Alicia Keys' "In Common" Is So Universal

When Alicia Keys releases new music, you listen. That's not a command or a suggestion, it's fact. But, when listening to new music, especially hers, you're likely to have a few questions about the song. You see, Keys doesn't ever fall into the trap of singing something catchy that's actually about nonsense. No, the singer produces deep music, with nuanced meaning behind it that still manages to have a great beat. That being said, let's get down to it. Who is Keys' "In Common" about?

Here's the thing, friends. "In Common" is a both promiscuous and suggestive, but it still has heart. It feels different than her typical love ballad, though. But the subject material could raise a few eyebrows if you try to take the lyrics a bit too literally in regards to the singer's life (Hint: Don't do that).

The song starts out like this:

Said I'd be gone by 5.../But it's sun rise and I'm still in your bed/Goodnight usually means goodbye/Me re-playing memories in my head/(Look at you, look at you...)/Look what you made me do/How do you, how do you fake 'em with every move?/Who are you? Who are you? You look so familiar/I know you, I know you, baby, I know the truth

Which doesn't seem all that wild, right? But, as the song progresses, so does the situation talked about in the lyrics.

We used to talk 'til midnight/All those days that you stayed at my house/We were just passing the time/When we were young and we ain't had no vows/Now, now, now maybe later on, I'll text you and maybe you'll reply/We both know we had no patience together day and night/Getting high on our supply, yeah, we ain't satisfied/I could love you all occasions

And, then there's the matter of the chorus that questions the synchronized dysfunction between the two people at hand.

Who wants to love somebody like me?/You wanna love somebody like me?/If you could love somebody like me/You must be messed up too/Who wants to love somebody like me?/You wanna love somebody like me?/If you could love somebody like me/You must be messed up too

Sure, the lyrics hint at a mesmerizing clandestine relationship between two people with history who are both committed to someone else. But that doesn't mean things are going awry in Keys' own life for her to make a song of this nature. Keys is happily married and has been for the past six years. This song is more so drawing from the human experience rather than personal experience. According to Entertainment Weekly , Keys explained in a statement that the song is truly universal in that we are all imperfect and we all struggle, in life and relationships.

She said, "We all have our issues, our challenges. We are all kind of messed up and that’s all right. In fact, that’s what helps us understand each other. To me, that is what’s so beautiful." See? Singers, songwriters, music producers— they're storytellers, too. And this song is a story, as Keys relayed, about "all" of us.