Anave’s Swinging Pendulum: An anthem for navigating the unpredictable journey of life

By Tosin Clegg

After much anticipation, the UK-based Nigerian singer and gospel artist has released her single titled Swinging Pendulum. The 3-minute-long track known as Swinging Pendulum is an anthem for navigating the unpredictable journey of life through the lens of hope and faith.

This track serves as an anchor of reassurance to listeners in a noisy world that, despite life’s turbulence, life remains a ride to be enjoyed. As evidenced in the title, the song relies heavily on different versions of sensory imagery to convey its central idea and it made a beautiful comparison using life as a bubble and life as a riddle,while hinting at the premature excitement and disappointment that come with raised and dashed hopes. The first line references life in a bubble by describing a soft, seemingly shielded life that soon gets disrupted by life’s troubles. Then, we’re led to visualise a character with big dreams and a positive outlook on life, which soon turns sour as ‘life becomes a riddle’. The use of ‘life becomes a riddle’ and ‘cloudy days’ depicts the struggle and sadness that accompany hard times, and the reference to ‘shine your light’ symbolises hope and positivity. It also likens life to a ride which moves like the ocean’s tide, another imagery which uses a simile to explain the roller-coaster feel of life with all its twists and turns.

This then climaxes into a jolly singalong chorus that explores the song title – Swinging Pendulum. Just as the gravitational pull on a swinging pendulum, Anave describes life as a ride that moves like the ocean’s tide, emphasising the ups and downs that we are often faced with, and how they mostly stem from forces beyond our control. Nevertheless, the concluding part of the chorus reassures the listener to keep hope alive and shine regardless, because God is on their side and with Jesus they’ll survive.

The song goes on to seemingly give a prescription for living – learn, unlearn, relearn and repeat, with a caveat: ‘but give yourself some grace’, which leads back into the chorus, suggesting that after all, life is just a swinging pendulum, full of many different surprises.

Another noteworthy device across the verses and chorus is rhyme, particularly at the end of lines, which adds to the piece’s memorable, rhythmic quality. We also see the unmistakable use of repetition along specific lines of the song, which is especially strong on the first line of the chorus – ‘swinging pendulum, swinging pendulum’. As the syllables of this line rock back and forth, the idea of the song is further impressed in the listener’s mind. Also worthy of commendation is Anave’s soothing vocal delivery which makes the song an easy listen for night sleep, commuting or relaxing.