#47: Video-analysis of Kimbra's "Good Intent" · 9:38pm Jan 17th, 2015

This song has quite the profile for imagery and story telling, and with the added visuals of her music video the lyrics and movie re-enact two stories in one. So then... Shall we begin?

6 seconds into the video we are given foreshadowing. Second thing you will notice is the choice of colors. The man has a black suit, white suit and a grey suit, while kimbra has a black dress,white dress, and red dress . The black suit and red dress represent the darker desires, our "evil" side and the white, as you could guess represents our "good" side. Now the only music is an ambient song in the background. But you slowly get the gist that the man is heading out to watch his wife preformance,and follow the white suit.

He checks his watch, he knows he should already be there, but before he goes the sounds of the red alley and re-evaluates his decision. Meanwhile, Kimbra is also conflicted. We see her gaze at a white necklace, most likely a gift from her husband(the grey suit),and in the mirror's reflection we see her good side wearing it. The necklace is a symbolic reminder to kimbra of her faith in her husband's love. preceded by her darker side giving a seductive stare.

Cue in the song. The husband's choreography mimic's his indecision, always looking back and forth between a "good" or "bad" choice. Yet the lyrics provide us with inside of his past.

You heard the crickets of the early eve
They lurk around the opening in two's and three's
Clementine told you not to move with the breeze
I'll take you down to places where we dare not speak

So the husband is up early(or out late) enough for crickets, and with another woman, Clementine. She warns him "not to move with the breeze" ( be faithful) Yet Clementine still promises to go with him.

The red light in the doorway says she's armed
But boy go try your luck and you might get pass[past?]
Step into the dwelling of the liger's mouth
Peer into the panic for a kick and swell
You know you shouldn't be there but it's way past bed
There's comfort in the fingers of your good intent
You know you shouldn't be there but your money's all spent
You've got your reputation and your good intent
Your good intent

The husband is heading into the red light district(an idiom for prostitution),and is going much further than just curiosity. He's been there rather late, and paid for some sex. Yet he feels okay with his decision.Remember the "liger" line

Music video: Kimbra's side's are playing through the song, the darker side alluding that her husband is unfaithful, and her good side still believing he is [faithful]. By the end of the second stanza Kimbra is ready to go on stage and as she leaves both her good and bad sides want her to stay, or atleast make up her mind. She places the necklace down, replies "good intent" (As much of an answer as "maybe")

Out to feed that habit when you've sowed that seed
Nothing made you feel out of the ordinary
But the air turns sombre and the night took heed
Took you on a waltz of hypocrisy
She broke your bones, now you're lying in the dirt
The shadow of a hunter under your torture[torn shirt?]
It's not enough to say, it's not what's in your heart
You've tainted every moment till death do we part

This verse mixed with the music video plays a reversed role, but lyrics first. The husband is still meeting with prostitutes without any moral discomfort. He still believe he's a good man, even though he's cheating on his wife. (I'm unsure if it's physically or mentally) but the husband ends up in the dirt with broken bones.[I personally believe Clementine told his wife where he was going, but you could also assume that the wife found out on her own and ask the prostitutes to refuse him getting him kicked from the brothel] From this he realizes that he's tainted his marriage, and there's nothing his actions can do or his words can say to fix that.

Kimbra's good and dark side have altered roles is in verse. White dress is shown when "Nothing made you feel out of the ordinary" which pairs within the husband's thoughts. He was still a good husband. The red dress reflects the wife's thoughts,"It's not enough to say, it's not what's in your heart. You've tainted every moment till death do we part!" scornfully adding that he's now trapped in his own mistakes, a tainted marriage.

I know you didn't mean it, boy you meant so well
The pennies are cascading down your wishing well
I know you didn't mean it when you counted to ten
You're slipping through the fingers of your good intent
[x2]

This is when the husband begins question his morals,he now wishes he had chosen differently. The husband's side's allude to time; The good side having a watch,and the dark side without one. First it is a play on the line "I know you didn't mean it when you counted to ten" Since when the husband gave into his darker intention he couldn't keep track of time, and also that if he doesn't show up for his wife's show he won't have to check the time ever again. The good side throws him a watch.

It's not enough to hope for the best
It's not enough to lie there on a breast
The liger's on the prowl now you've pulled its strings
One false move and soon you're playing dice for a-

The last stanza reflects on the wife's thoughts. It's not enough to believe he's good, and him still being intimate with her isn't enough. Remember the first time we saw the word "liger?" The second stanza and last stanza make a reference to and if you look at the third stanza there is another relatable line which all together look like this;

"Step into the dwelling of the liger's mouth"
"The shadow of a hunter under your torture"
"The liger's on the prowl now you've pulled its strings"

Headcanon warning:
The Liger is Kimbra. What if Kimbra was a singer in a gentleman's club? On his way to visit his wife the husband was distracted by one of the other girls, Clementine. He promised it would be quick, until ten. Then Clementine told him "not to move with the breeze." The husband ends up spending more time at the club,but not to see his wife. One time she spots him kissing clementine, to which she asks the security to get him kicked out. He's fighting them, shouting that he's a good man and he loves her all the way to the exit. The husband reflects on his wife's bitterness and comes to grips with himself. They've been separated for sometime and he hears word that she's singing somewhere a bit more classy, he vows to prove his intentions are good.

This would be a defining moment for him one false move and he would be hoping for another chance for... for eternity?

"One false move and soon you're playing dice for a-"

Watch as the pair dance. within the rhythm they never stare too long at each other until,besides the moment Kimbra is getting ready to tell him how long he'll have to hope for another chance. She never finishes her statement. Does she love him too much to leave him for good or is she hoping he'll get himself in to deep that he'll leave on his own? Observe the dancing crowd,they're blue and red dresses mixed in there. Bad marriages are few within the crowd if you assume the red dresses are unfaithful wives...yet I can't believe that even now Kimbra still second guess her faith and love to him. It's clear to me that he wants to make amends, how about you?

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