Analysis Of Lyrics

 Lyrical Analysis

‘Tell me you’re sorry’ is single sung and performed by Sandhya Acharya, an upcoming R&B artist. The song reflects the view that the ‘love’ is fading away thus the relationship is not what it seemed to be.

The opening verse in the song instantly reassures it is a love song and this can be seen through the song laid out in a form of a love letter. ‘Dear you, you really messed it up this time’ connotes the singer is talking about a relationship with a male and this can adhere R&B stereotypes as these videos are usually focused on male and female relationships. The repetition of ‘you’ emphasises who the song is aimed at. Already from the first few lines of the verse, many audience members can relate to the words of the lyrics due to personal experiences. ‘Mate you’re not worth the wait’ suggests that she was waiting for the right guy to come into her life and when he did she realised he was not the right one for her. ‘I won’t forgive or forget’ shows that the audience is gradually developing an understanding of the male protagonist was unfaithful towards her. This can show conventional stereotypes of R&B videos which are usually based around this topic. Furthermore, the artist can show a typical view of how women deal with men in a relationship. For example, ‘Here I go explaining to you, what you’ve done why it was wrong’ can highlight that she has perhaps done this more than once and it reinforces stereotypes of men that they’re always in the ‘wrong’.

The chorus makes the reader reinforce the meaning of the song as it is a part that is memorable. The beginning line of the chorus: ‘I don’t care, what you say’ implies that she actually does care and this is shown through the alternate tonal shifts, her emotions are conflicting. The thought of love is one that leaves you unsure and confused towards your emotions. There is also emotive language used in ‘you’re under my skin and I swear I will never let you back in’ which can show she still has a sense of passion for him but it is not enough for him to accept. The lyrics also show that the artist believes that in many relationships it is usually the male character that is in the wrong.  The male character and her feelings towards him have left her physically and mentally insecure. This is shown in ‘You don’t deserve me you’re not worth this I won’t make amends’. The representation of Sandhya we see in this chorus reflects the stereotypical representation of relationships in R&B music videos. It can also be argued that she maybe actually wants to be with him. This is shown in the repetition of the line ‘Tell me you’re sorry write me you’re sorry’ which makes the audience remember this part of the song. The emphasis of the word ‘sorry’ indicates that an apology, just being a simple word can change everything in a relationship. In a form, this doesn’t only relate to love relationships between a male and female but in fact relates to a wider audience.

In the next verse, is the artist signifying herself through the line ‘I see you writing on the envelope dear me it reads’ which can show she is not going to open her feelings but it signifies her body as the letter signifies her emotions inside. We also hear from Sandhya in this verse that she is physically broken through the emotive language: ‘You’ve broken me’.  In the middle 8, there is a conventional representation shown of female artists where they want to ‘Plan my revenge but you aint worth my time’. This indicates two different meanings. Firstly it can convey that she is moving on however it can also show she is scared to face him. She says ‘Burning the pictures all of the letters’ which is a personification of herself that connotes she is getting rid of physical memories in order to disguise her emotions. To conclude, the lyrics of the song give a representation of stereotypical teenage girls’ emotions when it comes to dealing with the hardship of a relationship.