ROOTING FOR YOU

Just talking the title into consideration the reader expects something dynamic thanks to the use of the progressive aspect of “rooting”. In addition, the indirect you pronoun is the most stressed word in the title so that one may be curious to understand why to root for that specific you. According to the Cambridge dictionary, to root for somebody means “to show for someone who is doing something difficult” .It goes without saying that without reading the lyrics it is impossible to anticipate any reason for the title. The only clear information is that for the singer you is the priviledged reference person.

Now, considering the layout the reader can realize the song is arranged into two verses and two Chourses having different functions. While the verse provides information about the content, the chorous adds the emotional level relying on a refrain structure that puts you at the focus of the message.

 A denotative analysis introduces the reader to the singer’s love story and conveys her inner mood and feelings about an important romantic relationship. There is an immediate contrast between the winter break and the verb “burn”, which is generally connected to something hot, which probably symbolizes her feelings in this case. What’s more, the singer’s desire to see the partner is underlined by the word “again” at the end of line 2. As a result, there is a strong feeling loss in the singer’s mood, but the singer is ready to root for him, even if it’s difficult to have a relationship when she is far away. Despite this difficulty, she wants to keep her promise to him (“I will be here with you Just like I told you I would”) because she obviously cares for him a lot.

The speaker’s desperate feelings of loss and disillusionment are conveyed by the repetition of the subject pronoun “I” throughout the song, thus adding a lyrical tone to it.

The singer’s declaration of her readiness to always love him comes to the surface in line 5 when she says, “I'd love to always love you.” However, she also expresses some doubts about that because she has often felt lonely even if they are “together.” On one hand, she is happy to be with him again; on the other hand, she’s scared of loneliness.

The incremented repetition of “When I’m, when I’m…” in line 7 reinforces the feeling of uncertainty and exemplifies her unsatisfied expectations. Later in the chorus of the song, the lyrical “I” makes it clear that the relationship will be a very hard one. The first and second lines of the chorus synthesize all of her fears: “I know it's hard/Only you and I”. In short, all of her doubts are expressed in the chorus, and she wonders whether he’s all for her the way that she’s all for him, as we can see in line 3 of the chorus: “Is it all for me?” Clearly, her doubt is shown by the question mark.

The sad quality of the song, and of course of the singer’s mood, is evident in line 6 of the chorus, a sadness which is communicated when she says, “you are the only thing I’ve ever truly known.” Her vision of the world seems confined to the existence of “you.” The repetition of “It is only…” and “you are the only thing…” underlines how she feels about him, but it is obvious that she realises that it is time that she “should let it go” ( line 5 of the chorus). In the end, this song is a lament/ for a love that is probably dying.