Be Stoppable for (D)ucks Sake

Often, I don’t mind earworms. The “Unstoppable” one from Sia, though, grinds on my last nerve, and I’ve only heard like eight lines from it.

The Earworm:

I’m unstoppable, I’m a Porsche with no brakes

Photo by Jochen Bams via Unsplash

Nerves Hit

First, let’s start with the obvious. Who on earth wants to drive a car with no breaks? I mean, I know you can slow down by down-shifting, but that doesn’t work too quickly. It’s bloody dangerous. I wouldn’t even want to drive without access to breaks on the boring stretch of I-16 from Savannah to Macon stupidly early in the morning.

Never mind that we live lives that are way more complicated than four straight interstate lanes. Heck, some days, when my emotions get ahead of my brain or something’s activated my inner rebel, I’m like Wile E. Coyote gunning for the Grand Canyon with a rocket on my back. Those days, I need breaks of some kind, or I’m going to end up like Thema and Louise.

Second, what’s the point of being unstoppable? How on earth do you enjoy accomplishing something if you don’t stop and acknowledge you made it? I get that part of this idea is about getting through or past challenges. And, yet, to me, it feels like an empowerment anthem going nowhere.

Third, as an anthem, it doesn’t give two shirts about the other people in the world around you. If you’re unstoppable, you’re all armored up and lacking concern for the consequences of your actions to the world around you. And, yes, there are days when this vibe is totally mine. It’s also not one I want to carry into the world. I don’t want to cause pain by being negligent in how I share my pain - or at least, I don’t want to intentionally enter the world with that energy.

Fourth, and most importantly, if you look at the lyrics of this song, they’re not empowering.

Break down, only alone I will cry out loud

You’ll never see what’s hiding out

Hiding out deep down (Yeah-yeah)

I know, I’ve heard that to let your feelings show

It’s the only way to make friendships grow

But I’m too afraid now, yeah

They’re about someone so scared and pissed off and tired that the best tool they have to get their needs met is this armor, this voice that wails, “I’m unstoppable, “you cannot touch me. The intention is to remain as disconnected as possible from fellow humans.

I’ve been here. It’s lonely and profoundly sad. It’s the bottom of a barrel I never want to see again.

This isn’t an empowerment anthem; it is Chris Braide and Sia’s version of a cold and broken Hallelujah. I don’t care what story the music is trying to tell me, the lyrics break my heart.

Bottom Line

You may have a very different experience with this song. If you want to use it as an empowerment song, feel free and consider just what you want your version of unstoppable to look like.