When Love Sparks as the Rhythm Spins — A Romantic Dance in 7/4

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Lyrics

A Spiraling Groove Where Love Returns with Voltage

In “Lightning Strikes Twice,” Toby Berka channels the spirit of the classic jazz odd-meter experiments—most clearly the breezy swagger of Brubeck’s “Unsquare Dance”—but makes the sound entirely his own. The 7/4 rhythm isn’t a gimmick; it feels like a natural expression of attraction itself: off-balance, intoxicating, and full of forward pull. The groove loops like a dancer spinning in your arms, never quite touching down, yet never losing its footing. It’s a rhythm that feels like a heartbeat learning a new pattern—eager, restless, and deeply alive.

The lyrics play with the age-old proverb that lightning never strikes twice, turning it on its head. For Berka, lightning is a symbol of emotional truth appearing suddenly and unmistakably. The first strike haunts, dazzles, and lingers. The second strike becomes a sign—one that the narrator refuses to ignore. There’s a sense of fate in lines like “I’ll heed this sign / Now I’ll make you mine!”, but it’s a lighthearted fate, mischievous rather than dramatic. Love here isn’t tragic or heavy; it’s impulsive, enticing, almost playful.

Much of the song’s charm lies in the intimate moments between the bolts of electricity. Whispered closeness, darkness offering privacy, a dance shared “cheek to cheek”—these scenes aren’t about danger or secrecy, but about letting the world fade away so two people can orbit each other freely. The repeated invitation—“remember, you and me”—grounds the romance not in fantasy, but in the simple, magnetic pull of two people who genuinely delight in each other’s presence.

Musically, this is one of Berka’s most quietly daring arrangements. The skipping bass line and clapping-like accents in the rhythm section nod to jazz tradition, while the harmonies lean into modern pop warmth. Over it all, Berka’s vocals glide confidently, sometimes weaving playfully around the beat rather than sitting squarely on it—another musical embodiment of the song’s theme: attraction that tilts, swirls, and surprises. The chorus, with its punchy repetition of “lightning strikes once… lightning strikes twice,” feels like the emotional surge at the center of the spin.

What makes the track satisfying is how it marries its musical cleverness to a clear emotional mood. The irregular meter never feels intellectual—it feels like joy. Like anticipation. Like the dizzy grin you get when something improbable happens twice and makes you rethink what’s possible. “Lightning Strikes Twice” reminds us that not all surprises are unsettling; some arrive with laughter, sparks, and the exhilarating promise of a dance worth giving in to.