I really enjoy some of Justin Bieber’s new music. His lyrics seem to be gaining more depth and meaning as he advances further into adulthood. Even though some of the lyrics in this song are kind of immature and “high schoolish” we can still find meaning and relate to the scenarios described in the lyrics well into adulthood and mature relationships.
One interesting thing I found out about this song is that it’s co-written by Ed Sheeran which perhaps explains the deeper meaning in the song as compared to some of his other work.
So let’s begin examining the lyrics for hidden and obvious meaning.
Verses
For all the times that you rain on my parade
And all the clubs you get in using my name
You think you broke my heart, oh girl for goodness sake
You think I’m crying on my own, well I ain’t
The odd line out in this part of the verse is “and all the clubs you get in using my name” the other three lines are aimed at how he was hurt, but this line is more or less aimed at taking a cheap shot at the other person with an attitude of, “The only reason you can get into the clubs is because of me.”
“Rain on parade” is referencing all the things she or the person in this song did to try to screw him over or stop him from having a good time. He’s basically saying you think you hurt me good but you didn’t, which is an obvious paradox because if he felt strong enough about it to say something then he was definitely hurt in some way.
And when you told me that you hated my friends
The only problem was with you and not them
And every time you told me my opinion was wrong
And tried to make me forget where I came from
Friends are good at detecting fake bitches and assholes. We all have friends that are always unsure or suspicious of the people we get into relationships with, some are just being paranoid and overprotective but a lot of the times they are spot on when they say, “I have a bad feeling about this guy/girl, be careful.”
So most likely she said she didn’t like his friends because his friends didn’t like her and now he’s saying that it turned out they were right about you, and that you were the problem.
This most likely sparked argument during the relationship where she would manipulate and belittle him.
For all the times that you made me feel small
I fell in love, now I feel nothin’ at all
And never felt so low when I was vulnerable
Was I a fool to let you break down my walls?
Further evidence he was belittled with the line “For all the times that you made me feel small”. Now he’s questioning falling in love and letting this person into his life, maybe thinking this was all a mistake.
Pre-Chorus/Chorus
And I didn’t wanna write a song
Cause I didn’t want anyone thinking I still care
I don’t but, you still hit my phone up
And baby I be movin’ on
And I think you should be somethin’
I don’t wanna hold back, maybe you should know that
The first two lines are more paradox, obviously he does care and he did enough to write a song about it.
We also learn that she still tries to contact him and that he is now saying in the song that he’s moving on, however, we all know that most relationships have a lot of post arguments or phone back and forths that linger on as everything is collapsing. It is quite feasible this song was written in response to an argument gone wrong or a final argument gone wrong via phone.
“I think you should be something” is confusing because he doesn’t really say what. Is he indicating that she should be his wife? The next line continues that he doesn’t want to hold back and that she should know that. Hold back from what?
He’s either saying that he wanted her to be something in his life and that he didn’t want to wait or hold back or he’s saying that she should go be something else and he doesn’t want to hold her back or be held back.
Because of the tone of this song I’m going to go with the second option and say that he wants her to go be something else to somebody else because he doesn’t want to be hold back or hold himself back from getting what he truly wants.
Although all of the hopeful Bieber fans probably wish for him and Selena to be together again as a power couple, so there’s always that line that could possibly indicate he wanted her to be more than she was.
My mama don’t like you and she likes everyone
And I never like to admit that I was wrong
And I’ve been so caught up in my job, didn’t see what’s going on
But now I know, I’m better sleeping on my own
Just like his friends in the above lines, his mama was also on to her. He probably defended her and their relationship to his mother and in the end he had to crawl back home to mommy and say he was wrong.
His excuse is that he was too busy. If you think of the type of industry he’s in and his popularity he probably spends a lot of time travelling on the road, and if this song is about Selena, she was probably always on the road too so I’m guessing their physical time together was limited which would allow their relationship / her to fall off the radar so he wasn’t giving its full attention to it.
