Ok so today saw the un-packaging of Rihanna's brand new video 'What Now' pulled from the singer's #1 album Unapologetic. Now the video saw a vulnerable Rihanna fighting her inner demons and as a result some people were taken aback as to what she's trying to say in the video.
Meet me after the break as I walk you through the video/lyrics...
Here's my break down of the song.
Verse 1
"I've been ignoring this big lump in my throat" ..suggests that she's feeling choked up from avoiding crying.
"I shouldn't be crying, tears were for the weaker days I'm stronger, now what, so I say but something's missing".. Here she's saying that there was a time where she felt vulnerable and naive of the falling out between her and her lover but her thought wasn’t as clear back then. Now she is at that stage where she knows what to do with her love life. Instead of letting people or the media scrutinize her love life. And that she felt weak and doesn't feel like herself...she is what is missing.
Pre-Chorus
"Whatever it is, it feels like It's laughing at me through the glass of a two-sided mirror. Whatever it is, it's just laughing at me and I just wanna scream." -Here she's saying that all her anxieties, regrets, and her anonymous haters are trying to put her down, and they can all see each other, except she can’t put her exact finger on what is. It’s making her frustrated.
Chorus
"What now?" -She's asking what's the next bad thing that's gonna happen, she doesn't know what to do with herself after a failed relationship.
"I just can't figure it out" suggests she can’t figure out what to do with herself now that she is apart from him and now that the relationship has ended. Could also be seen as she doesn’t know how to deal, or even understand, the emotions that she’s feeling right now.
"What now? I guess I'll just wait it out...What now? What now?" -Basically she's saying only time will tell
Verse 2
"I found the one, he changed my life but was it me that changed and he just happened to come at the right time I'm supposed to be in love but I'm numb again" - She's saying here that she found a man that she thought changed her life, but now she’s realizing maybe it was her that changed and he just happened to come at a good time. She feel’s like, this too isn’t right for her.
Pre- Chorus
Chorus
Bridge
"There's no one to call cause I'm just playing games with them all" -she could be saying here that she has no one to vent her fears to, because she hasn’t been open to any of them. She also played her lovers.
"The more I swear I'm happy, the more that I'm feeling alone" - this could mean that the more that she loves people, the more opportunities she gets to be hurt again. We know Rihanna is a self proclaim bad gal and she's always partying and having fun but she still feels empty especially because she has no one she can express her feelings to.
"Cause I spent every hour just going through the motions I can't even get the emotions to come out. Dry as a bone, but I just wanna shout" - this means she's going through all the pain, but she can’t even express it. The metaphor "dry as a bone" suggests that she is wearing a poker face because she doesn't feel comfortable expressing her emotions, but on the inside she is screaming. It could be talking about watching her ex and his girlfriend and pretending to be ok with it; still not comfortable with facing the fact that she's still in love with him.
Chorus
Outro (3x)
"I don't know where to go, I don't know what to feel, I don't know how to cry, I don't know ow ow why" -She's sad and alone and is lost in the world.
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This is a very deep ballad hence the accompanying visual, Rihanna is very artistic and always tries to depict her emotions in her music videos. A very good one!
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