Overlapping Word Use

One of the best methods to historically analyze emotional expression in language is to examine terms that are repeated. Some specific terms that are used widely across songs provide an insight into a common emotional experience.

Love makes you a “fool”

The word “fool” is not a popular term in modern vernacular. However, the term has become a lyrical archetype for the effect that love can have on people: love for another person makes you think irrationally and make imprudent decisions. The word “fool” carries strong weight: one can say that they their actions were stupid or crazy, but characterizing onself as a fool makes their poor decisions a part of their identity. 

In “I’m Sorry,” Brenda Lee sings, “I’m sorry, so sorry that I was such a fool.” In “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” the Four Seasons sing “Baby I’m a fool.” In “Maggie May,” Rod Stewart sings to his lover, “You made a first-class fool out of me.” In “Foolish Games,” Jewel sings “These foolish games are tearing me apart and your thoughtless words are breaking my heart.” Ashanti sings “so sad, so sad what love will make you do” in a song she decided to title “Foolish.” In “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey sings, “I was foolish, I was lying to myself.” 

The presence of this term proves that foolishness has been an inherent part of the emotional response to breakups within the time frame I analyzed. Whether they are blaming themselves for treating a lover poorly or staying in a relationship they no longer enjoy, the constant use of the word “fool” communicates that a breakup usually involves someone feeling guilty and remorseful.

Love makes you “blind”

In music, seeing clearly or seeing in 20/20 equates perfect vision to perfect understanding, while blindness is used as a metaphor for clouded judgement. In “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” The Platters sing that “They said some day you’ll find all who love are blind.” In “I’m Sorry,” Brenda Lee confesses “But love is blind and I was too blind to see.” In “Maggie May,” Rod Stewart sings “But I’m as blind as a fool can be.” Finally, in “Love Takes Time,” Mariah Carey sings that she “couldn’t see that I was blind to let you go.” The recurrence of this term across many decades shows that another inherent part of the expression of heartbreak in this time frame is feeling as though a relationship distorted the person’s ability to make the right decision. This metaphor that “love is blind” is a proof of another cliché that “hindsight is 20/20,” or that people are not able to analyze a situation objectively until they are removed it. 

“Belonging”

Claiming possession of another person through the term “belong” can have a problematic connotation. In “Every Breath You Take,” in which Sting sings that he will always be watching his lost lover, he sings “can’t you see, you belong to me.” He is basically claiming ownership over this woman. The use of this word actually refers to mutual belonging in other cases, though. Boyz II Men sing in “End of the Road” “you belong to me, I belong to you,” which expresses that the two people have given themselves to each other, metaphorically. That song also uses the phrase “we belong together” and Mariah Carey’s song is titled “We Belong Together,” and this expression does not denote that one person has ownership over the other but rather that the two people are destined to be together. The change of the use of the word “belong” is in sync with an evolving perception of women in the United States, where our mainstream culture deems it politically incorrect for a man to treat a woman as his object. It is more acceptable today to say “you belong with me” than “you belong to me.”

Death

Finally, death is a common way to express a feeling of most extreme pain. In “Cathy’s Clown,” the Everly Brothers sing “I die each time I hear this sound.” In “Nobody Compares 2 U,” Sinead O’Connor sings that “All the flowers that you planted, mama, in the backyard, all died when you went away” In “End of the Road,” Boyz II Men sing, “pain in my head, oh, I’d rather be dead.” Finally, in “Nobody Knows,” Tony Rich sings “I’m dying inside and nobody knows it but me.” Death is the ultimate ending to human life, and it incorporates themes of sadness, grief, darkness, and nothingness. For this reason, it is no surprise that death is a common theme across decades of music. These songs express that losing a lover is emotionally comparable to the lover actually dying or themselves actually dying. 

The Question Mark

The following are questions asked in the songs:

“Don’t you think it’s kind of sad, that you’re treating me so bad? Or don’t you even care?” (“Cathy’s Clown,” The Everly Brothers)

“Do you plan to let me go for the other guy you loved before?” (“Heard it Through the Grapevine,” Marvin Gaye)

“Why did He [God] desert me in my hour of need?” (“Alone Again (Naturally)” Gilbert O’Sullivan)

“I’ll bet you think this song is about you, don’t you?” (“You’re So Vain,” Carly Simon)

“Did you think I’d crumble? Did you think I’d lay down and die?” (“I Will Survive,” Gloria Gaynor)

“Was what I did so wrong, so wrong that you had to leave me alone?” (“Careless Whisper,” WHAM!)

“You just don’t understand how much I love you do you?” (“End of the Road,” Boyz II Men)

“How could a person like me care for you?” (“The Sign,” Ace of Base)

“What I gotta do now to get my shorty back?” (“Burn,” Usher)

“Who else am I gonna lean on when times get rough? Who’s gonna talk to me on the phone ’til the sun comes up? Who’s gonna take your place?” (“We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey)

“Can you call me back?” (“Need You Now,” Lady Antebellum)

“Just gonna stand there and hear me cry?” (“Love the Way You Lie,” Eminem and Rihanna)

Obviously, asking questions is a common device used in songs, but the common thread in these examples is that the singer has unanswered questions they want to ask their former lover, which solidifies the assumption that when two people end a relationship, one of the most constant emotions is confusion.