The Meaning Behind Fontaines D.C. and Rosalía’s Noir Collaboration “Where Is Gone?”

Rosalía appears on the new Fontaines D.C. track, “Where Is Gone?”, taken from the Irish group’s latest LP, Dopamine Chamber. And speaking of chemical dispatches in the brain, “Where Is Gone?” is a dark tale about falling in and out of love featuring a Spanish superstar and Dublin City’s finest indie rockers.

Pervert Lines and “I Love You”

Grian Chatten sets the noir scene with the primal wants that accompany falling in love. He’s backed by sweet and melancholy orchestration, which feels like a musical metaphor for the ups and downs of a doomed affair.

The face you pull with pervert lines,
The perfect way to say, “I love you,”
On a rainy day in my head.

Rosalía stares at his picture. It’s a reminder of their past, but the photograph only tells part of the story. Some darkness, it seems, has undone the relationship.

The picture frame, it shows your face,
It’s only worth what you pay in this world.

“I could care less,” Rosalía announces.
“So careless,” Chatten answers, acknowledging her casual apathy.

But when he smiles, she sings, she returns to the time and place where they fell in love.

In the chorus, the duo recalls overcoming despair, letting go of the past, and how this relationship will forever change them both.

I remember when,
They held me up against the summertime.
And the tears would fall, baby, if you try,
There’s no harm in saying, “Leave it, let it die.”
I remember when,
They held me up to the sunshine.
Until I called, “Baby, if it’s real,
There’s no way I’m going back to how I feel.”

You’re Not Alone at All

She returns to the photograph and once again spots a façade.

The picture frame is surely wrong,
A certain man will come and tell you,
That you’re not alone at all.

Finally, Chatten tries to place himself inside a new chapter. To him, it’s proof that love requires grief. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been anything worth losing.

So where is gone?
And why don’t I know?
It’s just the start,
Of another show to hurt you,
And make you feel alive.

Photo by Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage