Smoke

"**Smoke**" is a song by Caroline Polachek. It appears on her fourth studio album, *Desire, I Want To Turn Into You* as the eleventh track.

The track was written by Polachek and Danny L Harle, and produced by Polachek and Harle.

## Background

Polachek played the song live on several fall 2021 festival dates before the album's announcement and tracklist reveal.

On May 3, 2023, Caroline shared more on the track’s history through a post on Instagram;

>  Smoke was started in a two-day spree with Danny L Harle weeks before the pandemic kicked in, and then not touched again for over a year; it needed to stay on ice until it fit the world again.
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> When live shows finally reopened, I added this unfinished song to the set, where it evolved for a year and a half in public before being finally finished in the studio. By summer festivals last year, the whole front row already knew the lyrics.
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>  Smoke became the guiding light for my current stage design, built while I was still touring Pang- I wanted to start living in the world of the new album as I was making it. I loved the stupidity and sincerity of the scene the lyrics painted: being so distracted and careless at the foot of this volcano with unknowable depth and potential... but "it's just smoke".
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> That contradiction guided the music production too, super literally, with the shoegazy lightness of the vocals dancing around this massive tectonic Danny L Harle bass and rave breaks, which got more and more dense and smashed-out with every successive swing we took at it (lots).
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> Those breaks then prompted its sister songs, Fly To You and Pretty In Possible, which I'll tell you about soon…
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The cover was shot by Aiden Zamiri, background created by Studio Augmenta, styling by Tati Cotliat, hair done by Ryuta Saiga, and makeup done by Ana Takahashi.

## Music video

A music video to the track was announced on a Q&A in the *Caroline Polachek Discord* on March 31st. It was then officially announced through Caroline's social medias on April 4th.

The music video premiered exclusively on Caroline's Facebook and Instagram pages on April 5th, and was released a day later on YouTube.

## Lyrics

[Intro]

It's just smoke

(Na-na-na, na-na-na)

(N-na-na, na-na-na)

(Na-na-na, na-na-na)

(N-na-na, na-na-na)

It's just smoke

(Na-na-na, na-na-na)

(N-na-na, na-na-na)

(Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na)

[Verse 1]

It's just smoke

Floating over the volcano

It's just smoke

Go on, you know I can't say no

It's just smoke

[Refrain]

(Na-na-na, na-na-na)

(N-na-na, na-na-na)

(Na-na-na, na-na-na)

(N-na-na, na-na-na)

(Na-na-na, na-na-na)

(N-na-na, na-na-na)

(Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na)

[Verse 2]

It's just smoke

Floating over the volcano

It's just smoke

Selling me out on the down low

[Chorus]

And you are the big answer tonight

And you are melting everything about me

Oh, don't worry about me

It's just smoke

[Bridge]

And the fallout doesn't phase me

Take a bullet for my baby

For the one thing that'll save me

Ya know, hmm

Throw it all out and replace it

With a brand new kind of crazy

Don't believe it when you praise me

Do I, hmm

[Chorus]

And you are the big answer tonight

And you are melting everything about me

Oh, don't worry about me

It's just smoke

[Refrain]

(Na-na-na, na-na-na)

(N-na-na, na-na-na)

(Na-na-na, na-na-na)

(N-na-na, na-na-na)

It's just smoke

(Na-na-na, na-na-na)

(N-na-na, na-na-na)

(Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na)

Ooh, ah [scream]

(Na-na-na, na-na-na)

(N-na-na, na-na-na)

(Na-na-na, na-na-na)

(N-na-na, na-na-na)

(Na-na-na, na-na-na)

(N-na-na, na-na-na)

(Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na)

## Credits

##### Technical

* Written-By – **Caroline Polachek, Danny L Harle**
* Produced By – **Caroline Polachek, Danny L Harle**
* Mastered By – **Chris Gehringer**
* Copyright © – **Caroline Polachek LLC**

## References

1. ↑ Polachek on Instagram - "Smoke" May 3, 2023
2. ↑ Caroline Polachek on Twitter: SMOKE 𖦹 MUSIC VIDEO

The Spiraling Tour · Videography · Photography

"Welcome To My Island"
"Pretty In Possible"
"Bunny Is A Rider
"Sunset"
"Crude Drawing Of An Angel"
"I Believe"

"Fly To You (featuring. Grimes & Dido)"
"Blood And Butter"
"Hopedrunk Everasking"
"Butterfly Net"
"**Smoke**"
"Billions"

Other Tracks
"Long Road Home"
"Dang"

Caroline Polachek