A Critique for Ke$ha
Pitbull’s 2013 smash hit “Timber ft. Ke$ha” themes on a common phrase employed by Lumberjacks when they are in the process of felling a tree. Traditionally these woodsman bellow the phrase “Timber” for all to hear, as a warning that the mighty tree they have been axing is about to plummet to the earth.
Ke$ha’s classic hook in “Timber” makes use of society’s familiarity with the lumberjack’s stereotypical catchphrase. She repeats: “It’s going down, I’m yelling Timber! You better move, you better dance,”. The lyricist uses a little bit of clever wordplay here. Instead of a logging expedition, Ke$ha is actually talking about a night out partying on the town. The party is what’s “going down”, and Ke$ha is yelling “Timber” to warn us all about this fact, just as a lumberjack yells “Timber” when a majestic redwood, or perhaps a mighty oak tree “[goes] down”, it’s trunk having been severed. Furthermore Ke$ha instructs that we as the listener “better move”, just as the phrase ‘timber’ was originally used, to warn people to get out of the way of a descending tree. But in the context of the songs lyrics, this phrase is most certainly in reference to “moving” on the dance floor, and this metaphor is further made clear by the explanatory “you better dance” which immediately follows.
Since the song Timber by Pitbull ft. Ke$ha themes on the activity of logging forests, one would think that the music video released in 2013 would do the same. This, however, is not the case. The music video for Timber features footage of Pitbull enjoying a tropical island vacation, while Ke$ha is presented in montage, dancing at a western style saloon, and touring about a traditional American cattle ranch. At one brief point in the video (2:20) Ke$ha wields an axe in order to split a piece of firewood. This is the only allusion to chopping down trees that the viewer receives in the video, and even then, this small attempt at manual labor would not necessitate Ke$ha to yell “Timber”.
It seems to me that Pitbull, Ke$ha, and the directors of the music video, all missed a golden opportunity here. I for one, would have loved to see the participants dressed in traditional red and black flannels, and wielding axes in order to, at least, feign chopping down some trees. I think that all manner of sex appeal and male bravado that is required of a music video still could have been achieved in the context of a lumberjack based visual theme that was more closely aligned to the lyrical theme of the song. Ke$ha and Pitbull’s lack of respect for the context of their lyrics, and their detachment from their work may have resulted in this monumental gaff. While I will continue to enjoy the song Timber, I must express my discontent with its music video; it does not adequately capture the mood and feel of the tune.
-J