Once

“Here we are, at careful distance.
Here’s my heart, what’s left of it.
In this town, I used to listen,
Once, once, yeah...

I had hope, blind faith,
Had as much as you could take.

I’m only gonna let you kill me
Once, once, once, yeah.
Once, once, once, yeah.
Once, once, once, yeah.
I’m only gonna let you kill me once.

Ashes burn the morning after.
Only know I’m here to stay.
I was so, I let you see me;
That was dumb, but that’s OK.
Tripping down to your place.
What is love anyway?

I’m only gonna let you kill me
Once, once, once, yeah.
Once, once, once, yeah.
Once, once, once, yeah.
I’m only gonna let you kill me once.

Who or whatever you do,
Don’t let anyone hurt you.
Touch them where it hurts
And watch them leave.”

[ Once – Hurts ]

So, remember when I complained about Hurts covering Bruno f*cking Mars? Well, the source material isn’t much better in the case of Once, originally by a Diana Vickers, which Hurts covered during the Happiness era (I don’t know if they released it officially somewhere). Seriously, the original is as dull as it can be, with boring chords, a boring arrangement, an even more boring vocal performance… and yet, Hurts’ version is so beautiful and inspirational, rich with raw emotion. Therefore, Locked Out Of Heaven I included mostly out of pedantry, but Once I did want to be in the project.
And yes, this was the photo I was trying to shoot when Locked Out Of Heaven happened instead. See, it was visually nice, alright, but just too tame: the general direction was that, but it lacked the sheer nervousness of the cello, the gut-punching emotion of the final chorus… it was still a bit Vickers-ish in terms of impact, until I realised it could be Locked Out Of Heaven. But for Once, I had to step up the game.

In general, when thinking of a visual rendition, I decided to do a fashion-oriented photo but set it in a domestic location, so it would retain the posh imagery I associate with Hurts music without losing genuineness. The idea was rather sketchy and undefined, hence why the multiple attempts that took a life of their own.
I was basically aming at a moning-after kind of situation in which one of the partners is leaving (offscreen) and the other one is torn: there’s still passion and feelings and desire, but self-respect is emerging and causing an inner conflict of sorts. Thus, the stark contrast between highlights and shadows, the messy bed, the clenched fists on the stretched sweater. The first two I nailed in Locked Out Of Heaven, too, but I think the sweater trick is what sells the raw emotions here. I’m glad I tried to take it to the next level, I’m very satisfied with this photo.