Song Analysis 1

Breaking up with someone you love can be a difficult thing to do. Depending on the length of the relationship and the connection the couple had, dealing with a break up can be very hard to cope with. With the help of a depressing tone in the song “Not Meant to Be,” Theory of a Deadman uses extreme hyperboles, demoralizing similes, and symbolic allegories to show the sadness felt by a man when he finally realizes that he cannot mend the relationship he had with his ex-girlfriend even though the two are “not meant to be.”

The extremities of the hyperboles throughout the song help to convey the severity of the sadness felt by the speaker. At one point in the song, Tyler Connolly says “I might just disappear.” The meaning of this line is figurative; it does not mean he will literally disappear. It means that the narrator is so depressed from the failed relationship that he might as well disappear. Also, there is a line that says, “I can’t give you what you want and it’s killing me.” The fact that the narrator cannot give the person they are talking to what they want is not going to physically hurt them at all. It is an exaggeration to express the amount of love that the narrator felt for their ex. In addition, there is one part of the song where Connolly says, “There’s no way out for you and me.” This is a stretch from the truth because there is a way out. It just means that it is impossible to fix the relationship between the two characters. The hyperboles in the song also contrast other lines from the song. In one instance, the narrator tries to fix the relationship but in another, he finds his efforts useless. At one point, the narrator says, “There’s still time to turn this around.” The hyperboles are all saying that the actions to help the relationship still lead to the fact that “There’s no way out for you and me.” Even though the hyperboles show the hopelessness of the man’s efforts, they contradict other aspects of the song. The use of hyperboles throughout the song by Theory of a Deadman helps to convey the seriousness of the problems that the couple being talked about is having.

The comparisons in the song “Not Meant to Be” help greatly to stress the sadness felt by the narrator. At one point, there is a comparison made between the failed relationship and a situation that gets nowhere. The simile says, “It’s like one step forward and two steps back.” If one does this, the result will be further back than when that person started. This situation is being compared to the relationship; it is heading in the wrong direction and the narrator wishes that it was not. A second situation that the relationship is being compared to is, “It’s like trying to turn around on a one way street.” The difference in this simile is that turning around on a one way street is possible, it is not, however, a good idea. This helps to show that even though the narrator could try to turn the fate of the relationship with his ex-girlfriend around, it is not a good idea. It would most likely end in failure again, just like it did previously. The comparisons in the song are very meaningful and they express the depressing truth that the narrator must face.

There are many allegories throughout the song that show the harshness of the struggle that the narrator is experiencing. One allegory in the song is, “I’m caught between what you wanted from me and knowing if I give that to you I might just disappear.” The part that says, “I’m caught between” does not mean that Connolly is physically “caught” in between anything. He is just in a situation where he is forced to make a difficult decision. Another line from the song that is an allegory is “There’s still time to turn this around.” “This,” being the troubled relationship, cannot literally be turned around. The expression is a saying that the outcome can be changed; the relationship can be saved. A third example of an allegory from the lyrics is, “Should we be building this up instead of tearing it down.” “This,” again being the relationship, can neither be built up nor torn down. It is not a concrete object. The phrase, “building this up instead of tearing it down” means that the narrator wants to try to fix and mend the relationship rather than terminate it altogether. The allegories throughout the song contradict each other in a way. Some of them are saying that the relationship can be fixed while others say that it cannot be fixed. The use of allegories in the song serve the purpose of showing the desire that Connolly has to fix the relationship and the depressing truth that he finally sees.

The frequent use of hyperboles, similes, and allegories in the song “Not Meant to Be” by Theory of a Deadman helps to convey the desire of the narrator to fix the relationship he used to have with his ex-girlfriend. The narrator wants to fix the relationship even though he knows in the back of his mind that it is just not possible. Even though splitting up with a loved one might be difficult, the truth just may be that letting go is the best thing to do for a relationship.