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LEMONADE by Beyoncé explained track by track; a thread.
Lemonade is Queen Bey’s sixth album, described as “a conceptual project based on every woman’s journey of self-knowledge and healing.” It consists of twelve songs with features from artists including Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, and James Blake.
PRAY YOU CATCH ME — Beyoncé just wants to know, and wants her lover to notice her suspicion and her hurt. She wants him to catch her before she falls completely out of love. Her prayers add religious overtones (and the possibility of redemption) to their marital discord.
Is there anything truly unforgivable in love? That’s what Beyonce will figure out. The man doesn’t want Bey to know that he is cheating on her, so he kisses her to keep up with the lie. Similarly,Bey’s well aware of his actions and doesn’t want him to know that she already knows.
HOLD UP —Here,she’s not just declaring her love for him,she’s asking him to stop and think about who really has his back.She compares her love to the whole host of his groupies and hangers on.She’s telling him how insane it would be to set her aside in favor of that fickle crowd.
Coming home late and smelling of another woman’s perfume are both common tropes of a love affair. Beyoncé describes the paranoia of going through her man’s phone looking for evidence of other women.She’s searching both for confirmation that he’s cheating and an explanation of why
DON’T HURT YOURSELF — She’s stronger than her husband’s betrayal. Bey’s laying it out on the table: his ongoing infidelity has decimated their relationship. Their marriage is heavily lacking meaning, intimacy, and growth. Bey warns her man that he can easily be replaced;
“You know I give you life” also has two meanings. The main meaning, of course, is that she’s a source of stability and support and it would be devastating for him to lose her. But there’s also a possible secondary meaning, which is that, as the mother of his child, she has+
...literally given him life by helping to create, carry, and bear their daughter, Blue Ivy. Bey uses two homophones—mane/man and lion/lying, evoking powerful images to let everyone know she is a resilient, independent woman.
SORRY — this track presents itself as a defiant breakup song, a middle-fingered clap-back anthem about having strength and confidence in the midst of an otherwise serious and emotionally tugging breakup.
Beyoncé doesn’t want to be bothered while on a night out with her friends. She’s not thinking about the stressors that bring her down when she’s home—even the romantic ones. She demands respect and remains wholly unapologetic.
Beyoncé feels like she is always the one to blame, whether that’s in this relationship, or as a woman in today’s society. The apologetic role has been flipped. Often, the woman is perceived as “weak” or “emotional” when they call their partner in tears, apologizing.
6 INCH — is a worker’s anthem, empowering women to stay on their grind and keep making their money. The song uses six inch heels as a symbol of wealth and power. Beyoncé has worked hard for the success she has in life, and feels she is not only worth it, but should flaunt it.
Beyoncé shows her vulnerability. Despite being a woman who has promoted empowerment as a strong motif in her music, she still craves the love of her partner.
Beyonce is able to demonstrate this need through a cracked voice as well as an instrumental which is heavily stripped+
Beyonce is able to demonstrate this need through a cracked voice as well as an instrumental which is heavily stripped+
+ of its previously strong melodies. With her strong sensuality, symbolized by her six-inch heels, her man will come crawling back—if he’s lucky she may just show him some forgiveness for his misdeeds.
DADDY LESSONS — The song is about Beyonce’s childhood roots in Texas and the lessons she learned from her father. A recurring theme throughout Lemonade are the similarities between fathers and husbands. If Beyonce can forgive her father, can she also forgive her husband?
There’s an allure to her father’s strength, even if it’s dangerous. He warns her against men like him, preparing her, even as a little girl. So the lyric “when men like me come around” can double as Matthew warning Beyoncé that Jay might be a cheater just like he was.
This song in particular becomes a way to admit that she was taught from a young age to take care of herself and ignored these lessons at her peril, while also re-accessing the core meaning of the lessons, taking strength from them, and moving forward.
LOVE DROUGHT — Bey expresses a deep understanding of her partner, even after all the lies and disappointment. Bey is fully aware of this person’s shortcomings, and almost implores them not to lie because she can see through it.
She fulfilled her roles as a mother, a wife,a woman,an artist,a daughter. And tried her very hardest to be the best version of herself that she can be.She’s confused as to why she and,presumably,her husband are facing such a love drought, and if she did something to trigger it.
Bey wants to know if Jay’s love is unconditional and authentic, or if he just loves the idea of her. Is their relationship dependent on its celebrity couple status? Or is true love the thing that keeps their relationship alive?
SANDCASTLES — Sandcastles are transient objects—waves wash them away if they’re built too close to the shore. The vows Bey and Jay’s relationship are built on turn out to be just as vulnerable. So what happens after waves wash away a sandcastle?
Beyoncé’s pledge to leave Jay if he cheats is paralleled by Jay’s commitment to the fidelity that comes with marriage vows. It is implied heavily throughout the album that he was, in fact, unfaithful, and yet Beyoncé stays with him. They both broke their promises.
Beyoncé examines the complexities of marriage and vows, accepting that not every promise can be kept—relationships can last and evolve even when promises are broken. They are going to have to figure it out together.
In response to Jay breaking her heart with his infidelity, Beyoncé’s threat of leaving has broken his heart. In order to salvage their relationship, Jay must show that he has felt the pain of his betrayal and that he has become a better person.
FORWARD — Whatever has happened in this relationship‚ Beyoncé’s moving ahead. It’s notable that a man’s soft voice (James Blake) sings these lyrics with Bey. Now, rather than a partner in anger (like in “Don’t Hurt Yourself”), a man’s voice is a partner in and source of solace.
FREEDOM — Freedom” is an anthem dedicated to black women. The song brings Beyoncé’s visual album to an apex with the scene ‘hope’ and features the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner pictured with photos of their deceased sons.
Throughout the song, Beyoncé alludes to herself as a force of nature who can empower other women like herself to break free of the bonds society places on them. She addresses her struggle with infidelity as a black woman, as well as alluding to the history of slavery.
She allows herself the freedom of feeling her pain rather than bottling up and then she turns that passion toward the protection of her daughter. Using passionate lyricism, she empowers the protesters who march to protect America’s black youth from police brutality.
ALL NIGHT — The song illustrates a wise love, one that has experienced deep pain and disappointment yet was able to come out the other side determined to keep going. This track serves as the unofficial ‘close’ to the album’s emotional journey, before “Formation.”
Lies and deception can tear a relationship down.Beyoncé proves here she’s strong enough, and her love for this person is resilient and true enough, that infidelity cannot harm it. It’s not absolving this figure of guilt, rather she’s explaining that her love for him will prevail
In the first iteration, the many people “just tryna touch ya kiss up and rub up….‘ may describe certain sycophants and hangers-on, people who enter the Carters’ lives not for genuine friendship or concern, but for ulterior gain.
FORMATION — Formation” is a Black Power anthem, a fitting contribution to Black History Month and an important conversation piece in the Black Lives Matter movement.
With a double entendre, Bey plays with the stereotypes of African-Americans and brings up her family, specifically “baby heir” to the Carter dynasty, daughter Blue Ivy. Blue Ivy’s hair has become something of an internet meme, with a petition to comb her hair circulating.
When Beyoncé says she likes her “baby heir with baby hair and afros,” she is referencing two elements of black hair and traditionally black hairstyles: the afro and baby hair, the small wispy hairs close to the hairline. These baby hairs sometimes get gelled to the forehead in +
... a style that’s received more mainstream publicity as it’s been appropriated by white women.
