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Ella Cole

Eng 1201-503

Mrs. Echols

February 12th, 2021

What Is Love?

The songs “What Is Love” By Haddaway and the cover of “What Is Love” By Jaymes

Young give an example how the same song can be interpreted and then evolved in multiple

different ways. Haddaway's version is a harrowing song about unrequited love but interestingly

enough, it's upbeat rhythm and 90s dance-pop music almost mask its true meaning. Jaymes' 2017

rendition uses the same lyrics to take a more emotional approach to the song with blues style

music and the theme of grieving and cherishing the memories of a lost loved one.

The 1990s song, “What is Love '' by Haddaway begins by asking,“What is Love?” and

pleads with “Baby, don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me no more”. Haddaway believes his love is unfair

and explains this by saying, “I give you my love, but you don't care”. The singer continues

throughout the song explaining that his partner is the only one he wants and he cannot go on

without her. The listener could interpret this song as the emotions that go through one's mind

when they do not feel reciprocated love. By analyzing the lyrics alone, it is hard to believe that

this is a catchy pop-anthem. But when you begin to listen to the song, it begins to make sense

how the song rose to popularity. The song has a feel good energy to it that makes someone want

to get up and dance. It is upbeat and has an electric/retro sound to it and even the music video

can attest to this fun style.

The cover of “What is love” By Jaymes Young does not fear to differentiate from the

original. Although the songs have the same words, this rendition carries the actual weight of the
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lyrics. Jaymes' version is slowed down with no beat using the strum of a guitar to tell the

message of the song. This makes the song an emotional ballad rather than a jump up and dance

song.

By providing a more raw version of this original set of lyrics, I think listeners can expect to feel

more vulnerable after listening to this version of the song. The tenderness of this cover can cause

the audience to feel the hurt in Jaymes ' voice whereas the soulful lyrics in haddaway's version

are completely masked. Even the story in Jaymes' music video tells an emotional story just as his

voice does in this remix of the song.

Listeners of these two songs can begin to understand a difference in demographics for

each version of the song after watching the music videos. Haddaway's 1993 music video is set in

a dark and mysterious castle only lit by candles and random flashes of light. It shows Haddaway

dancing and using magic such as piecing a vase back together and erratic sprays of smoke. There

is even a clip of Haddaway being electrocuted which appeals to the strange theme. Dancing

along with haddaway is multiple women, one of them being a vampire who goes to bite

haddaway's neck. This could be a metaphor on how drained haddaway's feelings after this

relationship. But he does not leave much for time to ponder on that connection because it is

quickly changed to another scene filled with dancing. Its is most similar to a club atmosphere

and with the funky beat, the song sounds like it could play in a club as well. I think haddaway

intended for the listeners of this song to find it relatable but did not want to leave room for their

mind to dwell on the melancholy topic. The dancing in the music video along with the dance-pop

style of music could lift anyone's mood. With such a cheerful rhythm I think the song is a mood

booster to anyone dealing with unrequited love.

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Jaymes' approach to the song is represented in the distressing music video by the events

that take place. The main characters are a man and his wife. The video shows them in the car

when they get into a car crash and the wife devastatingly passes away. It goes through the

journey the man has dealing with grief and shows him reminiscing on old memories with his

wife. I would describe the music as sorrowful/blues which is a major contrast to the original

dance/pop type beat in the first song. The audience for this music video could be anyone who can

relate to the story of the video or even enjoys that style of music. The claim the video is trying to

make is that he does not feel the love from his partner because she is gone and he is questioning

what love is when it hurts this bad. It represents how we should cherish the moments with our

loved ones. The juxtaposition of the original music video and this one shows how different

interpretations of one song can be.

Both of these songs appeal to pathos because the songs evoke listeners to feel a scale

of emotions depending on which version. Haddaway's way of putting heartfelt lyrics about

unreturned love under a lively beat gives sad listeners a feeling of hopefulness and serves as a

spirit brightener for anyone in that position. In Jaymes Young's somber rendition, the strip down

of instruments causes the song to be a lot more touching to the soul and makes lyrics elicit

stronger feelings of sadness. The song also helps tell the story of the emotional music video

about loss and the celebration of life's memories which can be a hard and dark topic.

Through the same lyrics, artists Haddayway and Jaymes Young conveyed two different

themes. These themes of unfair/ unfelt love and loss of life stray far from each other yet the story

is told through the same set of words. The artist uses cinematic techniques as a vessel to deliver

these messages. It is in these techniques that the audience can be shown how the same song can

be evolved to share a completely different narrative. No matter what way you choose to relate or
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enjoy the song, there's a clear distinction in audience between the two about being broken up

with a loved one.