Songs About Vulnerability
A person’s emotions are indicative of their inherent temperament. Vulnerability, however, is a state of being fraught with danger for the musician.
It refers to the condition or state of being in jeopardy of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally, and could entail being exposed to the threat of being attacked or damaged.
When an artist shares a potentially damaging truth about themselves in their song, they are displaying emotional vulnerability. If you want to take an unorthodox view, you could consider it an investment.
Those who write songs with an emphasis on being vulnerable are willing to take chances in the pursuit of making music that touches listeners deeply.
5 Songs About Vulnerability
1. I Need You by America
First on our list of songs about vulnerability is this soothing tune which accurately depicts the despair one feels after a breakup. It’s a terrible journey to go through the sorrow of remembering all the wonderful times you spent with the individual only to find out that they’re no longer there.
Despite the anguish he feels, the addressee knows he must accept his fate and move on. As he moves on, though, “and mak(ing) the best of what (they) left to (him),” the final line of the first verse, amps up the grief to an entirely new level.
From my own experience, I can say that every relationship and breakup alters a person, and occasionally an ex-partner may steal everything good about you and leave you feeling like you have to start all over again.
We have a heartfelt chorus on our hands, as it makes references to the fact that everything in nature depends on one another, just as the speaker depends on the listener. Despite her pleas, the words “think I’ll start it all over” best capture his need to make the most of his current situation.
2. Vulnerable by Selena Gomez
Seen in this light, the recipient of “Vulnerable” would make sense to be a potential new lover with whom Selena Gomez is going to grow very close. Therefore, she is probing for information on his dedication. She doubts if he can accept both the good and the terrible sides of her. And it looks that the young woman has experienced the disappointment of falling in love before, which accounts for her distrust.
But this doesn’t mean that the prospect of falling in love again has her quaking in her boots. Instead, she accepts the fact that she is emotionally “vulnerable” and has no plans to change.
It appears that she is aware that exposing herself completely to another person will increase the likelihood of her heart being crushed. But that won’t stop her from loving the right guy without reservation.
But first, she must be certain that this person genuinely cares about what’s best for her and that he can once again withstand all the pleasure and pain she has to offer.
3. Every time Britney Spears
If we get down to brass tacks, the reason Britney’s “Every time” has remained relevant in the minds of fans throughout the years isn’t necessarily owing to its success.
Even though this song became a classic, Britney has had many bigger hits. Rather, it’s because it’s a song that people feel, and the consensus is that it’s directed at Spears’ ex-boyfriend and fellow pop star Justin Timberlake.
Whether or not one agrees with this interpretation, it is difficult to deny that the singer is talking to an ex-lover in this song. The first two-thirds of the song is devoted to the singer’s anguish over missing their lover, and it reads like any other ballad about a lonely individual. Said another way, the singer pines for her boyfriend.
However, after the bridge is in place, an intriguing truth becomes apparent. That’s because it’s in this section that the singer practically admits she’s to blame for the breakup of her relationship with the recipient.
However, Spears has never confirmed that the song is about Timberlake, and it has been nearly 15 years since its release. Annet Artani, who works with her, has, nonetheless. That Justin was “exposing some facts” about Britney that “maybe she didn’t want out there,” as she puts it, is how she explains the whole thing. Perhaps this is reflected in the lyrics of the songs he released after they broke up.
If this is a song that Britney is singing to Timberlake, then it can be interpreted as her taking responsibility for the couple’s rocky breakup. It’s safe to presume that she wants him to accept her apology and go on with his life, in addition to begging for his forgiveness and letting him know that she does miss him.
4. Without You by The Kid Laroi
The Kid Laroi has stated that the song “Without You” was influenced by “a girl or two or three” with whom he has had sexual experiences in the past.
The lyrics can be a little confusing in places, but that’s probably because they’re based on more than one love story.
The Kid would have been 16 years old when he wrote it, thus he may have used slang common to his generation. Whatever the case may be, we will do our best to unravel the story at hand.
Laroi’s anger that his girlfriend ‘up and left him’ is expressed in the song’s lone verse. That is to say, she upped and left town one day without much warning.
And while he is initially taken aback and unsure of the cause(s), he appears to have concluded that it has to do with a recent spate of spazzing on his part. The relationship seems to have hit an impasse presently, with no hope of reconciliation.
Taking the first few lines of the pre-chorus into account, it becomes clear that the events leading up to that point likely involved his girlfriend sleeping with someone besides him.
Though it has made him angry, he regrets his actions that led to the break in the relationship.
Finally, Laroi declares, “I’m terrified to be alone,” seemingly out of nowhere, as the pre-chorus fades off. This may be an example of the song’s ambivalent tone, which has been noted by several critics.
The singer, in other words, is extremely sensitive in some verses and rather insensitive in others. Or, it may be taken as a metaphor for the depth of his despair at having to confront his greatest fear.
And the chorus reveals that this is the track’s main message all along. Or, in regards to his aforementioned anxiety over being alone, the thought of being “without” his lady, i.e. the woman he loves, only makes things worse.
Honestly, I feel a great deal of agony just thinking about “what life may potentially be like without” her presence. To put it bluntly, he no longer regrets that they ever split up.
5. I’ll Never Love Again by Lady Gaga
Last on our list of songs about vulnerability is Lady Gaga’s “I’ll Never Love Again”.The theme of the song is a broken heart over a lost love. The film A Star Is Born in 2018 features this song as the film’s last musical sequence.
Additionally, Bradley Cooper (who plays Lady Gaga’s husband in the film) sings “I’ll Never Love Again” with Gagaloo in the song’s “Film Version,” which focuses on her character’s grief after her husband’s demise.
This leads to the song’s opening, in which Gaga expresses regret at having missed the chance to say “goodbye” to her lover before he left. In the second stanza, she describes how much of an impact he has had on her life, saying that before he came along, she “never dreamed (she) would fall” so deeply in love with another person. She is now in the unfortunate position of having to face the world without her true love.
It’s pretty clear from the chorus that she doesn’t want to spend time with any other men. To put it succinctly, Gaga not only believes she will “never love again,” but she also has no desire to.
This is a melancholy song about a woman who has lost her partner suddenly and cannot bear to think of a future without him.
