Lyrical Deconstruction: OMG by Will i am and Usher

This was posted to my facebook over a year ago; if you recognize me from this, please don’t say anything in the comments. I’m not exactly trying to hide my identity from you guys so much as keep certain facebook followers off this blog.

Oh my gosh.

Baby let me–

I did it again so I’mma let the beat drop.

Starts out strong with a nice line, but I’m not a fan of the “Oops I made an error oh well leave it in tee hee” meme in songs. It was dumb in Beautiful, it’s dumb now.

Let’s talk about this phrase “Let the beat drop”. Once upon a time it meant something – The rapper was going to let the beat they had been sticking to steadily “drop” and begin freestyling or change up the rhythms. Due to alternate meanings of the word “drop”, I can also see it being used to START a heavy backbeat in the song – dropping some beat.

In this song, however, it means nothing at all. No musical changes are noted at this point.

Oh my go–

Baby let me love you down!

Interrupting cow who?

There’s so many ways to love you

Baby I can break it down

There’s so many ways to love you

So far so good. It’s a fairly smooth song, a bit of an R&B feel to it, definitely sounds like Usher’s work – and look, it’s about romancing a girl (note the use of the word “love” – this guy is interested in a sensual experience, probably including rose petals before he makes the girl scream). Usher is known to be a softie that way – prone to romantic notions like childhood friendship blossoming into later relationships (My Boo) and tormenting himself when he treats a woman badly, falling over himself trying to make it better (Confessions). Thanks to will.i.am this song is a bit more upbeat and has a little more punch, but at this point of the song we think we know what we’re in for, so we settle back and relax.

Got me like, Oh my gosh

I’m so in love

I found you finally.

Ah yeah, that’s the stuff. Be my Edward Cullen, Usher. Whisper those sweet nothings. Thank god there’s one song on the radio today that’s not all “To the windows, to the wall!” or “Don’t trust a ho”.

You make me wanna say

oh oh , oh-oh, oh-oh oh, oh-oh,

oh-oh oh, oh-oh, oh oh,

Oh my gosh!

(oooooooh, oooooooh, oooooooh, oooooooh)

You make me wanna say

(oooooooh, oooooooh)

oh oh , oh-oh, oh-oh oh, oh-oh,

oh-oh oh, oh-oh, oh oh,

Mmm, will.i.am. Play that crazy rhythm game with your ohs. It’s not exactly meshing with Usher’s soft r&b lyrics but we don’t care, it’s glorious and awesome. This song apparently marries two worlds – the modern-day fairytale of a man utterly bestruck by love doing his best to please a girl, ala “When A Man Loves A Woman”, and the funky almost-beatboxing from will.i.am. Beautiful.

I fell in love with shawty when I seen her on the dance floor

Er, Percy Sledge didn’t exactly… urg. Well maybe they’re just trying to reach the youth crowd – teach the hip-hop gangbangers about what real love is like. Still. “I seen”? Really? how about some grammar lessons as well?

Ah well, that’s just one line, surely it’ll get better.

She was dancing sexy

Ah, the classic sultry seductress type

pop-pop-poppin poppin droppin low

…with some kind of verbal tick. WTF? Oh, right, will.i.am, he does that.

Never ever has a lady hit me on the first sight

this was something special, this was just like dynomite

Aha, back on track! Love at first sight is an old cliche but one we still enjoy. Hooray for Usher, you go rescue that song with your tender and sensitive lyrics!

Honey got a booty like pow pow pow

…what.

Honey got some boobies like wow oh wow.

…..WHAT.

Girl you know I’m lovin’ your

lovin’ your style

check check check-check, check checkin’ you out

No, wait, go back. What the hell was that about? Nothing about her smile or her sexy moves or “The way it hit her, I had to stop and stare, she got me lovestoned” or “Isn’t she wonderful? Isn’t she precious?” or “I got chills, they’re multiplying”? Just… just tits and ass? That’s it? That’s love? Oh, and apparently dancing, which involves shaking the aforementioned tits and ass.

like, oh!

She got it all!

Sexy from her head to toe!

And I want it all! And all! And all!

Suddenly the cheering in the backgroud makes a sinister sort of sense. This isn’t actually a romantic song at all. The cheering is the rest of the guys at the boy’s club cheering him on as he approaches this “sexy” woman intending to tap that ass – because obviously the only thing worth loving about a woman is her T&A, and how well she shakes it indicates how easy she might be. There’s obviously no other basis for true love than how big your assets are. Can’t find The One? Get implants!

Baby let me love you down

There’s so many ways to love you

LIAR. Apparently the reason for the word “love” is that Usher is too much of a pussy to say “fuck” in his songs – or “God” for that matter, since OMG stands for “Oh My Gosh”.

Baby I can break you down

Okay, that’s just fucking sinister. What, is he already forshadowing an abusive relationship before he’s even spoken to the girl?

There’s so many ways to love you

Or… or worse…. oh god… is this… is this what he’s saying to the girl? Is this his idea of a pick-up line? Just walk up to this girl and whisper in her ear, “I can break you down, there’s so many ways to love you”? Because seriously, that’s what mace is for.

Got me like

Oh my gosh

I’m so in love

I found you finally

Let’s talk about love for a minute. Love isn’t “That girl has big titties and I want to rub my face in them.” Love isn’t “DAY-UM I’d like to tap that ass!” Love requires actually liking the person as a person – which requires talking to them for more than ten seconds and actually caring what they have to say rather than just staring at their chest licking your lips.

Why are so many good artists crossing over to the dark, misogynist side?

Skipping ahead to the “verse” after a brief dance session because the beat is that good:

Fell so hot for honey

outta all the girls up in the club

this one got me whipped

just offa one look then I fell in love

Okay, first of all, the very concept of being “whipped” is awful derogatory, as it often implies that a man should always Be A Man and stand up to his wife and order her around and if she calls the shots in any way, he’s less of a man, which is a laughable state.

How on earth does looking at a woman’s ass make you whipped? He explicitly states he hasn’t spoken to her yet – just one look and he’s “whipped”. What?! he doesn’t even see her as a human being, just a piece of meat – that’s exactly the opposite of being whipped.

This was something special

The way a woman can be considered “special”?

Clapton: being precious, charming, and so innocent it’s disarming (Something Special)

Nick Carter: “Look deep into her eyes, outrageous, make you crazy” (Special)

Rick James: being a kinky and confident freak in bed (Superfreak)

Usher and Will.i.am: Having tits and ass, basically.

This one just like dynomite

oh oh , oh-oh, oh-oh oh

out of sight

Boobs. Logs of females have them, boys. Grow up and get over it.

Fell in love with honey like

my oh my

Honey looking wonderful

fly so fly

Honey like a supermodel

my oh my

Honey how you do that

make a grown man cry.

How you do what? Are they in bed already? No, probably how you shake your ass.

Things grown men ought to weep over: The birth of their first child. Being at the top of Everest. Their dad’s funeral. And apparently, some girl’s ass.

I hope this is at least a grown woman and not a teenager. Grown men should not weep at the sight of a teenager’s ass.

I leave you with this amusing musical analysis: