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"BATTLE OF THE LARYNX" is a song by Melanie Martinez that is featured as the eighth track on her third studio album, PORTALS.

The full song was first performed at Lollapalooza Argentina on March 18, 2023. It was officially released for the standard version of PORTALS on March 31, 2023.

Background[]

This was the last song written and added to the album. In May 2022, Melanie went back to Hawaii to the same house she went to in February 2021 to develop the album with Kinetics and One Love. Baran came through for the last of the writing sessions before they declared the album is finished. Melanie quickly went outside with her guitar to write the song alone until she was satisfied with it. The track was later improvised by Baran and added drums by Rhys Hastings.

On March 8, 2023, a fan account, @circusfairy, was granted one of the multiple synthetic eggs used to promote the album.[1] It contained a snippet of "BATTLE OF THE LARYNX" through a USB drive.[2] Besides that, the box also contained an edible white chocolate egg, and inside with a note:

Hatch me. A piece of the puzzle has been given to you. Eat the shell, eat the goo. What's inside is important, so please do share. I trust that you'll handle this portal with care.

Later in the day, Melanie posted a video of her in a never-before-seen look with an extended snippet of the track. She wrote on the video, saying:

POV you're a dude on psychedelics and I'm the ex that won't stop haunting you through fungi

The song was confirmed as the eighth track on PORTALS on March 16, 2023, through Melanie's social media.[3] The song's lyrics were revealed on March 28, 2023, on Melanie's official website.[4]

Right after PORTALS was released, CJ Baran posted on Instagram, containing his experience working on the album.[5]

Theme[]

This song is about standing up for oneself and not letting others undermine or belittle one's voice or words. The chorus "Don't you battle with my larynx tonight" emphasizes the importance of protecting one's voice and not letting others silence or dominate it. The song also criticizes those who talk without thinking or bark while they are shaking, suggesting that they are superficial and lack substance.

According to Melanie, this song was written about two different conflict styles, one person who yells a bunch of nothing really loudly to try and intimidate and the other who can calmly and concisely use their words and wit to prove their point. This is one of the conflict songs that Melanie intentionally added on PORTALS. This song, "POWDER", "THE CONTORTIONIST", "MOON CYCLE" and "EVIL" are the only known conflict songs revealed by Melanie herself.

Lyrics[]

[Verse 1]
Falling asleep by the arcade
Liquor, it jumps off your tongue
You used all your words for a quick game
Blew it all before you won

[Verse 2]
I speak in cursive, I'm poignant, assertive
There's musical chairs in my teeth
Poke me to battle, I'll jump on the saddle
I'll smile as you fall to your feet

[Pre-chorus]
And they talk without thinking
They bark while they're shaking
With teeth that are round and dull
And they yell while they're chasing
While I'm steady pacing
My syllables hit the floor

[Chorus]
How stupid, selfish baby
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight
I'll wreck you if you chase me
But I'll be silent till you cross the line
The line
The line
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight
So crude and selfish baby
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight

[Verse 3]
Call all your guys in the dive bar
They'll give you the validation
Your daddy could never bestow you
While bloody they'll tell you've won

[Pre-chorus]
And they talk without thinking
They bark while they're shaking
With teeth that are round and dull
And they yell while they're chasing
While I'm steady pacing
My syllables hit the floor

[Chorus]
How stupid, selfish baby
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight
I'll wreck you if you chase me
But I'll be silent till you cross the line
The line
The line
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight
So crude and selfish baby
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight

[Pre-chorus]
And they talk without thinking
They bark while they're shaking
With teeth that are round and dull
And they yell while they're chasing
While I'm steady pacing
My syllables hit the floor

[Chorus]
How stupid, selfish baby
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight
I'll wreck you if you chase me
But I'll be silent till you cross the line
The line
The line
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight
So crude and selfish baby
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight

[Verse 1]
Falling asleep by the arcade
Liquor, it jumps off your tongue
You used all your words for a quick game
Blew it all before you won

[Verse 2]
I speak in cursive, I'm poignant, assertive
There's musical chairs in my teeth
Poke me to battle, I'll jump on the saddle
I'll smile as you fall to your feet

[Pre-chorus]
And they talk without thinking
They bark while they're shaking
With teeth that are round and dull
And they yell while they're chasing
While I'm steady pacing
My syllables hit the floor

[Chorus]
How stupid, selfish baby
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight
I'll wreck you if you chase me
But I'll be silent till you cross the line
The line
The line
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight
So crude and selfish baby
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight

[Verse 3]
Call all your guys in the dive bar
They'll give you the validation
Your daddy could never bestow you
While bloody they'll tell you've won

[Pre-chorus]
And they talk without thinking
They bark while they're shaking
With teeth that are round and dull
And they yell while they're chasing
While I'm steady pacing
My syllables hit the floor

[Chorus]
How stupid, selfish baby
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight
I'll wreck you if you chase me
But I'll be silent till you cross the line
The line
The line
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight
So crude and selfish baby
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight

[Pre-chorus]
And they talk without thinking
They bark while they're shaking
With teeth that are round and dull
And they yell while they're chasing
While I'm steady pacing
My syllables hit the floor

[Chorus]
How stupid, selfish baby
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight
I'll wreck you if you chase me
But I'll be silent till you cross the line
The line
The line
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight
So crude and selfish baby
Don't you battle with my larynx tonight

Official versions[]

Version Released on Release date Producer(s) Creation date Length
Final PORTALS March 31, 2023 CJ Baran, Rhys Hastings May 2022 5:28

Live performances[]

"BATTLE OF THE LARYNX" was performed at:

Tours[]

Festivals[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • The first snippet was shared through egg hatching.
    • The rest of the tracks on PORTALS, except "DEATH", "TUNNEL VISION", "FAERIE SOIRÉE" and "LEECHES", also had a snippet released in this type of promotion.
      • This is the third track to be revealed under Atlantic's deliveries.
  • The opening of the song's instrumental sounds similar to VOID and EVIL.
  • The location where Melanie filmed the promotional video of the snippet is El Nido De Quetzalcoatl ("Quetzalcoatl's Nest" in English), an apartment building in Naucalpan, Mexico.
  • This is the longest song on the album, having a duration of five minutes and twenty-eight seconds. With the shortest being "MOON CYCLE", having a duration of two minutes and thirty-two seconds.
    • This is Melanie's longest song to be released, surpassing "High School Sweethearts" which is five minutes and eleven seconds.
  • "LEECHES" transitions to this track, while this song transitions directly to "THE CONTORTIONIST".
    • A wind blowing, footsteps, door opening, a feast - people chattering, musical background, and glass clinking, and an immediate cut of a crowd in shock/disgust is heard at the end of the song as part of the transition.
      • Multiple phrases from the crowd can be heard such as "Who may that be?", "Could she be from another planet?", "Maybe Venus, somewhere special", "Did you know that she could bend her bones backwards?", "How could that happen?" and other muffled phrases can be heard throughout the chatter.
      • The violin, heard in this transition is identical to the violin in the second chorus of "THE CONTORTIONIST".
  • In the PORTALS Tour and The Trilogy Tour, Melanie vocalizes three times during the outro of the song.[6]
  • The larynx is a part of the human body that is also known as the voice box, due to it holding the vocal cords that allow us to speak.

References[]

Navigation[]

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