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Marissa Eid

Professor Thomas

ENG 1201-B55

April 5, 2020

Bleeding Love

“I'll be wearing these scars, for everyone to see” is a lyric from “Bleeding Love” by

Leona Lewis that expresses how love is a powerful but dangerous emotion that can leave people

damaged. First released in 2007, the U.K. version of this song shows a multitude of effects that

toxic love can have on couples and appeals to a younger audience while the U.S. version is more

personal to the singer as she is the main focus in the video and promotes a healthier resolution to

issues in relationships. While both U.K and the U.S. versions of “Bleeding Love” share a

powerful story of the effects of blinding love, the tone and audience vary between the two.

Arguably Leona Lewis’s most successful single worldwide, the song hit number one and

became the best-selling single in the UK and later became a major international hit in 2008.

Jointly written by Jesse McCartney, the songs meaning refers to loving someone to the point of

pain or bleeding love if you will. Throughout the lyrics, Lewis expresses how no matter how

emotionally hurt by her love she is, she will continue to love him while he is, metaphorically,

cutting her open. Love can be so blinding that it causes people to accept the pain of loving

someone else rather than being alone and/or putting yourself first. While not many artists have

revised their own music video, Lewis filmed two for “Bleeding Love”. The first video shows a
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colorful collection of couples demonstrating how toxic love can become while the second video

involves a more personal touch as Lewis is the main character along with a stand in boyfriend.

The original version released in the UK in 2007, displays a multitude of couples in an

apartment like setting. Each couple is shown to be in different stages of a romantic relationship

and show different scenarios, but all have the same underline message of love and betrayal. As

the video plays through each scene, it relies heavily on a pathos appeal to its audience as you can

see the pain reflected in the characters faces and body language. A woman is so distraught she

tries to commit suicide while other women in the video are shown to be in hysterics. Throughout

the video, our singer is shown in the hallways and in between spaces singing directly to the

camera while still stay separate from them. This keeps your focus on the chaotic visuals of the

video rather than the lyrics of the song and shows the viewer the extreme side to love. However,

this doesn’t hinder the message of the song. With the way the video is filmed being an abstract

apartment complex, all the characters being younger themselves, and the music style being Pop

R&B, its more targeted towards teens and twentysomethings.

The remixed or revised version of “Bleeding Love” was released in the U.S just a year

later in 2008. Filmed in New York, this version shows an already more mature take on

presenting the message. Instead of showing exaggerated scenarios and blown up events, the story

follows a relatively calm break up between Lewis and her “boyfriend". With the main character

now being Lewis herself, the video pulls you into a personal story involving her own love life.

This really sets the tone and mood for the video to be more serious and peaceful allowing for a

more meaningful impact to her singing. The video continues on to show the boyfriend quickly

gathering and packing his belongings it what it assumed to be a shared apartment. While this is

going on, Lewis is slowly making her way back to him while singing directly to her audience,
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“But I don’t care what they say, I’m in love with you.” Even though Lewis has been hurt and is

upset by the argument, she continues to love him and is willing to go back. As she is blinded by

her love her him, she is surprised to find him and his things missing when she comes home.

Instead of becoming hysterical, she is calm and seems to simply wait for him. As the video ends,

the boyfriend abandons his plans to leave on a bus and returns to the spot they first argued. Even

though the music style of the song doesn’t change, the way the story is portrayed in this version

gives it a more mature feel allowing the audience to expand to more than just a younger more

“hip” audience. The way Lewis presents herself with her body language and demeanor along

with how the video was shot in a more realistic way, all alters the tone of the video to make the

audience take in the message more seriously.

As previously mentioned about the original version, pathos is a heavily used appeal in

both versions of “Bleeding Love”. I don’t know about you, but I find it difficult to be happy in

the presence of someone who is sad. The videos invoke the feelings of sorrow, grief, empathy,

pity, and perhaps understanding in some audience members. It is an unspoken truth that many

people, not just women, have gotten into relationships that turn out to be more harmful than

loving. I feel that this song overall perfectly captures the powers of blinding love and how it can

lead people into relationships that aren’t worth fighting for. “My heart's crippled by the vein, that

I keep on closing” expresses how even after moving on from these toxic partners can damage the

way we love in the future.

The song itself is a lament to unhealthy relationships and how damaging they can be.

Each version is unique in its take on how to present the message and shows growth on the part of

the singer as they are only one year apart from each other. With the change of tone and slight
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maturity in audience, this throwback still hits home with a powerful message of blinding love.

Just remember, don’t “keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love”.

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Works Cited
Lewis, Leona. Bleeding Love. 2 October 2009. Youtube. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzo-
EL_62fQ>.
—. Bleeding Love. 3 October 2009. Youtube. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_weSk0BonM>.