Cause if you like the way you look that much
Oh, baby, you should go and love yourself
And if you think that I’m still holdin’ on to somethin’
You should go and love yourself
This next verse makes her sound conceited which maybe she was obsessed with how she looked not just physically speaking but she may have liked the way she looked and the popularity and spotlight she gained by being with him.
So in this part he’s basically saying, if you care about appearances that much, then you should go and just love yourself and leave him out of the picture because he’s not holding on to anything so shallow.
Conclusion
The song is completely paradoxical. We gain some insight about Justin and his relationship with possibly Selena, assuming that this song is about them. We learn that he was or is hurt by it and he’s trying to move on.
He’s shifting the blame and responsibility for their downfall to her or at least pointing out the parts of the relationship he didn’t like and making her seem very superficial only caring more about appearances than about him.
It’s a very catchy tune, quickly becoming one of my favorites for sure. I hope you enjoyed this philosophical analysis, if any of the parts mean something different to you please feel free to add a comment, I would love to hear your take on it. Philosophy isn’t about what the song “actually” means but rather what it “could” mean to each individual listener.
you should be something , I don’t wanna hold back. He thinks of her as something he shouldn’t be holding back.
It is about Selena
He is just giving her payback for everything she did that hurt him. She deserves some of the blame as well as he took it
It’s The first thing that came in my mind after reading this….
you should be something , I don’t wanna hold back. He thinks of her as something he shouldn’t be holding back.
love urself!! yeah i like this song. but i dont love.
love urself!! yeah i like this song. but i dont love.
Go and love yourself? Is he really telling her to go “F” herself?
that’s honestly how i interpret the song, and i guess that’s why i hate it so much, to me it just sounds really bitter
i thought so too..like if you like the way you look that much..go fuck yourself
That’s exactly what I think he meant every time I hear that song.
yep that is my take also. Nice line !
That is absolutely my take on the song. I love that so many people are singing this incredibly light and singable song without understanding. what they are singing.
No, I think he really meant it; in the sense where he thinks she should take care and love herself more, despite the vanity (narcissism) she has on herself.
Yeah. I sang my heart out and changed the lyrics of song to F yourself. The song became more understandable, and it made much more sense! well played bieber
Definitely I think this is an ironic and “nice” way of saying go f*ck yourself.
Ikr
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My thought too!
Go and love yourself? Is he really telling her to go “F” herself?
that’s honestly how i interpret the song, and i guess that’s why i hate it so much, to me it just sounds really bitter
i thought so too..like if you like the way you look that much..go fuck yourself
That’s exactly what I think he meant every time I hear that song.
yep that is my take also. Nice line !
That is absolutely my take on the song. I love that so many people are singing this incredibly light and singable song without understanding. what they are singing.
Yeah. I sang my heart out and changed the lyrics of song to F yourself. The song became more understandable, and it made much more sense! well played bieber
I agree with everything you said, but don’t you think it could be Jayde Pierce rather than S. Gomez?
I agree with everything you said, but don’t you think it could be Jayde Pierce rather than S. Gomez?
The meaning of this song is letting go of the girl who seems to annoy him instead of making him feel loved. That’s it!
The meaning of this song is letting go of the girl who seems to annoy him instead of making him feel loved. That’s it!
Just think about the part where he says, “you should go and love yourself.” He’s basically saying, “you should go and f… yourself”
thiz izzz amazzzzing i lobe your analysisisisissssssss
thiz izzz amazzzzing i lobe your analysisisisissssssss
I think everyone has “that” person in their life….for me, it’s my father. He has a superiority complex (if you like the way you look that much) and my distraction was trying to make him happy…our “using my name” was when he used my college graduation as an excuse to wear his PhD sash or whatever it’s called.
Wouldn’t he more be ‘raining on your parade’ if he wore a PhD to your college graduation?
I think everyone has “that” person in their life….for me, it’s my father. He has a superiority complex (if you like the way you look that much) and my distraction was trying to make him happy…our “using my name” was when he used my college graduation as an excuse to wear his PhD sash or whatever it’s called.
Wouldn’t he more be ‘raining on your parade’ if he wore a PhD to your college graduation?
