by: Future Interpreter to the Stars (insert chuckle here)
Moun10Mama

As those of you with functioning eyes in your head may have noticed, this site is called "Running From Delirious", an homage to the enigmatic N Sync song "Riddle". But we here at RFD have decided it can be an enigma no longer!!! Fortunately, Moun10Mama took a class last year where she had to analyze a lot of poetry in translation. (I know. Ain’t college grand?) In order to preserve the small amount of sanity we have left, we must assume that "Riddle" is a translation and that’s why it makes no sense.
Moun10Mama has decided to hack through the linguistic thicket that is "Riddle" and provide her analysis. Oh, and she used Justin because he’s the one singing lead in the song, and because she just wanted to use Justin. Special thanks to SailorVal for her brain power.

Without further ado. . .

Chorus:

What’s the riddle of it all

What’s the riddle on her mind

It’s impossible to find

OK, so far so good. Pretty self-explanatory. As usual, men find women difficult, if not impossible, to understand. I can't speak for all women, but I’d say that for the most part we feel the same way.

I am out to find, the solving key to this woman’s mystery.

But our fearless teen idol is determined to make sense of this apparently enchanting woman. (Note: Still pretty benign. Don’t worry folks, we’re just getting started! Except the "solving key" part, which screams "I’ve been translated." But you want to give the song the full artistic impact, and that means keeping up the meter. So solving key gets to stay.)

I need to see her more than I dream her,

more than two secret eyes

Clearly, Justin wants this woman actively in his life. To borrow from another song, he wants her to "Get Out of My Dreams, Get Into My Car." Here we encounter Riddle’s first enigmatic phrase. (More thantwo secret eyes.) My theory is that our precious JuJu, and I think we’re close enough that I can call him that, does not actually know this woman, but rather, is watching her from a distance, apparently without her knowledge. But it’s no longer enough!!

Bridge:

What is going on, (what is going on)

In her life? (in her life)

What is showing up, (what is showing up)

In her smile? (in her smile)

Again, here is the ever present male-female communication confusion. What is showing up in hersmile? Could be an allusion to the woman’s silent acknowledgement that she’s being watched. And she likes it. And as much as Moun10Mama picks on Justin, she'd like it, too.

(Chorus)

She, she breezes in, yes I can win

It seems I conquer all my soul

The first part is easy. Justin is attempting to come face to face with his mystery woman. Here we get to enigmatic phrase number two, It seems I conquer all my soul. Again, the odd construction is probably there to preserve the meter. Conquering all the soul could easily be a phrase meaning "summoning up my courage," "vanquishing all my fears," etc. Admittedly, I do not speak German, but this seems pretty plausible to me.

So I can reach her heart cause she’s

Too far from being touched

The halting way the song is sung serves to confuse the listener. But never fear faithful readers, I wrote it down. It makes much more sense on paper. This is where we have to wonder about the character of Justin’s lucky lady. What makes her too far from being touched? And I think that’s in the emotional sense. Has she been hurt? Is she very shy? We know it’s impossible that she’s out of His Royal Highness’s league. I suspect that she has had her heart broken, and is now too afraid to get close to a man. Thus, she remains an enigma, which, as we will see in the next verse only draws Justin in more.

(Bridge)

(Chorus)

I am only scared from wonder

Mystery woman has potential love interest/international superstar/renowned mama's boy both in awe and afraid of her. What a woman! Moving on. . . the moment we’ve all been waiting for!

From delirious I’m running

Ok, I have listened to this song literally hundreds of times, and I have yet to come up with a plausible translation/excuse/explanation for the travesty that is this line.

At first, we sensibly thought maybe he meant "from delirium I’m running," although he sings the word so clearly, that we knew all along we were just deluding ourselves. A check at the official site, and also our European album liner notes, confirms our suspicions. Yes, folks, Justin is indeed Running From Delirious.

This is a problem. You can’t run from delirious. It’s an adjective. As SailorVal once said, "That’s like saying you’re running from hot."

Clearly a lot got lost in the translation. But as a philosopher, I’m charging ahead. I’m going to do what many philosophers, archeologists, scientists, anthropologists, linguists, journalists, sociologists and professors have done in the past when confronted with a puzzle that apparently has no answer. I’m going to make something up, y'all. After consulting with SailorVal, we have determined (drum roll, please!) From delirious I’m running is the poorly translated expression of Justin’s breakdown upon his realization that his whole life is being taken over by his powerful fixation on the woman.

Tell me where’s this source of magic

This hide and seek makes me an addict

Justin’s final lament. He still hasn’t figured out what is at the root of his obsession and this leads to a vicious cycle of increasing attraction. But we have figured out the true meaning of Riddle. I doubt Mr. Timberlake himself could have given a better explanation.