Sam Smith ushered in a new chapter of their career with the release of “Unholy.” The song was a stark departure from the sound the public had become used to hearing from the singer/songwriter. Instead of forlorn ballads, they delivered a brooding dance hit with devilish imagery.
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While fans of Smith were quick to get on board with this new sonic direction, Smith caused quite a fuss among conservative crowds–particularly with their live performances of the song. The singer, and his duet partner Kim Petras, were accused of devil worship like so many boundary-pushing artists before them. Smith and Petras don’t seem to be paying the naysayers too much mind though. Instead, they are reveling in the success of their Grammy-Award-winning hit.
We dissect the lyrics behind “Unholy” below.
Behind the Lyrics
Smith airs the dirty laundry of a cheating husband in “Unholy.” The singer almost plays the role of the town gossip, detailing the sordid affair.
Mummy don’t know daddy’s getting hot
At the body shop, doing something unholy
The Body Shop is a staple in the Los Angeles entertainment scene. In the ’60s it became the first all-nude strip club on the Sunset Strip. Because of that milestone, it has become one of the most famous, and longest running, strip clubs in the U.S., which is likely why Smith chose to include it in “Unholy.”
Connecting all the context clues in the lyrics, it seems the cheating husband has visited the club, met another woman, and continued to have a relationship with her. Petras’ line provides even more details about the husband’s infidelity, which seems to have a financial component.
Mmm, daddy, daddy, if you want it, drop the add’y
Give me love, give me Fendi, my Balenciaga daddy
You gon’ need to bag it up, ’cause I’m spending on Rodeo
You can watch me back it up, I’ll be gone in the a.m.
The wife remains in the dark while the husband enjoys the adulterous affair, despite his bragging to Smith about all the shit he does.
A lucky, lucky girl
She got married to a boy like you
She’d kick you out if she ever, ever knew
‘Bout all the – you tell me that you do
Sonic Change
As mentioned before, “Unholy” marks a stark departure from Smith’s typical sound. Smith knew the move would be a controversial one but they accepted the change with open arms in the studio. For the singer, the sonic change was a move toward becoming their authentic queer self.
“I think joy for me, and for a lot of queer people, is quite a dangerous place,” they told Billboard after sharing the song. “We’re all masters of pain, and I think it’s … courageous to step into the queer joy of it all.”
Elsewhere they called the experience of recording the song “an exorcism.” “We were in Jamaica and [producer] Omer Fedi was fucking around on the guitar and playing this scale, which I started singing to,” they once explained to Apple Music (per Genius). “Everyone in the room was really confused; they didn’t know if they liked it or not. I had someone on my mind who was pissing me off and I just had to get it out.”
They continued, “After we got back, everyone liked the song but said, ‘This is not on brand.’ But it kept prodding at me. I said everything I needed to in the first verse, and that’s when Kim came into the picture. It’s the most powerful piece of music I’ve ever been a part of. It’s like an exorcism.”
(Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
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