23 July 2007 - 9:45pm
Plain White T's: "Hey there Delilah"
"Hey there Delilah" is a love song about a real woman. According to USA Today, the lead singer of Plain White T's Tom Higgenson met Delilah DiCrescenzo in 2004. He thought it would be "smooth" to write a song for her since she was the most beautiful "girl" he had ever seen. Higgenson said, " 'Because I wasn't with Delilah, I had to imagine, If I was with this girl, what would I want to tell her?' ".
He assumed that his musical talents could put her into a love spell:
Hey there Delilah
I've got so much left to say
If every simple song I wrote to you
Would take your breath away
I'd write it all
Even more in love with me you'd fall
We'd have it all
He also assumed that this woman needed someone to take care of her financially:
Hey there Delilah
I know times are getting hard
But just believe me girl
Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar
We'll have it good
We'll have the life we knew we would
My word is good
He even goes as far as writing that his infatuation with her is her fault:
Delilah I can promise you
That by the time we get through
The world will never ever be the same
And you're to blame
So let us get this whole story straight shall we? We have a young man who has a crush on a "girl" and not a woman. He overlooks her sovereignty by assuming she needs his money to pay for her bills. After he is done paying for her bills, Higgenson expressed in his lyrics that she would fall deeper in love with him because of all the money he would be making and sheer musical talent he possesses. He does not seem to overlook how "beautiful" she is; hence, the blatant objectification of her body and little description of any other qualities she possesses (see music video online).
A beautiful financially needy woman + guy making money = free affection from woman to man. Can we get more capitalistically paternalistic up in here? This woman is no prostitute. Nothing in the lyrics express anything about her character or what kind of a person she is. Higgenson fantasizes about what he thinks she wants. At what point does he ever mention what she wants out of life? Higgenson simply assumes whatever he wants is what she wants too.
Furthermore, I might add that this could easily be considered a form of verbal stalking. If one reads the comments in the USA Today article, then one will find that Delilah expresses her uneasiness due to his publication of her name worldwide.
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Comments
Well the thing is that the beautiful females in this society are only after a man that can provide for them and give them a better life. I mean, What women doesnt want a man with money. Money is what gives a man (if hes not good looking or even if he is) a chance to get with the "girl". He talks about her looks because he doesnt know her to be judging by her "brain". Women all want to be admired for their "brains" but their so quick to use their cleavage and their sexiness to get what they want. Hypocrites.
Your charm must bring beautiful women flocking to you in droves. You must be sooooo hot!
o im sorry if i wasnt "charming" enough for you. Maybe because im not trying to get into your pants and i can only imagine the kind of monsters you attract with all your hatred and negativity towards men. Especially when one pours his heart out to a girl that would never have him.
Your misogyny is loud and clear. You don't seem to need my help.
Stop overanalyzing this. Instead of trying to blame every interpretative statement on sexism and ruined culture, look at it this way: its a guy singing to a girl he wants to be with. Contrasting from rap, this is a gentle, vulgarity-free kind of song. It's quite simple. I assure you, if a girl had been writing this, the approach would have been different, emotionally, stylistically, etc. Yet, always, an individual who truly cares for someone will want them to be happy, and to provide for them.
I don't care what inspired this song. It is so real, pure, and beautiful that the odd reasoning for its creation, its past, does not condemn it in its future.
Don't you just love picking apart every single little detail of every little thing? I know I do. Can't you just taste the sarcasm? It's a song. Only this, and nothing more.
There's nothing sexist or wtfe about it. Goddamn.
What's the big problem here? Its a simple little song about a guy in love with a girl. Why are some people here analyzing it like you would a history essay or Ivanhoe? Can't you just appreciate a cute sentimental song for what it really is? A cute sentimental song!