A2 MEDIA
CHARLOTTE LLOYD
Rihanna - Stay
By Charlotte Lloyd
Lyrics
All along it was a fever
A cold sweat hot-headed believer
I threw my hands in the air, said, "Show me something,"
He said, "If you dare come a little closer."
Round and around and around and around we go
Oh now, tell me now, tell me now, tell me now you know.
Not really sure how to feel about it.
Something in the way you move
Makes me feel like I can't live without you.
It takes me all the way.
I want you to stay
It's not much of a life you're living
It's not just something you take – it's given
Round and around and around and around we go
Oh now, tell me now, tell me now, tell me now you know.
Not really sure how to feel about it.
Something in the way you move
Makes me feel like I can't live without you.
It takes me all the way.
I want you to stay.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, the reason I hold on
Ooh, ooh, ooh, 'cause I need this hole gone
Funny you're the broken one but I'm the only one who needed saving
'Cause when you never see the light it's hard to know which one of us is caving.
Not really sure how to feel about it.
Something in the way you move
Makes me feel like I can't live without you.
It takes me all the way.
I want you to stay, stay.
I want you to stay, oh.
Meaning
I feel there is a very strong and emotional meaning to this song. It is about twopeople that are besotted by eachother but are also dealing with perosnal battles themselves. I feel that it is the partner is the one with the issue and Rihanna ( the main female singer) is the one that is suffering from her partners reactions.
'Funny you're the broken one but I'm the only one who needed saving.'
She needs to be saved emotionally, but she feels he is the only one that can help her fill the emptiness inside her. The song states that
'It's not much of a life your living, Life isn't something you take, it's given.'
It connotes that she needs to get up, and live her life. Stop being depre4ssed and hiding within herself. She needs to take life as an opportunity, not a burden. She can't keep supporting her partener, when it's just dragging her down too. This is easier said then done as continouly throughout the song, she expresses her strong bond and love she has for him and how she wants to help him get through it.
'Round and around and around they go...'
They keep dealing with this same battle over and over and over again trying to help each other, and it doesn't seem to be getting better. All they know, is they need the other and can't get through it alone, but it's a huge struggle trying to keep helping the other and pulling each other up..
There is a 17 second introduction to the music video where there is a series of shots, to set the scene for the viewer. The slow tempo of music, matches the simularity of the slow pace shots used. There are only 10 different shots used within the first 17 seconds of the clip. 7 which are different shots of fragmenetd parts of Rihannas body and 3 of these clips are repetitive and use the same shot of water running into the bath. They use this repetition to empthaise to the viewer that the bath is being filled. This is needed as the whole of the music video is actually set in the bath with the main character Rihanna, therefore is there was no scene setting the viewers would be suddenly shocked when a bath appeared out of no where. The pace of the shots used within the first sequence is very slow. It corresponds with the slow tempo fo music. It allows the viewer to connect with the video more. The camera shots are all mainly close up shots, again allowing the viewer to feel more involved and closer to the video. It brings the viewer in making them feel connected and more personally responsible for what is about to happen. The close up of the singers tattoos and rings allows you to understand her persona and get a understanding for who she really is.
The mise' en scene of a single bath in a very dull and sparce room, connotes the the viewer the feelings of the main character. Feeling alone and vunerable with no support around her. The use of both high key and low key lighting both shadows and illuminates her body parts, represting her constant rollercoaster feelings.
