Song Analysis of Before He Cheats

Cheaters Beware

Music has been around since the beginning of time. Many artists express themselves by writing songs to convey emotions, tell fictional stories, or to share their own experiences. The human mind attaches many senses and feelings to melodies; they are tied to moments in life. Everyone feels the same emotions even though people are all different and unique. Songs are written about all sorts of feelings such as happiness, sadness, angriness, and sorrow. For example, if a person is having a bad day he can find a song relating to how he is feeling. American Idol, a reality show, auditions millions of young adults who have a passion for music and want their talent to be recognized. Carrie Underwood is the season four winner of the show. Since her success in 2005, she has become a very popular country music star by having many hit songs and receiving two Grammy’s. The song “Before He Cheats,” is one of her best, because it shows off her award winning vocals and expresses emotions of strong willed females.

While sappy and slow hits are the usual characteristics of a Carrie Underwood song, she changes her style with a more optimistic tune. It opens with an upbeat rhythm on the keyboard. Then, a bluesy beat is introduced with the sounds of a guitar, violin, and drum set. The tune fades lower to stress the importance of the lyrics when she begins to sing. She uses variations of medium and low pitches to show off her perfect country vocals. She begins with a low and sassy voice, but shifts to a more medium tone at times. While she starts the chorus, the music gets louder and an arrogant attitude is heard through her voice. The music is also very joyful because she resolves the situation in her own terms. This angry, yet cheerful, melody is very different from what Underwood’s fans are used to hearing.

Poetic elements, exact detail, and repetition exist to make up some of the prosody in the song. All these aspects contribute to making it pleasing to listen to. Rhyme is used to make the listener remember and notice the words. For example, the words at the end of lines two and three are, “frisky” and “whiskey.” The exact end rhyme is a common aspect used in music because it draws attention directly to specific words and creates a melody. The use of precise details is illustrated in line one when she describes the girl as being a “bleached-blonde tramp.” She creates an image of a tacky girl with blonde hair who is ignorant and worthless. Another example of being descriptive is in the first line of the chorus: “I dug my key into the side of his pretty little suped up four wheel drive.” She is letting the audience know that it is not an old meaningless vehicle she is keying, but a very expensive and important truck. Showing the most important detail is her boyfriend did not get away with cheating on her, the chorus is repeated three times. The title is also repeated several times throughout the duration to stress its importance. She sings, “maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats” (Lines 6,13,18,19) to let the guys know that their vehicle may be in trouble if they cheat. The use of different elements makes the song easier to remember and understand.

The lyrics magnify the point that she is angry because she caught her man being unfaithful. Third person present is used in the first and third stanzas. For example, she sings: “Right