Dirty Laundry

An emotional, confessional ballad from Kelly Rowland's upcoming album, Talk A Good Game. I surprised myself by enjoying it as much as I did. As much as I love Kelly's older solo stuff (e.g. 'Stole'), I haven't been a huge fan of her more recent music. Without wanting to sound like a cliché, it sounded to me a lot like she'd sold out, and I lost yet more interest when she became a judge on the X Factor (which I can't stand.) That being said, I am joining droves of people singing the praises of 'Dirty Laundry', despite the tenuous metaphor she uses for the chorus ('When you're soaked in tears for years, it never airs out' - what?) But the focal points of the song are the verses, which do seem genuinely sincere. I love the style of the song as well, which seams to hearken back to the music she was making back in the noughties.



Let’s do this dirty laundry, this dirty laundry
Let’s do this dirty laundry, this dirty laundry
When you’re soaked in tears for years, it never airs out
When you make pain look this good it never wears out
This dirty laundry, this dirty laundry

While my sister was on stage, killing it like a motherf-cker
I was enraged, feeling it like a motherf-cker
Bird in a cage, you would never know what I was dealing with
Went out separate ways, but I was happy she was killing it
Bittersweet, she was up, I was down
No lie, I feel good for her, but what do I do now?
Forget the records
Off the record, I was going through some bullshit
Post-survivor, she on fire, who wanna hear my bullshit?
Meanwhile, this nigga putting his hands on me
I swear y’all don’t know the half of this industry

Let’s do this dirty laundry, this dirty laundry
Let’s do this dirty laundry, this dirty laundry
When you’re soaked in tears for years, it never airs out
When you make pain look this good it never wears out
This dirty laundry, this dirty laundry

And it’s almost been a decade
I’m behind them black shades
Roll up like it’s all good, right up out that escalade
Fix my make-up, “get it together, Kelly, get it together”
Then we make up, “well get it together, nigga, get it together”
Kinda lucky, I was in her shadow
Phone call from my sister, “what’s the matter?”
She said, “Oh no, baby - you gotta leave!”
I’m on the kitchen floor - he took the keys
I was mad at everybody, I mean everybody
Yeah, her, her, her her everybody
Five years later, I got my shit down pat
Think I had it good, and they don’t know how bad
Fooled everybody, except myself
Soaking in this hurt, bathing in the dirt

Let’s do this dirty laundry, this dirty laundry
Let’s do this dirty laundry, this dirty laundry
When you’re soaked in tears for years, it never airs out
When you make pain look this good it never wears out
This dirty laundry, this dirty laundry

So here I am in the spin cycle
We’re comin and we’re goin
Nobody can know this
And I was trapped in his house, lyin’ to my mama
Thought it could get no worse as we maximize the drama
Started to call them people on him
I was battered
He hittin the window like it was me, until it shattered
He pulled me out, he said, “Don’t nobody love you but me
Not your mama, not your daddy and especially not Bey”
He turned me against my sister
I missed ya

Let’s do this dirty laundry, this dirty laundry
Let’s do this dirty laundry, this dirty laundry
When you’re soaked in tears for years, it never airs out
When you make pain look this good it never wears out
This dirty laundry, this dirty laundry