our diamonds and gold

 

When you’re dark and you're sad
And your future's just as bad
There's a little bit of God in everything

 

When you’re hurt and you’re sour
Even in your darkest hour
There's a little bit of god in everything

 

From the king to the fool
To the bastards back at school
There's a little bit of God in everything (Getting all your diamonds and gold)

 

And though you might not be
In the finest company
There's a little bit of God in everything (Getting all your diamonds and gold)

 

When you’re hurt and you're sour
Even in your darkest hour
There's a little bit of God in everything (Getting all your diamonds and gold)

 

From the priest to the whore
To the men who start a war
There's a little bit of God in everything (Getting all your diamonds and gold)

 

And one day you will see
Part of you is part of me
There's a little bit of God in everything

[Starlight]

This song is very meaningful. I like it a lot.

[Mikasister]

Love this song. It remembers Beatles but at some parts a band called E.L.O.  I think it's one of my favorites after Tiny Love. 

[mellody]

I also love it. I love the Beatles-like sound, and the way the song builds up more and more and then calms down again with he last verse. It's the most emotional song on this album for me, besides Paloma. I suppose it's about his mum's illness. Although the continuous mention of God bothered me a bit at the beginning (I was like "ok that could well be a song sung by some dubious preacher" ), I got used to it after 2 or 3 listens, the song is just too beautiful - and I don't think Mika has suddenly become a faithful catholic, I guess it's more about the concept of finding beauty in sadness. And I think his mum might believe in God, and if that song is a tribute to her, that might be the reason why he chose these words.

 

I'm curious about your interpretations.

[giraffeandy]

13 minutes ago, mellody said:

I suppose it's about his mum's illness.

 

Me too, especially because of the first verse but I'm a bit confused about the line Is that why you let the devil in. 

[ellie]

My thought was this maybe about a friend suicide...

[mellody]

22 minutes ago, giraffeandy said:

 

Me too, especially because of the first verse but I'm a bit confused about the line Is that why you let the devil in. 

 

My first interpretation was that devil is the cancer. But on the other hand it's a weird way of expressing that, because letting the devil in would suggest it's by choice.

 

And indeed @ellie I had also considered that thought, that it might be about suicide / a suicide attempt of someone who's dear to Mika. He did say in interviews that there's more dark and sad things happening in his family than what he mentioned already, so who knows... In any case I'm glad we could see all of his close family in recent photos / videos! 

 

Whatever the exact reason is, there's certainly a lot of sadness in this song, but Mika turns it into something beautiful, even joyous - same as in Paloma.

[sara09]

In the press conference in Milan he said that it's about the addiction of a friend of his, who had a relapse. He wrote this song to explain the pain and the darkness of this situation, both for the person and for those around them, writing that God is in everything to stress out the fact that we still can find light in the hardest things. With this story in mind, "is that why you let the devil in?" makes total sense. Unfortunately I'm not quoting him, I can't find the stories anywhere, but it's more or less what he meant. I'm gonna try to look for them tomorrow, so at least I can give you a proper translation!  

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by sara09

[mellody]

Thank you @sara09 ! That makes sense indeed. Did he talk about all the songs at the press conference?

[sara09]

I found the IG Stories! (credits to: wanna_talk_about_you_ on Instagram)

 

 

 

 

"I Went To Hell Last Night talks about a person I know very well, who has addiction problems. One day, there was a relapse. I was there and I had to stay there for some days. As you probably know, when there's a serious relapse, you go to hell and you see hell. You see someone you love, or you know very well, and then they become devilish. You must not get angry, stay there long enough to get out of this situation. In the moment you're living this, the only thing that could give you the smallest chance to stay is this idea that even in the dark, in this devilish moment, there's still a molecule, a fragment of God, which is in me and it's also in the other person, that gives you the impression that it's worth it if you keep going to get out of the situation."

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by sara09

[sara09]

2 hours ago, mellody said:

Thank you @sara09 ! That makes sense indeed. Did he talk about all the songs at the press conference?

 

Not in the material I saw, but it could be! I'm really hoping in a track by track video 

[Poisonyoulove]

Hmm, an instance where it would have been better (for me) of he hadn't explained it, because I was liking it a bit thinking it could be about a suicide attempt.  Although the "god" stuff rubs me the wrong way, even if he just means it metaphorically as light or hope, because it's just not true. Also, I wish it didn't sound exactly like A Day in the Life by the Beatles... I keep hearing in my head... "the saddest thing I've ever seen... he blew his mind out in a car, he didn't notice ..."

[ellie]

This song is growing on me, but hearing Mika dropping the word whore after he lectured me over what a girl is right in the song before is ludicrous

[kreacher]

1 hour ago, ellie said:

This song is growing on me, but hearing Mika dropping the word whore after he lectured me over what a girl is right in the song before is ludicrous

 

but a whore could be a guy too

[ellie]

22 minutes ago, kreacher said:

 

but a whore could be a guy too

 

Yeah, 'From the priest to the whore'... so the same person then

[silver]

1 hour ago, ellie said:

 

Yeah, 'From the priest to the whore'... so the same person then

 

Holy Johnny

[Mikasister]

Every day I love this song more and more. I can count it among my favorites 

[Mikasister]

I like this song more and more every day. The tone of voice, the way it vocalizes and is a positive song. There is something good in everything as bad as it may be. I mean that in spite of how sad it may seem, it has something positive. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel even though you are in a really bad situation.
 

[Starlight]

8 hours ago, Mikasister said:

I like this song more and more every day. The tone of voice, the way it vocalizes and is a positive song. There is something good in everything as bad as it may be. I mean that in spite of how sad it may seem, it has something positive. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel even though you are in a really bad situation.
 

I'm feeling exactly the same when I listen to it. It's a song that gives you hope when you are in doubt and helps you to go on.

I didn't think that I would like it that much, but it's really a great one.

[Irem Aytepe]

I love this song soo much, its in my favs but its really hard to find a fan who loves this song on social media. WHYY

Also I hadn't seen the live performance of this song, sooo sad 

[mellody]

19 minutes ago, Irem Aytepe said:

I love this song soo much, its in my favs but its really hard to find a fan who loves this song on social media. WHYY

Also I hadn't seen the live performance of this song, sooo sad 

 

I love it too. He didn't perform it live so far, but I agree it'd be fab if he did.

[Mikasister]

On 11/24/2019 at 8:25 PM, Irem Aytepe said:

I love this song soo much, its in my favs but its really hard to find a fan who loves this song on social media. WHYY

Also I hadn't seen the live performance of this song, sooo sad 

 

 

I love it so badly.  It's among my favorites. It's one of the songs I would like to hear him singing live.

[Paoletta]

super song i like so much!!!!

[fallthruthestars]

The magic of this song. 
 

I heard the first two lines and I was transported back to exactly the experience Mika describes. A dear friend. Fighting so hard. The anger and the beauty. I’m not a god person but I get this. 

[Mikasister]

3 hours ago, fallthruthestars said:

The magic of this song. 
 

I heard the first two lines and I was transported back to exactly the experience Mika describes. A dear friend. Fighting so hard. The anger and the beauty. I’m not a god person but I get this. 

 

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