Why the world will know the name Isadore (Isadore by Incubus)

     The lyricist and singer of the band Incubus, Brandon Boyd, tends to keep many of the meanings of his songs somewhat close to his chest. This isn't a specific thing he does to be confusing, but rather a thing about his art. Many of Boyd's lyrics are poetic enough to leave interpretation up to the listener, and this is especially true of many of the songs from the If Not Now, When? Album. When looking up song meanings, one can find a wide array of different stories read into these songs, so we're going to take a look today at the song 'Isadore' from that same album. As I won't be embedding the song, here, I recommend giving it a YouTube search and having a listen before continuing - I think it is a fantastic song to listen to anyway.

     "Erica and her Isadore, climb aboard a balloon...

I want more than this kite will soar, I set our sights on the moon."

     .....Welcome back. Now, allow me to cover two different interpretations of this song. A simple one and a more complicated one. You can make your own mind up as to which one makes the most sense to you, or neither if you have another interpretation.

The First Interpretation - The Complex Narrative

     The first story of this song involves three people. That is Erica, Isadore and the unnamed man from who's perspective the song is sung. The story involving these three is a particularly sad one and is about loss, more specifically the loss of Erica after she gives birth to Isadore and the song is about the narrator coming to terms with the death of his lover. This is where the speculation comes into play - but let's explore this idea.

"It's not who you were, it's who you are, and we've come this far, lover. 

No, I won't rest 'til the world knows the name Isadore."

     The song from the start mentions a metaphor of a balloon, of which we can think of a hot air balloon and reaching an elevated state because of it. So, if Erica, heavily pregnant with Isadore (note the 'her' Isadore and not 'our' Isadore - interesting choice of words, I think.) board a balloon, or engage in some activities that get get 'high up'. However, the narrator is not satisfied with a simple balloon ride and wanted more, even if it was dangerous. This is emphasised by the later line 'blinded by their unbridled height, our lovers turn dissolute.'

     To clarify, Erica, being heavily pregnant, and the narrator have sex and get a little bit carried away. 'Dissolute' explaining the overindulgence factor and 'unbridled' being the uncontrolled factor. With the two protagonists being so deeply in love, they take it 'too far' and are not careful of the baby. Or at least the narrator takes something too far and Erica gets in to a very bad way due to her weakened state.

     'There's just one parachute...' This line is suggesting that with the mother in critical condition, the doctors may only be able to save one of Erica or Isadore. The narrator wanted Erica to survive, but Erica chose Isadore.  The loss of Erica is apparent in the bridge which says '...you can't just leave, you've taken everything.' showing how much Erica meant to the narrator. So we get to the point of the chorus - "...it's not who you were, it's who you are." suggesting the narrator's coming to terms with Erica's death and accepting that she lives on through Isadore. The narrator then vows to do his best to bring Isadore up to be amazing - and won't rest 'til the world knows the name.

The Second Interpretation - The Simpler Narrative

     The story starts with two lovers, who are on their journey together. They both are elevated by the experience, however, one appears to be significantly more ambitious than the other one. The wording of 'her' Isadore as well as 'I set our sights on the Moon' suggests that Erica is more controlling in the relationship, yet Isadore is particularly ambitious and wants more than what they currently have. The reaching for the Moon puts a strain on the relationship.

     "You can't just leave, I've given everything. 

You can't just leave, you're taking everything..."

     The chorus sums up their fighting and desire to keep the relationship together due to having put so much into it. It also reinforces the narrator, Isadore's, ambition to continue on a success path. With the next verse however, they stay together and recklessly ride their high - the success reinforces their relationship for a little while before it gets worse. The quick juggling of lines between the chorus of Isadore's fears of being alone verses the 'lovers becoming dissolute' are reminiscent of continued arguments in an unhealthy relationship.

     Then the song suggests that they've gone so high, but only one can make it. "There's just one parachute. Goodbye Erica, now I see, that all my fears were in tune." This line is stating that now they have reached a high up spot, Isadore realises he can make it further without Erica holding him back and while previously he was terrified of losing her, he now learns that that loss was exactly in tune with his goals - success. Therefore it's not about the past, but who you are now that matters. Overall, he won't rest until the world knows the name Isadore.

     So, there you go. These two are my favourite interpretations of the story. Personally, I think the second one makes a lot more sense as a narrative, but the first one is a lot more emotion evoking as it becomes a really sad song. Whatever you decide as your value to the words - I hope at the very least you enjoyed the song. Of course, thanks for reading.