rattling in my head

for the last few days i've had beyonce's song irreplaceable stuck in my head. this happens to me periodically, where i have an odd song, far outside of the genre i usually listen to, that sticks with me for a while. last month it was gwen stefani's hollaback girl. but while gwen stefani's song i find toe-tap, hip gyration, and snap inducing, beyonce's song i've concluded is worth a second look.

despite her unsophisticated lyrics ("I could have another you in a minute/
matter fact he'll be here in a minute - baby" --the repetition of "minute" here really doesn't work for me), her song works because it's great music. She catches you with a great hook "to the left to the left", sung softly, almost sadly, makes you immediately think, what's to the left? ah-- "everything you own in a box to the left..." at that point the song picks up, and she sort of sing/ talks to the rhythm of someone shaking their finger or chicken-necking, both of which she does in her video as she chews out her man for cheating on her and leaving her.

But here's what gets me. She's essentially herself, both in the song and the video, a rich, successful woman empowered by her wealth and possessions. her ex has nothing but a small box of his stuff- everything else, she's bought for him ("And It's my mine name that is on that Jag/ So remove your bags let me call you a cab"). The point of the song is expressed in the chorus: "You must not know about me/ You must not know about me/ I can have another you by tomorrow/ So don't you ever for a second get to thinking you're irreplaceable."

right, there's the catch. even with all her wealth, even with her success and confidence, she still has to kick him out because he was cheating on her-- "So go ahead and get gone/ And call up on that chick and see if she is home/ Oops, I bet ya thought that I didn't know/ What did you think I was putting you out for?/Cause you was untrue/ Rolling her around in the car that I bought you." The Beatles had it right--money can't buy you love.

in the video, she acts as if she doesn't care, and in the last scene another man shows up at her door (at least, that's what i think happens... it's hard to tell because his back is to us and he's wearing a hat.)

but here's why the song, to me, has more depth, despite the video. There's a modulation in the last stanza ("Baby I wont shed a tear for you/ I won't lose a wink of sleep/ Cause the truth of the matter is/ Replacing you is so easy..."

and then the song launches into a coda of "to the left to the left", again, sung softly. the repetition makes it reflective, and this time, you're sure it has to be sad, and the repetition of the statement "Don't you ever for a second get to thinking you're irreplaceable..." becomes bitter and almost vengeful.

and i've given way more thought to this song, more than even beyonce herself, perhaps. can you tell i'm procrastinating?