Song #9 in One Direction’s “Take Me Home” album refers to the main character in the song liking a girl who is already in a relationship and feels extremely jealous of the girl’s current boyfriend. Throughout the song, he compares himself to her boyfriend while also dehumanizing himself by saying,
“He drives to school every morning (morning)
While I walk alone in the rain (the rain)
He’d kill me without any warning (warning)
If he took a look in my brain,”
which pinpoints his sadness, jealousy, and competitiveness. He asks several rhetorical questions in the song like, “Would he kiss you,” “would he love you,” “would he need you,” “would he hold you,” etc., to get the point across to the audience (and this girl if she is real/ever listens to the song) that he could treat the girl better than her boyfriend; he is trying so hard to make her see that.
This reminds me of the topic of Subject Positions because the boys could have written this song with the intention of not only getting the girl in the song’s attention (if she’s even real), but inviting girls all over the world to take a step back and look at their own lives. This reflects reality because girls (and boys) could be investing too much time into a significant other that doesn’t even treat them right while not even realizing it. “I Would” invites teens in relationships to evaluate their own relationships, not just romantic relationships, and prioritize themselves instead of wasting time on someone else who doesn’t reciprocate the same amount of respect.
This song is supported by the Sex Role Perspective Theory because society views men as stereotypically competitive by nature, and in this song, it clearly shows that the main character is trying so hard to “win” this girl for himself and be the hero (also supporting that media is a “socializing agent“), saving her from another guy that, in his eyes, doesn’t treat her the way she should be treated. An example of “winning” in the lyrics is as follows:
“Feels like I’m constantly playing
A game that I’m destined to lose
‘Cause I can’t compete with your boyfriend
He’s got 27 tattoos.”
This song has a very sweet message. “I would” hope that someone feels that strongly toward their significant other, no matter what age!
Shared by: Elyse Hornung
Image Credit: Metro