Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? // Arctic Monkeys analysis

"Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?"

The mirror's image
Tells me it's home time
But I'm not finished
'Cause you're not by my side
And as I arrived I thought I saw you leaving
Carrying your shoes
Decided that once again I was just dreaming
Of bumping into you
Now it's three in the morning and I'm tryna change your mind
Left you multiple missed calls and to my message you reply
Why'd you only call me when you're high?
High, why'd you only call me when you're high?
Somewhere darker
Talking the same shite
I need a partner
Well, are you out tonight?
Gets harder and harder to get you to listen
More I get through the gears
Incapable of making alright decisions
And having bad ideas
Now it's three in the morning and I'm tryna change your mind
Left you multiple missed calls and to my message you reply (message you reply)
Why'd you only call me when you're high? (Why'd you only call me when you're high?)
High, why'd you only call me when you're high?
And I can't see you here wondering where am I?
Sorta feels like I'm running out of time
I haven't found what I was hoping to find
You said you gotta be up in the morning, gonna have an early night
And you're starting to bore me, baby
Why'd you only call me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high? 

 I love the song Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? by Arctic Monkeys (lyrics written by Alex Turner), however when I look at the lyrics, there is a lot of meaning and techniques used within the lyrics of the song. Alex Turner uses alliteration within the lyrics, 'multiple messages' to add complexity to the song. Throughout the song, rhetorical questions are sang,  'Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?', 'Well, are you out tonight?', 'And I can't see you here wondering where am I?', this is to portray the constant hum (pun not intended) of confusion and questioning to the person that this song is aimed at. The rhetorical questions are repeated throughout the song, making the song relatable and obvious what the message is about.

As well as alliteration and rhetorical questions, contraction is also used, 'why'd', ''cause' and 'it's', to portray a more informal approach, also allowing the syllables to fit within the pattern of the rhyme/song. As well as the register being informal, there is also a hint of intimate language that is used when Alex uses the word 'baby' to approach the person he is singing to/aiming the song at. Furthermore, the endearment also addresses the general audience with a slight hint of sarcasm throughout the song.

Additionally, during the last chorus, Alex Turner uses a synonym for the word 'call', as the lyrics change from 'Why'd you only call me when you're high?' to 'Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?', perhaps to also reduce over repeated words/phrases.