Song Lyric Analysis of Ed Sheeran - Save Myself
Maria Zita Sih Angranti (205110501111016) (19)
Mid-Term Project - Introduction to English Literature (B)
English Language Education Brawijaya University 2020
Lecturer: Irene Nany Kusumawardani, S.Hum., M.Li.
https://genius.com/Ed-sheeran-save-myself-lyrics
And you can listen to the song and sing along on YouTube:
Words and Sounds
Words
Theme and Subject of The Song
From my point of view, this song is such a masterpiece, not only for its amazing lyrics but also because of its peaceful melodies. This song also contains a very strong message for everyone to start taking good care of themselves and to prioritize themselves. Moreover, you may be reminded of things you often forget when you listen to a song like this. As humans, we often forget that we must save ourselves first before we can help others. Prioritizing ourselves is something we often forget to do. In its simplest form, self-care is about maintaining balance so you can pay attention to all of your parts. It is important to remember that not everything that feels good is self-care. We can all be tempted to use unhealthy coping mechanisms such as drugs, alcohol, eating too much, and taking reckless risks. It's true that these self-destructive activities do help us deal with challenging emotions, but they are temporary.
Ed Sheeran said in an interview, "I think there's something about this song that every woman can relate to because a lot of people, but especially women, tend to give too much of themselves." Based on his comments, we can say that this song is about that tendency. Additionally, Ed Sheeran stated that every woman should hear this song, and it implies that his message is to tell every woman to start prioritizing themselves and stop giving their energy away too much. Many fans, however, believe this song is about Ed's relationships with other people. Due to his popularity, he was often exploited by others, or he feels that his kindness has not been reciprocated by others.
In conclusion, the theme of this song is about mental health, self-care, and self-healing which become popular topics during a pandemic, while the subject of this song is about someone (the singer) who is a generous and big-hearted person. The singer hates to see other people suffer. Occasionally, the singer gives too much of himself, so he's left with nothing and gets a little burnt out. Now, he needs to step back from "saving a stranger just because they need saving" or step back from helping everyone so that he can focus on himself and his own healing process. As I wrote above, the message from "Save Myself" is also a reminder to all of us that we need to take care of ourselves before we can truly be able to care for others. There are times when it is in our nature to care for and protect others, even while we are the ones who need a shoulder to cry on and protection against harm.
Imagery
According to my understanding, imagery is part of the song analysis. In song analysis, imagery can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, or tasted through the lyrics and the melodies. When I listen to this song and analyze all the lyrics, I imagine myself suffering when I gave too much attention or care to others I know but they didn't actually care about me. That hurts me in a big way. Once I realized that everything I did was not a big deal to them, I felt incredibly stupid. These lyrics and melodies are highly emotional and relate to me. Moreover, they can serve as a visual representation of my own experiences. Because of the strong words in the lyrics of this song and Ed Sheeran also using words that are very relatable and clear to ourselves, I feel that other listeners of this song might feel a sense of connection.
Figurative Languages
Figurative language refers to language that transcends the literal meaning of words to convey a message or idea. In the mid-19th century, this term originated from the Old French "figuratif," which means "metaphorical" (MasterClass, 2021).
Metaphor
A metaphor is a statement that compares two things that are not alike.
✿ “I drown it with a drink and out-of-date prescription pills.” The lyrics describe that the singer copes with sadness with a drink and pills. This is a metaphor because coping with sadness doesn’t literally mean you have to drown yourself with a drink.
✿ “I gave you all my energy and I took away your pain.” A person can’t give another person energy and take away another person’s pain.
Allusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that refers to a person, place, thing, or event.
✿ “Oh, I'm here again. Between the devil and the danger.” The singer is not actually caught in the middle of the devil and the danger in real life.
Idiom
An idiom is one of the figurative languages which has a meaning that can’t be determined by the literal definition.
✿ "It goes on and on." This has the meaning of the idiom that something is continuously happening.
✿ “...so I just numb the way it feels.” The word "numb" means to be unable to feel anything right in the feeling.
✿ “And all the ones that love me, they just left me on the shelf.” The meaning of "on the shelf" is being socially inactive.
Personification
An object or animal is personified when it is given human characteristics.
✿ "Life can get you down..." Life is inanimate and cannot physically bring down people.
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is an exaggeration that is created to emphasize a point.
✿ “I drove miles and miles but would you do the same.” This sentence doesn’t necessarily mean that the singer drove miles and miles but it used to exaggerate the amount of distance that he is willing to go.
✿ “I gave you all my energy and I took away your pain.” It's impossible because if he gives all of his oxygen, then it would literally suffocate him.
Sounds
Alliteration
In alliteration, a consonantal sound is repeated over and over. These occur when words begin with the same letter sound and help to create connections between ideas and words. The lyrics, “I drown it with a drink and out of date prescription pills” counted as Alliteration as well because some of the words began with the letter “D”
Assonance and Rhyme
When in assonance, refers to the repetition of a vowel sound in a line of text or in poetry or lyrics of a song, which pleases the ear and also emphasizes while rhyme occurs when both consonants and vowels are repeated at the end of the word.
However, these lyrics counted as assonance and rhyme:
Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels
I drown it with a drink and out of date prescription pills
And all the ones that love me they just left me on the shelf
My farewell
So before I save someone else, I've got to save myself
References
Gallagher, C. (2017, March 3). Women Need To Listen To Ed Sheeran's "Save Myself". Retrieved from bustle.com: https://www.bustle.com/p/ed-sheerans-save-myself-is-a-song-that-every-woman-needs-to-listen-to-42069
Hurst, K. (n.d.). What Is Self-Care & Why Is Caring About Yourself Important? Retrieved from thelawofattraction.com: https://www.thelawofattraction.com/self-care-tips/
MasterClass. (2021, September 9). Writing 101: What Is Figurative Language? Learn About 10 Types of Figurative Language With Examples. Retrieved from masterclass.com: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/writing-101-what-is-figurative-language-learn-about-10-types-of-figurative-language-with-examples#what-is-figurative-language
McPherson, T. (2017, April 26). Why Ed Sheeran’s ‘Save Myself’ Is The Message We All Need. Retrieved from readunwritten.com: https://www.readunwritten.com/2017/04/26/ed-sheerans-save-message-need/
Reviewed by Zita Angranti
on
October 12, 2021
Rating: 5
