Bailey Lamb

Prof. Stalbird

English 1201

February 9, 2020

I Cry

“Cry (Just a Little)” by Bingo Players and “I Cry” by Flo Rida use the same sets of

lyrics and the same exact song to convey different, yet similar, messages about being

overwhelmed and wanting to cry. In the original version of the song, a girl is stressed

about work and not getting time to spend with her friends, while in the newer version a

man is talking about his overwhelming childhood. The artists of the two songs are

different in their music styles, which plays a role in the difference of the songs. Bingo

Players produce dance and electronic music styles, while Flo Rida creates pop music

styles. “Cry (Just a Little)” repeats the same set of lyrics for the entire duration of the

song using electronic beats and voice altercations. “I Cry” contains the same song as an

overlay for the chorus while he raps the verses to create a modern take on the original.

In the beginning of the Bingo Players hit, the viewer is shown a woman who does

not seem to be happy. She is at work and gets emails from her friends sending her

pictures and “kisses” from Ibiza. She then gets a pile of workload to do from her boss

and “could cry, just a little”. The viewer is given the message that the woman does not

want to be at work and wants to be with her friends. “I get caught up in the middle”

relays the image of being overwhelmed and frustrated. The woman reminisces on the
times she had at the beach with her friends. These same lyrics overlap in Flo Rida’s

version of the song.

Flo Rida’s “I Cry” came out one year after the original but it contains deeper and

more serious feelings. “I Cry” contains the same song that is the original but uses it as

an overlay for rapping and other pop beats. At the start of this version, the main singer

features himself in this video. He pulls up to the neighborhood he grew up in, a small

town in Florida, and has a nice car. “It wasn’t easy getting to the top…. I went through

more than any man should have to growing up in the projects” he says meaning that his

childhood was rough on him and he had a hard time getting to the success level that he

is at now. He begins to rap about his childhood “heard about the news, the whole day

went sour”. The video shows gruesome flashbacks to police killing African Americans,

protests, and Martin Luther King Jr. giving his speech. The interpretation of the song is

much more serious and heartfelt in this version.

In the Flo Rida version, the same song is played throughout the video, but it is

used as a more literal expression. Flo Rida wants to tell his story of growing up in the

projects, and that involved a lot of violence and hardships that children shouldn’t have to

endure, and that is his reason for going back to that town. “I’m back for the kids”

meaning he is there to spread his love and wealth to the children of his hometown,

because he knows the hardships of living through it. He enters his old apartment and

the memories start flooding back and that’s when he “could cry, just a little”. The video

goes on like story and he gives back to the young kids still with those memories in his

mind.
 The biggest difference between the two songs is the overall message it presents

to the viewer. “I Cry” relays a message of a cry for help, while “Cry (Just a Little)” has a

less serious meaning of not wanting to be at work. Another large difference is the music

styles. The original version sounds so different from the newer version because of the

beats and altercations underneath the music. “Cry (Just a Little)” is a song that

everyone has heard of at some point, and it is very catchy due to repetition. “I Cry” is

the song that made the original so well-known. The sadness and seriousness of “I Cry”

gives the viewer heartache for the man in the video.

Both versions use pathos to stimulate the feelings of being overwhelmed and

frustrated. In the original, “Cry (Just a Little)” makes the viewer feel bad for the woman

and connect with her because no one would rather be at work than on vacation. “I Cry”

does it the same way but uses his life experiences to relay the message to the viewer.

Their use of pathos leads viewers to understand their situations and feelings. The

audiences are different. The audience intended for the original version is people who

work and enjoy going on vacations or those who get stressed over life. The newer

version is intended for African Americans who went through the same things that were

mentioned in the video.

Each of the versions are well-known and catchy to any audience that might

listen, but “I Cry” by Flo Rida is more modern and enjoyable than the original song. The

original song is somewhat interesting, but due to its strong repetition, it might get boring

after a listen or two. Flo Rida’s version is more popular because of the rapping and

current issues involved in the song, but it makes the original more popular too because

everyone knows that catchy tune when it gets played.

 Works Cited

Flo Rida. “I Cry.” Wild ones, Flo Rida, 2012, 3:53, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=OLuWHr6-0YQ

Bingo Players. “Cry (Just a Little).” Cry (Just a Little), Bingo Players, 2011, 3:27

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBpWdwXzpMk