Song Analysis 2 "What Hurts the Most"

                A very common theme in popular music is one sided love. Many songs are based off personal experiences, and sometimes we hear about people who are in relationships that don’t work out. Often significant don’t try as much in a relationship and they “throw it all away”. One song that does an excellent job at depicting this is Cascada’s “What Hurts the Most”. She talks about how she was in a relationship that failed because her partner walked away from it and she wanted to make it work. In the song “What Hurts the Most”, Cascada uses apostrophe, narrative, and vivid imagery to express the heartbreak she is experiencing because of a failed relationship.

                Cascada uses a lot of apostrophe in this song to address her former lover personally and this makes the song’s meaning more obvious. “And watching you walk away/ never knowing, what could have been/ and not seeing that loving you/ is what I was trying to do” this states that she tried to give him all of her love and he basically just walked away from her. She also mentions that she will never know what could have been, which implies that they had a lot of potential as a couple but it was all ruined and now they are devoid of a future life together. “It’s hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go”. This quote states that she is haunted by her heartbreak and it affects every part of her life and everything that she does.

                Another poetic device that is used is imagery. “I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house” this line gives vivid imagery and also sets the tone for the song. Rain and empty house really stand out for the purpose of expressing her loneliness through imagery.  “Watching you walk away” also stands out because again the tone of the song is expressed because you can see or imagine how hard it must be to watch someone who you love walk away from you and just give up. “It’s hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I’m alone” this quote is my favorite because in my head I can really conclude that this really does affect her happiness.

                Another poetic device in this song is narrative. Throughout the song she is telling us the story of what happened to her. By telling us the story from her original point of view and this fully expresses her tone and her feelings. She repeats that she would say the things she held in her heart, and if she could have another chance she would fully express what she felt. When Cascada uses narrative she also characterizes herself and her ex-boyfriend. This adds a lot of meaning and makes us sympathize with her side of the story.

                In conclusion, Cascada expressed angered and at the same time heartbreak toward her former lover. The uses of apostrophe, narrative, and imagery create a deeper meaning and sadder tone to the song. Cascada overall does a good job at saying what she is feeling. Also she creates a sense of sorrow and loneliness through the use of imagery. On the surface this song seems plain and simple but when you look at the song, “What Hurts the Most” has a much deeper meaning and hidden messages.