On today’s blog post I will be looking at Billie Eilish’s song “IDONTWANNABEYOUANYMORE” from her EP album dont smile at me. To analyze this song, I will be using the Close Text analysis to only really look at the chorus of the song. Close Text is “analysis or scrutiny of the text, looking at what you read in detail rather than superficially.” (English Lecture, 2018). This is basically a way to analyze like how I am doing a song, you do this to really get into those couple of lines of the song to get a deeper understanding of what this artist is trying to get across to the audience that is listening to a specific part. Another way to look at Close Text is looking at the “artistry by probing the discourse microscopically-at the level of the sentence, phrase, word, and syllable.” (Lucas, 2017)

This song was released in 2017 written by Billie Eilish herself and was produced with the help of her brother Finneas, and the song as a whole is about Billie Eilish’s insecurities that she struggled with (Genius, n.d.). When analyzing this song I will be looking at specifically the chorus of it. I think that these lyric choices Eilish makes in the chorus is what makes the song so powerful. It is only 8 lines, but these 8 lines really convey to the listener how she is struggling with herself and how she feels as a person. 

The chorus goes: 

“If teardrops could be bottled

There’d be swimming pools filled by models

Told “a tight dress is what makes you a whore”

If “I love you” was a promise

Would you break it, if you’re honest?

Tell the mirror what you know she’s heard before

I don’t wanna be you…

Anymore”

The first and second lines “If teardrops could be bottled, there’d be swimming pools filled by models”. She says that she thinks that models are the saddest people in the world, and it is sad because models are the people that everyone looks up, because they are people’s role models and standards. 

The third line “Told “a tight dress is what makes you a whore” she is simply saying that how in today’s society that when women wear tight dresses and go out into public like that people right away just assume that you are a whore or even promiscuous. And that this being said so much can lead women to feel extremely insecure about themselves.

On the fourth through fifth line “ If “I love you” was a promise, Would you break it, if you’re honest?” she is simply talking about how she becomes so insecure as a person that she is questioning the person telling her that they love her, if they really do honestly love her, because deep-down she feels like she isn’t good enough for anyone so how could someone really truly love her. 

In the sixth- eighth lines “Tell the mirror what you know she’s heard before, I don’t wanna be you…, Anymore” here she is talking directly to herself. In the actual music video when singing this exact part, she is looking in the mirror and pointing at herself saying she doesn’t want to be herself anymore.

In an interview she did with Genius when referring to this 3 lines she said “You are always you, that’s terrifying, and that line is my favorite line I’ve ever written in my life.”(Genius, n.d.). In this same interview which was done in 2017 she really talks about how she is very insecure about herself and how she really hates herself. She also says “Even though I have a great life with many wonderful things in it, I have still dealt with depression. ‘idontwannabeyouanymore’ is about times I’ve felt this way. The real truth is that depression can happen to anyone no matter who you are or what you have and there is NO SHAME to admitting that you feel this way. It’s a very real thing and should never be ignored or labeled ‘a choice.” (Genius, n.d.).

I think that this song and specially the chorus I went over with careful detail really embodies this quote very well. The chorus shows how she is so insecure with herself and how it affects her day to day relationship with not only other people but especially with herself. I think this really ties in with a lot of Billie Eilish’s music, specifically everything written up to her debut album WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO?, because her songs are always about how she is either heart broken or unhappy with herself and this song shows how her insecurities make it hard for her to let someone in to her life and properly love her. 

References 

English Lecture. (2018). What is ‘Textual Analysis’ or ‘Close Reading’?

Genius. (n.d.). Billie Eilish Breaks Down “idontwannabeyouanymore” On Genius’ Series ‘Verified’. Retrieved from Genius: https://genius.com/videos/Billie-eilish-breaks-down-idontwannabeyouanymore

Lucas, S. E. (2017). The Stylistic Artistry of the Declaration of Independence. In C. R. Burgchardt, & H. A. Jones, Readings in Rhetorical Criticism (p. 127). Pennsylvania: Strata Publishing Inc.