Disclaimer: I’ve never been a big Kelly Clarkson fan. Nothing personal, and I enjoyed a song or two, but she always seemed a little too aww-shucks-goody-two-shoes for me. Didn’t she also say ‘Cool beans!’ ad nauseum? But this song – it’s pretty cool. It reminds me of the pop songs of the 80’s – big melody, dramatic beat, melodramatic sentiment – and the magic that a pop song could conjure with a few select chords and the right message, aimed straight at the object of affection, or, in this case, lost affection.
Some pop songs can change the world – or at least my little world – in the way they help you get through something. They strike a chord that resonates on a deeper plane of shared pain, and shared understanding. There is solace, sometimes, in company, in someone that gets what you’re going through, someone who’s been there before. It’s not enough to express condolences – you need someone who knows where you’ve been, what it’s like to be so broken, what it’s like to miss someone so badly that you can’t catch your breath for fear of crying.
Part of me thinks songs like this are silly, disposable, trifling bits of ear candy, forgotten in a few months and left off any greatest hits album. But another part of me, the part that remembers what it’s like to let someone go – well, that part of me thinks a song like this could save someone’s soul. No matter how strong we think we are, a little disposable pop music therapy goes a long way to easing a rough day.
