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Josh Hivner

English 1201

Professor Sneed

3 October 2020

“What is Love” Compare and Contrast

“What is Love” by Haddaway and the rendition by Jaymes Young are so similar, yet so

different. Each song has a completely different mood, and musical sound unique in its own way.

Each music video also seems to be describing a different type of love. Haddaway released his

version of the song in 1993 and it was a huge hit. His version of the song is about a relationship

where he is in love, but the woman doesn’t care. Jaymes Young released his version of “What is

Love” in 2013. Young’s version told a story about love but it was about losing a loved one and

how it is so difficult to move forward.

In the beginning of Haddaway’s music video, a statue of a woman falls into his arms and

he begins singing. As the song progresses, a man is walking through what appears to be a

haunted mansion trying to avoid a woman dressed up as a vampire. There are many dancing girls

in his music video. The song and video are both very upbeat and exciting. One claim I think

Haddaway is making is that love can be good for one person but deadly to the other person

involved. I got this idea from the vampire theme to the video. I think he is talking about a

relationship he had in the past that didn’t work out the way he wanted it to. The words in this

song use pathos to appeal to the listeners emotions, but just from the tempo of the song it is not

very emotional.

In Jaymes Young’s music video, it starts out as a couple in a car and they get into a crash.

The video then cuts to the man in the hospital and at his wife’s grave. He sees flashbacks of his
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marriage and life with her throughout the entire video. There are scenes of the man destroying

things with an effort to recover from his pain. The man is also shown walking through the streets

wearing a sweatshirt looking inconspicuous and alone. The mood of this song and video is much

more solemn and sad. It is serious. Just listening to the song apart from the video you can hear

the pain and emotion in Jaymes Young’s voice. This song sounds nothing like Haddaways

version, other than the words are the same. Young’s version is more acoustic and vocal. I think

that Young is claiming that losing a loved one can leave you empty, and that life will never be

the same without them. This video most definitely uses pathos to appeal to the viewer or listener.

It brings out emotions that you have when a loved one is lost, and the pain of not ever getting to

be with them again.

I think certain aspects of the audiences for these two songs overlap, but each song also

reaches a separate audience in a unique way. For the original version by Haddaway, the audience

is people who have had relationship troubles with their significant other. The audience is also

aimed at people in the 90’s. Haddaway’s song was also a very popular dance song so it reached a

younger “party crowd” audience as well. Jaymes Young’s song reaches an audience in a

different generation since it came out in 2013, twenty years after the original by Haddaway.

Young’s rendition reaches an audience of people who are hurting, no matter who or what caused

the pain. Jaymes Young’s song doesn’t reach out to the party crowd at all. Young’s audience

would appreciate the vocals featured as well.

These songs can be interpreted very differently even though they have the same lyrics. I

think that both songs are enjoyable and can be enjoyed in their own way. I really liked learning

how an artist can take a song that is already good and add their own spin and meaning to it. I also
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think the director of the music videos for both versions did an outstanding job representing the

mood and theme that the song creates.

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Works Cited

Haddaway. “What is Love” The Album, 1993.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEXWRTEbj1I

Young, James. “What is Love” Dark Star, 2013.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIvvHKp0JNI