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"Lowlife" is a song by That Poppy (who now goes by the name Poppy). The song was released digitally on July 24th, 2015. Lowlife was later featured on her debut extended play, Bubblebath, as its lead single on February 12th, 2016.
Lowlife currently has two official remixes. The first remix is known as the Slushii Remix, which first made an appearance on Island Records' "Island Life Dance, Vol. 2" compilation album released on May 13th, 2016. The Slushii Remix contains the official clean lyrics of the song. The second remix features the hip-hop artist Travis Mills and was uploaded to her YouTube channel in 2015; however, the video is now unlisted for unknown reasons.
Theme
"The song is about me living on my own for quite a while and the ups and downs of it all. Then meeting someone when you're in a very rough spot. And that certain person, whether it's a friend or a lover, shaking up your world and making the worst time actually the best time."- That Poppy
The track carries heavy themes about loneliness, and describes Poppy's life while living alone. She addresses a person or thing that brought her happiness during this lonely period of her life. The reggae beat of the song contrasts with the message, giving the initial depressing undertone of the track more of an energetic vibe.
Music Video
The Lowlife music video was released on July 24th, 2015 on her official VEVO channel. The video begins with a shot of Poppy sitting in the middle of a white triangle in the traditional pose of Baphomet in Christianity. Two white bodysuit dancers are at her sides. As the video progresses, it cuts to several shots of people in wheelchairs (implied to be Them) breathing through masks and discussing the artist behind her back. Several seconds into the video, the Devil appears in several shots alongside Poppy. The Devil makes strange facial expressions and poses with Poppy in what appears to be a hatched egg, as well as on opposite ends of a table. While conversing on the table, the Devil makes sexually suggestive gestures which Poppy attempts to ignore. The discomfort Poppy experiences culminates when the Devil puts a banana in his mouth and makes a gesture imitating fellatio. Poppy then leaves the studio, with the Devil following her angrily until she exits the building.
When she leaves the building, the Devil decides to give up and begins to walk away. Outside, many starstruck fans await her appearance and hold photographs of the singer in front of her. Poppy pulls a paintbrush with with red paint and drags it across their sheets before entering a van. In the van, two women wait and one of them gives her an oxygen mask possibly containing some kind of a drug. She then walks back into the building at the set where she pushes the men away from the camera. At the very end of the video, she blocks the camera with her hands.
Throughout the music video, there are strong Illuminati and Satanic symbols such as triangles representing the Eye of Providence, skulls, and masonic colors.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Old suitcase, clean getaway
I'm the one who takes the blame again
New day but the same lines
I feel like a victim of the dollar sign
[Pre-Chorus]
All these years on my own
Fight my fight all alone
Till you came, don't you know?
Don't you know?
[Chorus]
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife
Take a shitty day and make it alright
Yeah, alright
Oh, in every circumstance
Yeah, you make the difference
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife (lowlife)
[Verse 2]
This bad taste, these headaches
Wake up on the floor again, ah yeah
My torn dress, this failed test
Soon they will be erased
[Pre-Chorus]
All these years on my own
Fight my fight all alone
Till you came, don't you know?
Don't you know?
[Chorus]
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife
Take a shitty day and make it alright
Yeah, alright
Oh, in every circumstance
Yeah, you make the difference
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife (lowlife)
[Bridge]
And I get so lonely
I can't make it on my own
And I need to call ya
"Can you come to my chateau?"
Take me in your arms and
Hold me tight, yeah, pull me close
Whisper in my ear
All I want you to say is
[Chorus]
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife (lowlife, lowlife)
Take a shitty day and make it alright
Yeah, alright
Oh, in every circumstance
Yeah, you make the difference
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife (lowlife)
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife (lowlife, lowlife)
Take a shitty day and make it alright
Yeah, alright
Oh, in every circumstance
Yeah, you make the difference
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife (lowlife)
[Verse 1]
Old suitcase, clean getaway
I'm the one who takes the blame again
New day but the same lines
I feel like a victim of the dollar sign
[Pre-Chorus]
All these years on my own
Fight my fight all alone
Till you came, don't you know?
Don't you know?
[Chorus]
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife
Take a rotten day and make it alright
Yeah, alright
Oh, in every circumstance
Yeah, you make the difference
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife (lowlife)
[Verse 2]
This bad taste, these headaches
Wake up on the floor again, ah yeah
My torn dress, this failed test
Soon they will be erased
[Pre-Chorus]
All these years on my own
Fight my fight all alone
Till you came, don't you know?
Don't you know?
[Chorus]
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife
Take a rotten day and make it alright
Yeah, alright
Oh, in every circumstance
Yeah, you make the difference
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife (lowlife)
[Bridge]
And I get so lonely
I can't make it on my own
And I need to call ya
"Can you come to my chateau?"
Take me in your arms and
Hold me tight, yeah, pull me close
Whisper in my ear
All I want you to say is
[Chorus]
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife (lowlife, lowlife)
Take a rotten day and make it alright
Yeah, alright
Oh, in every circumstance
Yeah, you make the difference
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife (lowlife)
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife (lowlife, lowlife)
Take a rotten day and make it alright
Yeah, alright
Oh, in every circumstance
Yeah, you make the difference
Baby, you're the highlight of my lowlife (lowlife)
Yeah, what up Poppy?
If a girl like you is a trophy then I'm trying to come in first yeah
Could prolly live without ya but it'd only make it worse (no)
I got a list of things I should be sayin' (what?)
But I threw it out
You're the only one that understand what I be talkin' 'bout
So no more sad eyes, no more bad vibes
No more goodbyes
Just your hand in mine, two hearts combined
Will do us just fine (I promise)
Audio
Reception
Since its release, Lowlife has mostly received exceedingly positive reviews from critics. The music video for Lowlife is currently Poppy's most-viewed music video, at over 42 million views and over 600,000 likes on YouTube. Lowlife is also Poppy's most-listened track on Spotify and has received airtime on BBC Radio. Lowlife was featured on the compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 58 in North America, and was nominated for a Tiger Beat "19 Under 19 - Most Influential Song" award in September 2016. PopularTV particularly described Lowlife as a song that "will make you want to break out your old checkered Vans and hang with the skater boys".
Trivia
- This is one of only two Poppy songs to be marked explicit on most music streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify, the other being American Kids.
- This is the only Poppy song to have an official clean version, replacing the word "shitty" with "rotten".
- The Slushii Remix also uses the clean version.
- The remix with Travis Mills was the original song, but his verse was cut for the official release of the song for unknown reasons.
- This version of Lowlife marks the first Poppy era song to contain a feature, the second being My Style featuring Charlotte and the third being Time Is Up featuring Diplo.
- Poppy has a video titled "How To Play Lowlife", which presents itself as a tutorial on how to play the song in question.
- She mentions the music video in the second part of the "Charlotte Interviews Poppy" series.
- Titanic Sinclair has stated that the music video for Bleach Blonde Baby is a visual sequel to this song.
- The release of the Lowlife music video in 2015 marks the very first Poppy era music video.
- Poppy performed a stripped-down version of Lowlife on April 27th, 2018.
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