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Allison Weldon

Mrs. Strehle

English Composition II

14 February 2021

“What Is Love” was originally written by the Trinidadian-German Eurodance artist

Haddaway for his debut album in 1992. This song was a hit in at least 13 different countries

including the United States, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Since the song was such a

hit many movies and T.V. shows featured the hit song. Some of these shows used a cover version of

the song because they needed a certain emotion portrayed in that certain scene. For example the

Jaymes Young cover of “What Is Love” gives a darker and a sadder feel of Haddaway’s original

version of the song. These videos were made almost two decades apart and they have completely

different views of the same song. The old version has a party type vibe while the newer version

highlights the somber tone within the lyrics of Haddaway’s original feel of the song. From the

way the producers made each video from the angles the flashbacks, and the background beat, as

well as other details gives reason as to why the cover version gives a more somber tone than the

original.

In the original music video, the story being told is about a man and a woman in a

relationship but the woman is hiding secrets from the man. As we continue watching the video

we realize the woman is a vampire which is why she is hiding secrets from the man. The man

finds out the woman is hiding things from him which is why he is asking “what is love” because

to be in love you have to be truthful with your partner, you have to trust your partner, and you

need to be dedicated to your partner in every way possible. This is why the man is conflicted on

how he feels with the woman because the man is trying to figure everything from real and fake

and from what is true and what is lies. He seems confused about what is happening because he
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doesn't know what love is anymore. As for the woman she could be conflicted as well because;

she loves the man but is unsure if she continues with the relationship if she would hurt him

unknowingly. The style of music is this version is more upbeat and supposed to make you dance

and be happy. This song is a type of song to play at a party. This version appeals to people that

love to party and families that spend time with each other because this song is a song to play

when cooking or other festivities. The claim being made is that you should always be truthful to

the people you love because if you aren’t you could lose them easily.

The video starts off with a man and a woman getting in a car crash. We then see

flashbacks of the man walking in a crowded city with headphones, to him in the hospital with

cuts and bruises. After the hospital scene we see the man at a cemetary morning to what we

believe is the woman that was in the crash as well as the man. A few seconds later we see a

flashback to the man getting married to the same woman involved in the crash. The man is

mourning the loss of his wife and while the man looks through a mirror we see the women very

slightly walking behind the man in the window. The man starts to have hallucinations of his wife

at the beach and many other places he wishes he was with his wife at. The video then ends

abruptly with the man staring out the window of a train with a look of despair. The abrupt ending

shows how quickly things can change in your life, so it is important to cherish moments and time

with people. The style of music of this video was very somber and a lower tempo giving the song

a more sad vibe. This version of the song appeals more towards people who have lost a loved

one. The claim being made is that you should enjoy the time you have because you never know

when you’ll lose them.

Although both videos are about the love a man has for the most important woman in their

life. The way the emotion is portrayed in each video is very different. The old version has a party
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type vibe while the newer version highlights the somber tone within the lyrics of Haddaway’s

original feel of the song. From the way the producers made each video from the angles the

flashbacks, and the background beat, as well as other details gives reason as to why the cover

version gives a more somber tone than the original.

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Works Cited

Haddaway. What Is Love. Youtube, 18 June 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=HEXWRTEbj1II. Accessed 14 February 2021.

Young, Jaymes. What is Love. Youtube, 28 April 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=nIvvHKp0JNI. Accessed 14 February 2021.

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