The second sequence starts with a closeup shot of Rhianna's face. The only part of her body visible is her face, which intesifies the emotion on her face. This is then strengthened by the extreme close-ups of her eyes and lips. The shots demonstrate the grief and upset she is feeling through examples such as the redness in her eyes, which connoates she has been crying. A range of medium shots are used in time witht eh slow beat of the song. They show Rhianna slowly touching her body. This is insinuates the the audience that she is feeling vulnerabe and helpless. In time with the tempo of the song a zoom is then used, getting closer to the singers face and then repatedly back out again. This represents the pressure she is under. It connotes the trouble and stress surrounding in on her, constanlty getting closer and closer, suffocating her. She begins to roll her head and shrug her shoulders which connotes to the viewer she is trying to sake of these pressures and troubles. Close-ups of her face then used again intensifying the scene once again. The lighting is very poorly lit, showing alot of the singers face in the dark and shadowed. This represents how she is trying to hide and forget about her problems. The male appears at 00:49 for a split second and a close-up is used to show the female singer speechless. You can see her breath being taken away. 'I'm not really sure how to feel about it, something int he way you move' This connotes to the reader that the mae has some kind of control over the female, wheter it it be mentally or physically. We can see the effect the male has by the use of a zoom closing in and out on the females face. You see her distraught face which helps the audience empthaise for the female. This is then followed by various very intimate shots. Rhianna is shown completly naked, sinking down into the bath, repeatedly shown again but this time a birds eye view shot of her back. This makes the audience feel empowered over the singer. Representing the female to feel hopeless and vulnerable. This is then followed by a tracking shot following the singers tattoo's down her neck. It allows the audience to feel personally connected and again exagerates the empthay for the singer.
This sequence opens with an eleven second zoom, gradually getting closer to the male singer, who is sitting on the edge of a bath in a dark corner of the room. It is the first time the audience fully meet the male and can form a connection. The tempo of the music is slowed downa nd the tone is alot higher, this gives an imression to the audience that the man is also hurting and sounds upset and vulnerale also. When are then shown a close-up of the males face. This is then followed by several cuts between the male and female singers. Both looking devasted and in despair. The cuts co-ordinate with the timing of the music, therefore the cuts are fairly slow and allow the audince to set the scene. All of the shots are of the singers looking out of camera and are shown in dark places reprsenting their moods. They form no direct eye-contact with the camera, allowing the udience to understand they are in very distant places, feeling very alone. Despite the shots being very far away and in the dark, making it hard for the viewers to identify what is exactly going on, the shots are still very intimate and this keeps the audience connected witht he video still. We see the the female singer rolling around in the bath naked, reprsenting her sturggle to come to a decision. Also having the shots very poorly lit, keep the audience in suspense - havng them guessing what is coming next. The male singer repeates ' I just want you to stay' however dspite having no lyrical input from te female singer at this part, we still understand she is not happy witht he situation because as he sings these lyrics, we are shown cuts to to close-ups of the females face shaking her head, represnting she is not 100% sure about her decision. The use of repetive keys played on the piano, reprents and constanty reminds the viewer about the pain being caused. They can link the sound of the piano with the video and storyline, therefore creating a very strong link in many viewers minds. The squence is finished with both singers saying 'I need this hole gone.' With this we are shown the two singers in different senarios. The male is staring hopelessly into a mirror,avoiding eye contact with the camera, searching for answers within himself that he is just simply sturggling to find. Whereas the female is shown to be directly connected with the camera, panning around her with immediate strong eye-contact, connoting to the reader that she is the charcter we should be empthaising for.
The tempo picks up again at the start of this squence. The mood has turned. 'It's funny how your the broken one, but im the only one that needed saving' The female has become more defesnive and this allows the audience to side with her and feel like they shoud be on her side of the battle. We are shown several amount of close-up shots of the characters both in deep thought. 'Cause when you never see the light, it's hard to know what one of us is caving.' The female singer is stating how they both feel suffocated by the darkness. The tempo slows down at the end of the two sentences empthasing on the two words'saving' and 'caving' illustrating to the reader the pain and suffering. The chorus is then again repeated for the last and final time. All the shots of the characters are now exagerated and the lighting is slightly brightened, with both character brought out of the darkness and shadows. As the singers join together to sing the second to last 'stay' they both exagerate they voice and put extra strain and power into their voices. This indicates to the listener that the song is about to come to an end. The camera privliages the female charcter allowing the audience to sympthaise wih her. They are repeated shots of the female artist tell the audience exactly how she is feeling. The close up shots fo her face staring int the distance, her rolling her eyes and struggling to catch her breathe show the audience her exact feelings. The song then ends with the audience seeing the second to final shot of the male staring into the distance looking hopeless, followed by the last shot of the female actress with tears dripping down her face and her gently slipping into the bath face covered. This insinuates the the audience that the female artist has given up and is now surrendering. This connots the end of the video and the end of her battle.