For my last passion post I decided to talk about the song by Kanye West and Rihanna, “FourFive Seconds”. This song was this year and features Paul McCartney.

 

I think I’ve had enough

I might get a little drunk

I say what’s on my mind

I might do a little time

‘Cause all of my kindness

Is taken for weakness

 

The first lyrics, create a mental image for the listener, as we imagine a girl, maybe sitting at a bar, talking into her drink. She has had a really bad day, and is starting to drink. From the line “ All of my kindness is taken for weakness”, we can infer she is normally a “pushover” who people take advantage of, and she gets used, more often then she’d like to admit.

 

[Hook – Rihanna:]

Now I’m Four Five Seconds from wildin’

And we got three more days ’til Friday

I’m just tryna make it back home by Monday mornin’

I swear I wish somebody would tell me

Ooh, that’s all I want

 

Our female character, continues to drink, as she is trying to escape from the stress of the work week. She is living for the weekend when she can get away from all the daily trials and tribulations, yet this week has been so bad she has had to start drinking on Wednesday night. As our character opens up we hear her admit that all she really wants is for someone to look at her and say “that’s all I want”. This tells us as the audience that she is really lonely and looking for someone who wants her for her.

 

[Verse 2 – Kanye West:]

Woke up an optimist

Sun was shinin’, I’m positive

Then I heard you was talkin’ trash

Hold me back, I’m ’bout to spaz

 

In this part of the song we have a male character who is dealing with very similar issues as the girl. His line “woke up an optimist” gives us a clear idea that he was once happy –go- lucky. The character was a very positive person, yet he was hurt by the person he cares about the most and now he can’t be that way anymore. This character is also looking for an escape away from the hurt from his significant other.

 

[Bridge – Rihanna:]

And I know that you’re up tonight

Thinkin’, “How could I be so selfish?”

But you called ’bout a thousand times

Wondering where I’ve been

Now I know that you’re up tonight

Thinkin’, “How could I be so reckless?”

But I just can’t apologize

I hope you can understand

 

The song goes back to the girl, as she goes more indepth with her significant other, as he calls her “thousands of times” and asks where she is. He berates her for her behavior but what he is really mad about is that he is not controlling her life. She, in her drunken state, has realized how bad he is for her and wont apologize for what she has to do to be happy.

 

[Verse 3 – Kanye West:]

If I go to jail tonight

Promise you’ll pay my bail

See they want to buy my pride

But that just ain’t up for sale

 

The last line of the song before the chorus starts, is by the male character saying he needs to let loose, yet he wants to know that in the morning when he has to deal with the effects of his actions, his significant other will still be there. He discusses that he feels like he is fighting some profound battle against society, which is trying to break him and “take his pride”.

 

On the surface this song might seem like a bunch of drunk phone calls and drunken thoughts, yet it gives us insight into the characters’ minds. Which is something most people can relate to, being used, being treated poorly, feeling as though the world might be against you. At some point in our lives we will all have a day when we just need the weekend to come.

 

Song

 

Lyrics