This was a spot on analysis. Good tune tho’.
This was a spot on analysis. Good tune tho’.
Can you please tell me What’s the meaning of “I’m better sleeping my own” from the lyrics Love Yourself.
It basically means, he’s better off without her than having a relationship with her as he finds that she is damaging or not suitable partner material for him.
He can sleep better on his own and not be reminded of her
Accordin to d philosophy point which he says hold on to wat to me i think he his tryin to make d girl understand that without her can not live so he is now tellin d without her he live and with time he b well ok
Accordin to d philosophy point which he says hold on to wat to me i think he his tryin to make d girl understand that without her can not live so he is now tellin d without her he live and with time he b well ok
I think that “You should go and love yourself” is a play on words in its tonality of the song. The tone of the song is very thoughtful and sad, it does not have a bitter quality, more of a defeated quality. The “go & love yourself” could be go and F**K yourself and at the same time be a recognition that the girl suffers from a horrible self esteem problem. He is angry for her behavior, but sad for her as well. The tone makes me feel like he honestly does wish that she did love herself and could be happy instead of chronically dissatisfied.
I think that “You should go and love yourself” is a play on words in its tonality of the song. The tone of the song is very thoughtful and sad, it does not have a bitter quality, more of a defeated quality. The “go & love yourself” could be go and F**K yourself and at the same time be a recognition that the girl suffers from a horrible self esteem problem. He is angry for her behavior, but sad for her as well. The tone makes me feel like he honestly does wish that she did love herself and could be happy instead of chronically dissatisfied.
you should go and love yourself. My prediction is that the girl is being rude and he is just saying what is on his mind
you should go and love yourself. My prediction is that the girl is being rude and he is just saying what is on his mind
He is probably sick of her bossing him around and saying that he should love her but he is probably in love already and if the girl can’t find a new guy to love her, she should just give up and go love herself and maybe get some help with boosting her self esteem
He is probably sick of her bossing him around and saying that he should love her but he is probably in love already and if the girl can’t find a new guy to love her, she should just give up and go love herself and maybe get some help with boosting her self esteem
I love this song. I think it’s the best ex song ever. Look Justin wrote this for 2 reasons. Nr 1: he wants to set the record straight with the public because he was made out the bad guy in all previous relationships. 2. The aftermath of this relationship hurt him more than the actual relationship, so he’s mouthing his hurt. Brilliant work Justin. No bitterness just plain I don’t give a shit attitude.
I love this song. I think it’s the best ex song ever. Look Justin wrote this for 2 reasons. Nr 1: he wants to set the record straight with the public because he was made out the bad guy in all previous relationships. 2. The aftermath of this relationship hurt him more than the actual relationship, so he’s mouthing his hurt. Brilliant work Justin. No bitterness just plain I don’t give a shit attitude.
Not much of a biebs fan but I do like this song😂😇😍😲
I love this song… justein nicely kept paradox to justify his relationship status..
I think the song is about the fact that if someone has more love to their inner world they are more secure in a relationship, kind/giving and less worried about the superficial things0. Working on that myself.
I like this song because if i am in an angry mood or an understanding mood i can say the same words and still mean them – both times i want the person to reach a happy end. 😛
nice tune ❤
I love this song because it’s really things that Justin you have talk about
Go and love yourself😁😁😁😁
It’s not about any of Bieber’s ex- girlfriend, because Ed Sheeran wrote it! It’s a typical little Ed tune and the lyrics are much too clever for Justin B!
It’s not about any of Bieber’s ex- girlfriends, because Ed Sheeran wrote it! It’s a typical little Ed tune and the lyrics are much too clever for Justin B!
Hey does any 1 remember when selena sang ‘break down the walls’ in love will remember??am I the only 1 who thinks it’s not coincidence??
Nice song
so in love with it <3
I have to just say this for all those guys out there. Always listen to your mother she does know best. She can pick them out like no other. This just became my son and my self song for each other. He promises never to pick ho over bro. I thought I lost him for good to a very bad woman.