Demi Lovato’s latest single Sober
seemed to be a signal she sent to her fans all over the world before she was
found unconscious on the floor, because of drug overdose. That near-fatal
overdose occurred in July 24th, a month after the released of that
single, June 21st. Breaking up with her boyfriend, Wilmer
Valderrama, was convinced became the main reason she got depressed. Came from a
father who was a heavy drinker, Lovato threw herself into something
intoxicating to escape from reality just like what her father did. Sober then became a negation to all of
her previous “optimist” songs, Skyscraper,
Warrior, and Old Ways.
Sober started with a verse that tells about what has recently happened to
her, break up with her boyfriend. This, I believed, led her mental illness that
was long healed to reappear. She is anxious and worry caused of the break up.
She needs to sleep until she is no longer feeling the anxiety.
I got no excuses
For all of these goodbyes
Call me when it’s over
‘Cause I’m dying inside
Wake me when the shakes are gone
And the cold sweats disappear
Call me when it’s over
And myself has reappeared
In 2010, Lovato underwent rehabilitation due to self-harm, addiction,
Eating Disorder and also Bipolar Disorder. After finishing her treatment, she
then came back with Unbroken album
and made a song called Skyscraper as
a single. On the second verse, she shows her sorry to her former lover and her
fans that she relapses like before. She struggles to be someone everyone can
get inspired. Sadly, it is not an easy thing to do, so she gives up because she
is only human.
I’m sorry to my future love
For the man I left my bed
For making love the way I saved for you
Inside my head
And I’m sorry for the fans I lost
Who watch me fall again
I wanna be your role model
But I’m only human
There are repetitions in some sentences in the bridge or pre-chorus. I
am really sure, she does it to emphasise that she does not understand her
condition and how to overcome.
I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know
why
I do it every, every, every time
It’s only when I’m lonely
Sometimes I just wanna cave and I don’t wanna fight
I try and I try and I try and I try and I try
Just hold me, I’m lonely
In the chorus, she describes what she really feels to her mother and
everyone who always support her, including her fans. She also asks for
forgiveness to her father, recalling she ever spilled his drink when she was a
kid, the only thing her father cared about.
Momma, I’m so sorry I’m not sober anymore
Daddy, please forgive me for the drink spilled on the
floor
To the ones who never left me, we’ve been down this
road before
I’m so sorry, I’m not sober anymore
She could have used the word “again”,
but she preferred “anymore”. She
tries to tell everyone that she will not ever be the same in the future. In
other words, she implies that she loses her sobriety not for a short period of
time.
The chorus above, is a statement also a negation at the same time to her
previous songs from her previous albums, Skyscraper,
Warrior, and Old Ways. These
three songs talked about getting up from the ground, being stronger than before
and move to a better place. That has written in the Chorus in each song. As in Skyscraper “You can take everything I have, you can break everything I am. Like
I’m made of glass, like I’m made of paper. Go on and try to tear me down, I
will be rising from the ground. Like a skyscraper”. In the Warrior, she convinced herself that “I’m a warrior, I’ve got thicker skin. I’m a
warrior, I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. And my armour is made of steel, you
can’t get in. I’m a warrior, and you can never hurt me again.”. In the Old Ways, she got tempted to back to the
place she had been, but she kicked all those haunting voices by saying “I’ll just keep changing these colours, I’m
not in the same place like I was. But if somebody told me, I’ll go back to my
old ways, I’m gonna say no way, I’m out the doorway, I’m hearing them all say,
I’ll go back to my old ways, not going back to my old ways.” With all that
being said, she breaks her determinations, all at once, with Sober.
In the Outro, she states that
she will get help. She closes the song lamentably with regret and -once again-
saying sorry, but this time, she dedicates it for herself.
I’m sorry that I’m here again
I promise I’ll get help
It wasn’t my intention
I’m sorry to myself
Demi Lovato is known for her specialty singing using the head voice
technique. She has the vocal range from C3 to Eb7. Looking back to her previous
albums, most of her songs usually have one octave higher on the Chorus. She used
such a technique in many of her songs in the album: Unbroken: Fix A Heart and Skyscraper; DEMI: Nightingale and Shouldn’t Come Back; in Confident: Stone Cold and Star; the single Body Say; and in Tell Me You Love Me: Cry Baby and Ready For Ya. She seemed to let go of
that habit in order to express a deep emotion in Sober. She rather made the song to be sung effortlessly, to show
that she is tired of everything. In this song, we will not hear her strong head
voice technique. There is no significant effort like she used to do.
Although Sober might be
considered as pop song, but I would like to say that this song is more likely
ballads. With a tempo around 80 bpm, categorised as Adagio, I believe she wants the listeners to focus on every inch of
the lyrics, rather than focusing on her singing skill. Maybe she wants everyone
to notice that she indeed has lost her sobriety, exhausted and has no more
strength to sing in such a powerful technique.
Final thoughts, I think Sober
is a signal that Demi Lovato wants everyone to catch and look over her
condition and how her relationship status affects her mental health. I would
consider this song as a suicide letter, more like a saying goodbye before
committing suicide. This song could be a clue to everyone that she is going not
to be alright again and she is about to back to the place she has been before.
She wants to do something to cure the pain in a wrong way. She cannot stand on
the right path anymore after six years of being sober, thus she says sorry a lot
through this song.
---
Submitted for Argumentative Writing Class, English Language and Culture Department.
