3.11
Josephine on the floor
Lyrics by Karshni
January 2023
"Words about revisiting a certain artefact or memory that reminds me of who I am at my very core. At first this was something childlike, a beautiful naïveté I may have lost but now the meanings float around ranging from gender to sexuality and how I experience more complex developments in who I have become without being affected by the world around me."
Listen to Josephine on the floor
She catches her reflection,
does a quick inspection.
Feels like she might be dead,
all because of this blackhead.
She never knew
the way to her heart,
tried over and over again
for a brand new start.
Josephine on the floor
dancing to a song she knows
her body rolls will make you smile
soon she’ll say “you’ll be mine”.
She catches her reflection in the floor
looks up ahead towards the door
time to sink into bed
sometimes she wishes she were dead.
She never knew
this hard it would be
trying to conform
to the standards you set for her.
Josephine on the floor
dancing to a song she knows,
her body rolls will make you smile
soon she’ll say “you’ll be mine”.
Josephine will do her dance
make your straight face with a glance.
You came here not to fall in love
but in the end you’ll help yourself
to the above.
When do we find the time
to do the little things we like?
Josephine, don’t be like us,
otherwise you can’t survive.
Josephine still on the floor
dancing to a song she knows,
her body rolls will make you smile
soon she’ll say “you’ll be mine”.
Josephine will do her dance
make your straight face with a glance.
You came here not to fall in love
but in the end you’ll help yourself
to the above.
Photograph by Vijay Sarathy
Karshni is a singer-songwriter whose work discusses themes of gender, death, indulgence, and a fear of ageing. Her lyrics are a means for her to play, pause, and perceive the world around and within her, and to share it with her listeners.
​
Karshni has worked with many indie artists, including Hedrun and Dropped Out. Her collaboration with Three Oscillators on the song "Drowning", got over one million streams on Spotify.
In the past year, she has performed at the NH7 Weekender in Pune, contributed to a track for Modern Love, and composed the music for the praised theatre production Detritus. In April, she started a campaign to release one song a month for a year on Bandcamp.