Really a Love Song?

"Love Song" by Sara Bareilles

Lyrics:

Head under water

And they tell me to breathe easy for a while

The breathing gets harder, even I know that

You made room for me, but it's too soon to see

If I'm happy in your hands

I'm unusually hard to hold on to

Blank stares at blank pages

No easy way to say this

You mean well, but you make this hard on me

I'm not gonna write you a love song

'Cause you asked for it

'Cause you need one, you see

I'm not gonna write you a love song

'Cause you tell me it's make or breaking this

If you're on your way

I'm not gonna write you to stay

If all you have is leaving

I'mma need a better reason to write you a love song today

Today

I learned the hard way

That they all say things you want to hear

My heavy heart sinks deep down under you

And your twisted words, your help just hurts

You are not what I thought you were

Hello to high and dry

Convinced me to please you

Made me think that I need this too

I'm trying to let you hear me as I am

I'm not gonna write you a love song

'Cause you asked for it

'Cause you need one, you see

I'm not gonna write you a love song

'Cause you tell me it's make or breaking this

If you're on your way,

I'm not gonna write you to stay

If all you have is leaving

I'mma need a better reason to write you a love song today

Promise me you'll leave the light on

To help me see with daylight, my guide, gone

'Cause I believe there's a way you can love me because I say

I won't write you a love song

'Cause you asked for it

'Cause you need one, you see

I'm not gonna write you a love song

'Cause you tell me it's make or breaking this

Is that why you wanted a love song

'Cause you asked for it?

'Cause you need one, you see

I'm not gonna write you a love song

'Cause you tell me it's make or breaking this

If you're on your way

I'm not gonna write you to stay

If your heart is nowhere in it

I don't want it for a minute

Babe, I'll walk the seven seas when I believe that there's a reason to

Write you a love song today

Today

Lyrical analysis:

"Love Song" was written by the singer Sara Bareilles. I picked this song because whenever I have heard it, I felt nothing but confusion. She writes in such a contradicting terms. Throughout the song, the writer has no poetic rhyme scheme.

The writer breaks up the verses in very short amounts. However, the chorus is much longer, but repetitive to give emphasis on the point she is trying to get across to us. There is also use of slang such as "gonna" and "I'mma." I don't really see any major significance of why she writes with these, but then I remembered it is a song, and that's probably why. To help shorten and speed up her long sentences in the chorus, she also uses many contractions.

The lyrics of the song "Love Song" show irony throughout. The most visible form of irony is that she writes, "I'm not going to write you a love song," when clearly the song is entitled "Love Song." Another form of irony is in the first verse "Head under water, And they tell me to breathe easy for awhile."

In the second verse, she writes "You made room for me, but it's too soon to see, If I'm happy in your hands." I believe this is an example of a metonymy because the "in your hands" is a figure of speech for being dependent on that person. Also figuratively speaking, she writes that she is "unusually hard to hold onto."

She writes everything with so much imagery, that we can really understand the message she is trying to convey. For example, in the verse where she writes " My heavy heart sinks deep down under you, And your twisted words, your help just hurts, You are not what I thought you were" We can't help but see and understand the images of her "heavy heart sinking" and the personification of his "twisted words."

Then we see that the writer delves into the repetitive chorus of "I'm not gonna write you a love song." Here is the line that makes everyone want to scream because it is a love song! She is making such a dramatic ordeal about how she is NOT going to write him a love song unless he follows all these certain conditions. "Babe, I'll walk the seven seas when I believe that there's a reason to Write you a love song today." Well I guess we are to assume that she walked the seven seas because she wrote a love song.

So after this analysis, are you lead to believe it is actually a love song?

When writing, I believe sometimes adding irony and confusion will attract readers to want to know what the real message is that the writer is trying to convey.

To view this song, click on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi7Yh16dA0w

-Amanda Bonbrisco