Kelly Clarkson – Because of You

• 0
  General Comment:I always thought this song was about how her relationship with her mother affected her relationships with men....
  
  Maybe that's just because I grew up with divorced parents though,,,
  
  That's how I take it. :)

  Flag KitKatCathon April 10, 2013   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• 0
  My Interpretation:Could also be about an affair between a young girl and an older man.
  
  He was a coward running away from his marriage ("You never thought of anyone else/you just saw your pain"); she was young and naive; he drew her in ("I was so young/you should have known better than to lean on me"); she fell in love with him, but he was unwilling to leave his wife, so she was left hanging and has become cynical about love ("Because of you, I don't know how to let anyone else in"/"Because of you, I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty").

  Flag fluuxon March 06, 2013   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• 0
  General Comment:i read online that kelly had to pretty much fight for this song to be on her album, but the label was against it, but then it became a hit. sometimes i feel like label people are stupid.

  Flag lovelikearoseon March 05, 2013   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• 0
  My Interpretation:i feel like this song can apply to alot of different situations. i see it though, that it could also be someone's relationship with themselves and their inner demons.

  Flag lovelikearoseon March 05, 2013   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• -1
  General Comment:Clarkson wrote this about her parents' divorce when she was 6 years old. The song might be aimed at her mom. When the divorce happened, her mom was always busy and little Kelly had to make sandwiches for herself to eat.

  Flag musicrocks13on November 10, 2012   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• 0
  General Comment:I feel that this song can be interpreted in many ways. I believe as though this song could relate to being bullied. I am not saying Kelly Clarkson wrote it about being bullied, but someone being bullied could relate to this song.
  
  For example, in the second verse "I lose my way and it's not too long before you point it out," it's as if someone tried something new and another person pointed it out by laughing at them / making fun of them. The line,"I cannot cry because I know that's weakness in your eyes," is saying that if someone being bullied cried then they will just be bullied even more. "I'm forced to fake a smile, a laugh everyday of my life" so if you can't cry you are forced to smile, and sometimes others will laugh along with the bullies to not to be bullied themselves. "My heart can't possibly break when it wasn't even whole to start with" is saying, if the person's heart is so worn out from being hurt they gave up hope to fit in and be accepted.

  Flag songs2meon August 15, 2012   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• 0
  General Comment:I've always had a different idea of what this was about (I'm sure this is just me :P )
  To me, it was about a relationship, in which the guy dealed with a lot of bad/shady people (along the lines of drugs/gangs, that sort of thing). When he met her, he tried to get out of this life, but he was too deep in, and his struggles to get out led to his death.
  
  I will not make
  The same mistakes that you did
  I will not let myself
  Cause my heart so much misery
  I will not break
  The way you did, you fell so hard
  I've learned the hard way
  To never let it get that far
  
  (this is her vowing to remember him by not making the same mistakes)
  
  
  Because of you
  I never stray too far from the sidewalk
  Because of you
  I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
  Because of you
  I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
  Because of you
  I am afraid
  
  (This is how the memories of seeing him struggle has left her afraid of the world, and how she's afraid this will happen to her, and how his dealings showed her how no one can be trusted)
  
  
  I lose my way
  And it's not too long before you point it out
  I cannot cry
  Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
  I'm forced to fake
  A smile, a laugh everyday of my life (this is how she doesn't want to seem weak now, because she knows he wouldn't want her to act that way.)
  
  My heart can't possibly break
  When it wasn't even whole to start with
  
  (explaining how when they fell in love, she never felt they were truly 'together' because there was always this constant threat looming over them. Hence, her heart was never whole. When he died, she felt that she had already suffered because of what happened before.)
  
  
  Because of you
  I never stray too far from the sidewalk
  Because of you
  I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
  Because of you
  I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
  Because of you
  I am afraid
  
  
  I watched you die
  I heard you cry every night in your sleep
  (Though he tried to keep her safe, his feelings betrayed themselves)
  I was so young
  You should have known
  Better than to lean on me
  (she was young and new to the world and to it's dangers, and now all her innocents and naivety of the world has been ripped away)
  You never thought of anyone else
  You just saw your pain
  And now I cry in the middle of the night
  For the same damn thing
  
  (he never thought that she would actually have been affected by what happened to him)
  
  
  Because of you
  I never stray too far from the sidewalk
  Because of you
  I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
  Because of you
  I try my hardest just to forget everything
  Because of you
  I don't know how to let anyone else in
  Because of you
  I'm ashamed of my life
  (this is how she can't let go of the nightmares that their relationship gave her, and how she can never trust the world the way she used to, because she's still terrified the same thing will happen to her)
  Because it's empty
  Because of you
  I am afraid
  
  Because of you
  Because of you
  
  
  
  So that's my crazy interpretation. I'm sure that's not what it's supposed to be, but I wanted to put it down anyways!

  Flag Cya6on June 30, 2012   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• 0
  General Comment:i think its about an old boyfriend who forced her to do things she didnt want to do....it remindes me of my mom's friend's husband who is forcing his wife to stay with him..

  Flag immadanceron March 14, 2012   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• +4
  General Comment:This song sounds like shes crying out to her mom. Her mom acted afraid or timid of life, and she learned that from her mom and now shes repeating the same things. I think that she must have written this after a breakup wherein she realized that she was acting like her mom and this is her way of saying that she wont repeat the pattern.

  Flag purplespikeson March 09, 2012   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• 0
  General Comment:I agree with the comments about the song referring to parents. I think it's about a broken home where parents have split up and are having serious problems. Not only are they protective, not wanting her to get hurt like they did, but she has made a committment to herself to not make the same mistakes in her own love life (I will not make the same mistakes that you did, I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery) She has seen what happens when people make mistakes in love and she doesn't want that for herself.
  
  My dance group performed a neo classical dance routine to this song recently...so much emotion and very expressive. Love it!

  Flag BlackSwan16on December 19, 2011   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!