How It All Started

I honestly don’t remember when exactly I started decoding songs. It’s not like I sat one day and told myself, “From now on, I’ll treat every song like a riddle.” Nah. It just started… somewhere along the way.

Maybe it began the moment I stopped watching music videos and just started listening. You see, I grew up on Telugu songs—most of which come with full-on visual setups: hero, heroine, dance, expressions, camera angles. So even when a song played, the whole movie played in front of me. I didn’t feel much. It was all being shown to me already.

But the moment I switched to English songs, everything changed.

No visuals. No story spoon-fed. Just a voice and a vibe.

And suddenly, I was forced to imagine: What are they trying to say? What’s going on in their world? Why this line? Why this mood?

And that’s how the decoding habit started.

No Meaning? No Way.

There’s one thing I always ask myself—Why would an artist say something that isn’t true?

If someone creates something—especially in the artistic form—it means there’s truth in it. It might not be my truth, or yours, but it’s a truth that came from somewhere real. Whether it’s a lyric, a poem, or a painting—the meaning is there, waiting for someone to notice.

I feel like some people just move past art because they don’t stop to ask, “What’s the story here?” Take abstract paintings, for example. A lot of people just see colors, but someone who’s into it—someone who knows art speaks its own language—gets it. They try to decode it. And I think I’m that kind of person.

Except for me, it’s not paint on canvas. Its lyrics are in my earbud. Every single word that enters my eardrum? I feel like I owe it the effort to understand what it’s trying to tell me.

Songs Speak. You Just Have to Listen Differently.

I don’t care about who the artist is—I never stuck to just one. My playlist is chaos: Henry Moodie, Alex Warren, Halsey, The Weeknd, Alan Walker, Lana Del Rey, Justin Bieber, and so many more.

If the song clicks with my mind, I listen. And when I listen—I decode.

It’s a habit now. No, scratch that—it’s my daily routine. Plug in earphones? Start decoding. I have to know what I’m listening to. I can’t not do it.

“Let Me Love You” – My First English Song

I still remember the first English song I ever listened to—Let Me Love You by Justin Bieber. From that moment, I never looked back. That song was the entry point into a world where music wasn’t just a background score; it became a language I could read between the lines.

And once you learn to read songs like that… trust me, there’s no going back.

My Ultimate Decoder Moment: Attention by Charlie Puth

There’s this one moment I’ll never forget—the kind of moment that made me believe that decoding songs isn’t just a habit for me; it’s a gift.

I had been listening to Attention on repeat for days. After a few plays, like 3 to 4, I started imagining the full story behind the song. And here’s what I felt:

A guy loves a girl. The girl loves him too. But they break up—life happens. He tries to move on, but she keeps showing herself. Watching him. Stalking him. Not because she wants to patch up. Not because she misses him. But because she can’t stand the idea of him being with someone else.

That’s the real point of the song:

“You just want attention. You don’t want my heart. Maybe you just hate the thought of me with someone new.”

It hit me so hard. The possessiveness, the ego, the twisted form of love that says, “I don’t want you, but you’re not allowed to move on either.”

I imagined all of this just by listening—without ever watching the official video.

And then one day, I was chilling with my brother, scrolling through YouTube, and he played that very song—with the music video.

And my jaw dropped.

The video showed exactly what I had visualized in my head.

Same story. Same vibe. Same energy.

That was the moment I felt like — “Okay. You’ve got something. You’re not just hearing songs, you’re seeing them.”

Why This Means So Much to Me…

If you ask me to talk about something that makes me feel powerful, makes me feel alive, makes me feel me—this is it.

Decoding songs isn’t a talent I brag about. It’s just something I do—like breathing. Like feeling. Like writing.

And the best part?

It’s fun. It’s healing. It’s my way of connecting with art, with people, with myself.

The Point of This Article is…

Well, for my internship, I had to write about something that truly defines me—and this is it.

I decode songs. I find meaning where most people just find background music.

And maybe, just maybe, this little habit taught me more about emotions, relationships, and life than any classroom ever could.

Because at the end of the day, songs don’t lie.

They just wait for someone to truly listen.

Now, I would really love to ask you to try listening in my way.

Please give it a try—you will never regret it.

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