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Aaron Guzman

Mrs. Hughes

English 1201

6 Februar 2020

There is Light at the end of the Tunnel

“What is love?” a powerful message of sorrow and abandonment. This is a key message

in both the original music video by Haddaway produced in 1992, and the Jaymes Young remix

produced in 2016. While the Jaymes Young remix uses the same lyrics as the original version

by Haddaway, it changes the style of music greatly by slowing down the beat, changing the

instruments and drawing out the lyrics. Jaymes Young's cover of "What Is Love" shares the

theme of heartbreak with the original by Haddaway; however, they appeal to separate ways

people might feel sorrow after a breakup. Haddaway's version focuses on how to find love again

after a breakup, while James Young's version focuses on how to live life again after a breakup.

The original song by Haddaway came out in a time heavily influenced by hip hop and

rock. If this song was to become a hit, it needed to fit in with its era. Haddaway did that by

making the song very upbeat so one could dance to it very easily. It was a success as this song

became an instant hit. This song was Haddaway’s break out song, and definitely one of his

most successful to date.

The remix by Jaymes Young came out in a time where it was very popular to remix old

songs. Jaymes Young has remixed many other songs like “Parachute” and “Dark Star'', making

this song just one piece in his portfolio, and showing this song would not be too big of a

challenge for him. This song also came out in a time where depression was very high. Many

people in the world felt more lonely than ever. One bad break up lead to many suicides in this

time period. Jaymes Young used this remix to help those struggling cope with their breakup.
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Haddaway’s version of “What Is Love?” focuses on how to find love after a breakup. The

lyrics “baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, no more” tell us that he has been hurt and is pleading

that it does not happen to him again. The lyrics “I give you my love but you don't care” tell us

that he is trying to love again but the woman does not want to find love with him. In the music

video Haddaway dances with many different women. This is symbolism of him trying to move on

from the previous woman who hurt him. Finally, throughout the video Haddaway had been

dancing very energetically, and seemed to be enjoying it, showing how he has moved on and

has possibly found love with someone else. These examples show us how Haddaway feels

after being hurt. His feelings are just like ours. He feels the same pain we do, and is telling us

we are not alone. Everyone goes through this, and that it is possible to recover from this, and

find love again.

Jaymes Young’s version of “What Is Love?” focuses on how to live life again after a

breakup. Although this video uses the same lyrics as the original, the beat is slowed down, the

instruments are changed, and the singer draws out the words. This gives the feeling of being

alone with no one to turn to. The girl throughout the video seems to be walking through a city

she knows well. It seems like she fits in the city, but her facial expressions tell us she is still all

alone even in a place she knows. These examples show us that the girl feels alone and has no

one to turn to. Many listeners of this song, especially at the time this song came out, can relate

greatly to how the girl in the video appears to feel.

These two videos use rhetorical appeals slightly differently. The Jaymes Young version

uses purely pathos. Examples such as the girl slowly looking up and staring into the camera,

gazing into the distance and walking through a city use strong pathos to help her be as relatable

as possible to those who feel all alone after a breakup. The original version uses pathos, but

very differently from the remix, and also uses a little bit of ethos. Haddaway is the main
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character in the music video which gives us some credibility towards how he feels since he is a

big name musician. The video is upbeat and shows people dancing which gives us a positive

feeling, like there are brighter days to come to help those trying to find love again after a

breakup.

“What is love?” a key message to both of these videos claims is taken in very different

ways. Even though the lyrics of these two songs are the same, they convey a very different

message in regards to heartbreak. Haddaway's version focuses on how to find love again after

a breakup, while James Young's version focuses on how to live life again after a breakup. Both

of these songs are very good at providing comfort to people dealing with the sorrow of breakups

in different ways.
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Works Cited

Haddaway, Nestor. ​What Is Love. Youtube, ​18 Jun. 2014,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEXWRTEbj1I​. Accessed 5 Feb. 2020.

​ 2 Nov. 2016,
Young, Jaymes. ​What Is Love (Green Fruit Remix). Youtube, 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wsb0gQUt6c. Accessed 5 Feb. 2020.