1. Because Of You
By: Kelly Clarkson

2. Kelly Clarkson

3. I will not make the same mistakes that you did I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery I will not break the way you did You fell so hard I've learned the hard way, to never let it get that far

4. Because of you I'll never stray too far from the sidewalk Because of you I learned to play on the safe side So I don't get hurt Because of you I find it hard to trust Not only me, but everyone around me Because of you I am afraid

5. I lose my way And it's not too long before you point it out I cannot cry Because I know that's weakness in your eyes I'm forced to fake, a smile, a laugh Every day of my life My heart can't possibly break When it wasn't even whole to start with

6. Because of you I'll never stray too far from the sidewalk Because of you I learned to play on the safe side So I don't get hurt Because of you I find it hard to trust Not only me, but everyone around me Because of you I am afraid

7. I watched you die I heard you cry Every night in your sleep I was so young You should have known better than to lean on me You never thought of anyone else You just saw your pain And now I cry In the middle of the night For the same thing

8. Because of you I'll never stray too far from the sidewalk Because of you I learned to play on the safe side So I don't get hurt Because of you I tried my hardest just to forget everything

9. Because of you I don't know how to let anyone else in Because of you I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty Because of you I am afraid Because of you Because of you

10. Why did you chose this song?
I chose this song because I knew this song had a lot of meaning and emotion behind it. That it meant a lot to the speaker. Also, It tells a story. A story that breaks a person, but makes them stronger. This story causes the speaker to live in the dark, but spend everyday looking for the light. The light that will bring out all the things the speaker has missed out on. This light is the key and she is the lock. All she has to do is find it.

11. Who is the speaker?
The speaker is a girl that is in a relationship, but she is having trouble because early in her life someone made it hard for her to trust people and to even hold a relationship. The story could be that it is her relationship with her parents. Where her parents faught and then her father left. Then when she mentions “I watched you die I heard you cry Every night in your sleep I was so young You should have known better than to lean on me You never thought of anyone else You just saw your pain And now I cry In the middle of the night For the same thing.” she is talking about her mother and what happened after her father left.

12. Imagery
This song has Imagery. Which is the formation of mental images, especially those produced by the action of imagination. When I listen to it, I see a depressed girl in the corner. She is about to break, but before she does. She stands up and walks over to a guy and she blames him for everything. All the things he has done to her and what she has become because of it. This song is a girl finally speaking up for herself. Finally telling the world her story and what she went through. The way she sings the words causes images to pop in your mind and you can’t help, but imagine what she went through. Thus causing imagery.

13. Refrain
Refrain is a repeated line of number of lines in a song or poem. This songs refrain is: Because of you I'll never stray too far from the sidewalk Because of you I learned to play on the safe side So I don't get hurt Because of you I find it hard to trust Not only me, but everyone around me Because of you I am afraid She repeats this a couple times in the song. This is also the most emotional part in the song. In the refrain she is finally coming out and telling this person what they have done to her and what their actions caused.

14. Ballad
Ballad is a slow sentimental or romantic song. This song is slow and sentimental. There is a lot of sad memories and feelings behind this song. The speaker is blaming someone for all the wrongs that are in here life. For example, she can not only find it hard to trust herself, but everyone around her. She always plays it safe, so she doesn’t get her hurt. There is a lot of emotion in this song and has a lot of meaning to the speaker. The speaker uses a ballad to tell her life story and how it has made her into what she is today.

15. Figurative/Personal Interpretation
I look at this song as a story. I story about what she has become because of her childhood. I like the person she is blaming is her parents. That her father left when she was a kid. Then it was just her mother and her, but her mother took it out on the girl. Her mother leaned on the her for support and expected her to this strong grown woman, when in reality she was really a fragile little girl. This caused her to not trust and to hurt on the inside. The speaker is now a grown woman, like in her 20s and she is finally standing up and telling her story.

16. Figurative/Personal Interpretation
Her story being that she has been hurting inside all along. That she has kept it bottled up for to long and that it has ruined her relationships with people. That how can she trust anyone, if she can’t even trust herself. That she never takes chances and stays on the safe side so she doesn’t get hurt. And because of all these things she is afraid. She is afraid that she will always be hiding behind a wall. She is afraid that she will never let anyone in. She is afraid that she may do the same to her kid.

17. Figurative/Personal Interpretation
She knows she doesn’t want to put her kid through what she has been through. The girl wants better for her kid. She wants to be different. In the beginning of the song she says: I will not make the same mistakes that you did I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery I will not break the way you did You fell so hard I've learned the hard way, to never let it get that far This meaning she will not do what they did, but she learned it the hard way by living it. That is why she is standing up, so her child doesn’t go through the same thing

18. What is the song’s theme?
THEME: No matter how much you hurt me, I will never be like you.

19. Works Cited
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