Artist Mitski Miyawaki, magnanimously known as Mitski, surprise her fans after her 3- year
hiatus by releasing her new single “Working for the Knife”. This is a shock to most because after
her last tour in 2019 she said that she was going on a break and leaving all social media
indefinitely. This song holds heavy themes from her last album Be the Cowboy.
To start, Mitski never disappoints when it comes to the cinematography that goes into her
music videos. The feelings of unease and dread that are captured in director Zia Anger’s
beautiful flowing and swaying camera shots allow for even more depth into the experience of
the song. Moreover, we see Mitski walking into The Egg, a preforming arts center in Albany,
New York, alone with only the sound of her footsteps, dressed in a cowboy hat and blue silk.
The music starts and the singer starts to waltz around the empty performance center. However,
the most uncomfortable scene is at the end where Mitski aggressively performs choreography
on an empty stage, to only her labored breathing. Showing passion for her work that she feels
goes unnoticed.
The song itself starts in classic Mitski fashion with a menacing syncopated beat and dense guitar
that always adds strong emotions like discomfort and sadness to her music. This song is areminder of the cruelty and pressure of the music industry and the constant need to perform or
put on an act. But also, the pressure that is put on the artist, the need to create, and the need
to make something lasting, best represented in the first stanza “I cry at the start of every
movie/ I guess ‘cause I wish I was making things too/ But I’m working for the knife.“ You can
feel the heavy themes of doubt, uncertainty, and regret riddled throughout this song.
The most interesting thing that Mitski was able to capture is the slight change at the end of
each stanza of the lyric “but I’m working for the knife”, there is a steady progression almost
showing the acceptance of her life choices and decisions starting with the original line “I’m
working for the knife” she changes the line in a steady progression though-out the song with
“but I’m working for the knife”, next “cause I’m working for the knife”, than “that I’m living I’m
living for the knife”, finally “but I’m dying for the knife” this progression represents the hard
work and effort she put into her career. Although you can only laugh at the irony of this whole
song, Mitski leaves, yet comes back to release a song with a commentary on her feelings of
dread and why she left in the first place.
Working for the Knife is a beautiful song that is perfectly captivating. Although this single
doesn’t do too much to stray from the feeling or rhythm of her old songs, this doesn’t take
anything away from the experience. The dread and sorrow that is found in this song is almost
nostalgic when looking back to her older albums. However, it may not sound different, the
theme and subject matter is quite different from past songs. Her past albums were centered
around past relationships and treatment from cruel men. This song talks about growing up and
having to deal with the responsibilities that life comes with. This adds a refreshing new side to
Mitski’s new songs and only adds another layer of relatability, that made most people adore
her in the first place.
Yet, Mitski herself is probably the best one to represent her work saying, “It’s about going from
being a kid with a dream to a grown-up with a job and feeling that somewhere along the way
you got left behind,” then again saying “It’s being confronted with a world that doesn’t seem to
recognize your humanity and seeing no way out of it.”
Overall, it can be said that this song brings everything and more to be expected from Mitski.
“Working for the Knife” keeps that everlasting style that all her fans adore. The poetry and
lyricism are beautiful are nothing short of enchanting. This captivating song is a fantastic
representation of the Mitski brand. This song a 9/10.
Katie Lind // Staff Writer
Click here to check out the music video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYbXt4_r9Pw
