The Baby by Samia

by Lana Fleischli

I started listening to Samia a couple weeks ago. It was around the same time I got my driver’s license, which to my sixteen year old self is a pretty big deal. I didn’t realize how big of a deal it is, but at least for me, it is because now I don’t have to ask for a ride anywhere. Whereas, normally when I make plans, I need to loop my mom in so I can get a ride. It’s an odd awakening. The reason I’m mentioning all of this is because The Baby was the first album I listened to after getting my license. 

I was immediately into her lyrics. As I continued to listen to The Baby, I noticed more of the little things Samia did in each song. Full disclosure, I will be talking about what I heard, which might be completely wrong, so bare with me. 

I read Flood Magazine’s article about this album, and her breakdown of the songs. Most of them are about specific events, which I think makes it cool. For example, it’s about one night, one friendship, one broken friendship, or a specific societal standard. She captures the idea of adolescence. 

In “Fit N Full”, the interview said that it was about having bad body image, and only thinking about that, which I feel like most people can relate to. I had a friend who cared so much about her waist size that she would measure hers and mine. Since mine was  an inch larger, it boosted her self confidence, and made her feel like she could say I had “big proportions”, which is messed up on so many levels. Not to mention that at that time, my waist was 25 inches, which is really small. Those influences create terrible body image, and it’s something I know most people have experienced on some level. 

The interview mentions “Waverly” as a song about someone that Samia really wanted to be friends with, but never had the courage to go and talk to her. Again, super relatable! I started a new school this year (on zoom), and I didn’t know many people, and I am still trying to find the courage to reach out to people. 

Now this is what I noticed, (again, it could be totally wrong). When it came to her lyrics, there was a theme of family. In “Fit N Full”, she mentions her mom and the craving she has to be like her dad, and she also mentions her mom in the following song, “Big Wheel”. Also, in the first song “Pool” a woman’s voice is heard at the beginning, saying her name or nicknames, which could represent her mom. 

The reason I mention this theme is because I was one that I connected with a lot. The idea of growing up, and still having the connection and need for family, but also the way she mentions her family, isn’t just like, “I love my parents”, but in the context of, “This is my body. It’s what my mom gave me,” or “I have to go visit them tomorrow”. It’s a little more distanced. She discussed their impact, but not her feelings toward them necessarily. I think that’s a big part of finding oneself. It’s about taking from your past and reflecting, while looking forward. That is kind of what this whole album was about.

This album inadvertently became special to me as I listened to it almost everyday in the car on my first drives around LA. It made me think about growing up, while being connected to your past. Adolescence is a weird time where you have so much almost-adult freedom, but also none at all. It’s weird to navigate, but that’s why an album that captures it is worth the listen.