"Hurt" by Rhema Marvanne

"Hurt" by Rhema Marvanne

Written by Christina Aguilera, Linda Perry, and Mark Ronson

Originally released September 19, 2006

 

 

"Hurt" is a poem/song about losing a loved one. I chose this song because I can relate to the lyrics.  Losing my mother a few years ago to cancer created a lot of grief in my life.  This song is extremely sad yet sums up the emotions involved when a loved one departs.  The emotions range from shock, denial, anger, resentment, despair, and grief.  We sometimes question our actions or what could have been done different in the situation or in life itself. 

The song evokes extremely powerful emotions from the listener through the tone which is sad.  It begin with a verse that states,

"Seems like it was yesterday when I saw your face, you told me how proud you were, but I walked away, if only I knew what I know today."

The songwriter experiences irony after the loss of a loved one.  It portrays that if we knew how things would end, we may cherish our encounters as we experience them.  Grief is the emotion or main theme for the song as the songwriter struggles to deal with the loss.

"Some days I feel broke inside but I wont admit, Sometimes I just want to hide 'cause it's you I miss, And it's so hard to say goodbye when it comes to this." 

People often blame themselves for the loss of a loved one.  The conflict depicted in the song is the struggle between the songwriter and the unknowns that are left behind when someone passes away.

"Would you tell me I was wrong? Would you help me understand? Are you looking down upon me? Are you proud of who I am? There's nothing I wouldn't do to have just one more chance, to look into your eyes and see you looking back."  

Throughout the song, the writer states, "I'm sorry for blaming you." There is never a mention what the blame was for.  I feel the songwriter is asking the above questions to validate her experiences with grief.   As stated in the article, "It is human nature in cases of sudden death to attempt to lay blame. It may even be a way of expressing guilt, even if unfounded; blame others for the death to assuage your own feelings of guilt. It can help you to regain control and make sense of an otherwise senseless tragedy (http://www.recover-from-grief.com/grief-and-trauma.html.) 

 
Guilt is experienced differently by each individual through every culture.  Many people can relate to the feelings evoked by the song.  The title of the song "Hurt" summarizes the raw emotion that grief transmits.  It is extremely fitting to the lyrical content.