“ She got two little horns
And they get me a little bit”
Anyone who has talked to me for more than 5 minutes, will eventually uncover the fact that I am a die-hard hockey fan. I think hockey has been more of an influence on my life within the past two years, than video games have had in eighteen. With this knowledge in mind, my Spotify playlist has been invaded by music that I have heard at St. Louis Blues games and from hockey promotions on TV. This lead me to the song Horns by Bryce Fox.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have heard music at games that I haven’t let into my Spotify for various reasons. But this song is part of the group that have become ear worms and have stayed in the playlist. And that is for good reason. The beats are cool, the lyrics are relatable, and the song seems like a good one to drive and work out too. However, there is one problem with this song that makes it not so perfect. The way it portrays gender is not good at all.
From the opening lyrics, minus the random “Hey!”, we see evidence of Bryce comparing an unknown woman to a tempting demon. From the imagery of horns in the chorus to a desire to sell his soul to be in love with her, he uses imagery of a demonic nature and harm whenever he is talking about her. This song doesn’t specifically say who he is talking about, but uses the female pronouns when referring to this person who is “the fire in the sin.” Never does it refer to a guy in the whole song, only Bryce talking about himself and the woman who has “horns like a devil.”
This song has the ability to get stuck in your ear with a good sound. However, with the way it talks about this woman who he can recognize isn’t good for him, the way that it reflects on gender could have been better. It begs the question of the author: Are women just temptations to sin and be damned, or something more ? Honestly, I’d like to think he sees them as more, because most of us have dated someone bad for us. However, I cannot answer this question, as I am not Bryce Fox.
