The story and lyrical meaning of pop singer Nick Kershaw's The Riddle

Everyone has heard this song. What's more, without realizing it, many listeners are fans of Nika KershawHe wrote many songs for other artists, too! It is not known whether he took this process more seriously than he did writing "Riddles."which, in the 1980s, made headlines in several countries, including USSR! However, to the great disappointment of the public, the song was not mysterious and enigmatic at all...

In Kershaw's own words, the lyrical stuffing "The Riddle." - is utter nonsense and absurd! Although this statement does not stop the agitated public, who continue to think about the meaning of the composition even after decades...

How true pop hits are "born" - Kershaw reveals the mystery

"The Riddle." really is a great 80s pop hit. So many years have passed, and the composition has not lost its charm: from time to time it is played on the radio, and even the younger generation of performers have not forgotten about it - you can often hear bold interpretations from young people. But how are true pop hits "born" that eventually become classics of their genre? Well... this process is not as mysterious and profound as it may seem.

In his interview, Kershaw lifted the veil of secrecy by revealing that "Enigma." It was just that the artist urgently needed a lead single from his second album. The deadline was tight, and there was no time to look for inspiration or think long and hard at all.

Just one night Kershaw's producer checked on the musician and, as he left, said, "You haven't got a decent single yet." These words rang out like thunder In the middle of nowhere. This statement infuriated Nick so much that he immediately rushed into the room. He pieced together all the chords and the melody he had previously sketched out, and quickly sketched out the words on a piece of paper... And so "Enigma" appeared, which is still the subject of lively debate among music lovers to this day.

"It was just a hastily created song. It was just for show, I wrote it to shut the producer up! And what was my surprise when it became a hit..."

A success that surprises the author of the hit himself

The song became a big hit soon after its release. It became Kershaw's calling card, eclipsing in popularity and demand for live performances many of his other pop masterpieces. The artist himself was, to put it mildly, surprised by the excitement around "nonsense song." (as he himself put it). According to Nick, the success of The Riddle was due to his vocals:

"There's absolutely nothing in this song to make it a hit. Except for my vocals. It just goes in tune with the music, and so the lyrics seem beautiful, meaningful, deep... But believe me, they're not. This song is total bullshit!"

The track's success was also due in no small part to music videoThe video, which has already received 20 million views on YouTube! The quality picture and the fantasy storyline, referring to the famous "Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll, did their job - that is, made the song so popular. But what about the lyrics? Is "Enigma" really as "empty" as Nick claims, or is the author just not telling us something?

Lyrical sense - is there one?

When the song first came out, Nick and his producer literally were inundated with letters excited fans: everyone was trying to find the true meaning of the composition. But was there one?

According to Nick, it's very strange that people actually found some sense where there simply is none:

"We were really inundated with letters-they came in bags, and sometimes it was more like a mini-novel! And the weird thing is that some people actually found some meaning in this song, even though it's not there. It's just an 80's pop hit, just beautifully sung, but completely empty lyrics that mean absolutely nothing! People, forgive me. I didn't know what I was doing. I just needed a lead single, so I wrote it in a hurry. I didn't even think about the lyrics to the song - I just threw them together, put them together, got something more or less sane, and that's it..."

The song sings:

"I have two strong arms,
Praise Babylon,
And also the time to go on and strive
To sins and false alarms.
So America is for the brave!
The wise men are saved..."

This verse prompted listeners to think that in his song Nick touches on Political and religious issues. The chorus says:

"Next to the tree by the river.
A hole in the ground,
Where is the old man from the Aran Islands
Walks in a circle.
And his spirit is a beacon
Under the veil of night
It's a strange picture
It has truth and lies
But he'll never beat you..."

Sounds really mysterious, beautiful, deep...No wonder the lyrics were immediately taken apart, seeing everything in them, from heaven and hell to love and enmity... The author of the hit said the following in his interview:

"I suggested calling the song 'Enigma' for a reason. I thought, 'Let people think that this song is really very deep and mysterious, and that there's a special meaning in it...'. But I didn't think it would intrigue the audience that much! In fact, it's just absurd, nonsense, nonsense! It's a typical hit of the 80s pop music genre..."

"One Hit Writer, or Nick's Future Career

At the time of the release of "The Riddle" Nick Kershaw was a very popular pop star! He was an idol of the youth, and there was really no shortage of fans. In 1985 Kershaw also performed at the iconic charity festival Live AidThe musician himself cited two albums in the last year as the reason for the decline. However, already in the second half of the 80s his popularity began to fall rapidly... The musician himself said that the reason for the decline was the fact that he had released two albums in the last year, and elementary "lost the interest of the public."which, in his words, is "normal.

After that Nick started to collaborate with other artists as a songwriter, occasionally performing vocals on their albums. In the 90's he made a solo comeback, but the former love from the audience, of course, did not have. Today he is remembered most often for Enigma, which is not quite fair considering Kershaw's contributions to the careers of other artists.