Two Slow Dancers

Mitski's 'Two Slow Dancers' is a poignant reflection on aging, nostalgia, and the bittersweet nature of change. The song opens with a sensory detail that evokes a strong sense of nostalgia—the smell of a school gymnasium. This specific reference sets the stage for a trip down memory lane, suggesting a return to a simpler time when the narrator and their companion were younger. The repetition of 'It's funny how' underscores the irony of memory and the inevitability of change, despite our human tendency to cling to the past.

The chorus, 'We're just two slow dancers, last ones out,' uses the metaphor of two people dancing slowly together as the event ends to symbolize the passage of time and the intimacy of shared experiences. The dancers are reluctant to leave, much like how we often resist the end of our youth and the changes that come with growing older. The imagery of the ground pulling them back down alludes to the gravitational pull of reality and the physical manifestations of aging on their bodies.

Mitski's lyrics are a lament for the loss of youth and the realization that life cannot stay the same. The song captures the universal human desire to return to a time when things were 'a hundred times easier.' Yet, there is also a quiet acceptance in the repeated phrase 'But as it is, and it is,' acknowledging the inevitability of aging and the beauty that can be found in embracing the present moment, even as it slips away like the last dance.