Blurred Lines Analysis

Chances are if anyone has listened to the radio in the past few years, they have heard the song “Blurred Lines.” Produced and written by Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, T.I. (also known as Clifford Jr. Harris), and legally Marvin Gaye, “Blurred Lines” quickly became a nationwide hit when it was released in 2013 that was broadcasted through radios and televisions all over the world. With a contagious and an enjoyable beat, but such sexual and vulgar words, there have been many different ways that the song has been perceived by audiences. Radio stations and social media love and praise the song for having an exciting and an energizing beat, thus its quick fame around the world. However, many people believe that the song is a far cry from fun

Thus, he endeavors to further motivate her by singing this song.

Beginning the song, Williams starts by getting everyone’s attention prior to the first verse, hinting at the later egotistical content and demeanor of the song. The first verse of the song, sang by Robin Thicke, is where the song begins to establish its pathos and ethos. Thicke sings about someone not being able to hear or read what he’s clearly reading, then maybe he’s “out of [his] mind” (line 12). This verse appeals to listeners, as the speaker sings about relating to feeling crazy and being misunderstood, which a lot of the audience can relate to. The lines in this verse are also the only lines in which Thicke sings about how he feels. In the following bridge, it then becomes clear that the main audience Thicke is addressing is not radio listeners, but a particular person, presumably a woman, when he says, “Ok, now he was close/ tried to domesticate you/ but you’re an animal” (lines 14-16). Here, the artist begins to damage his ethos by dissing the idea of being in a relationship and referring to a woman as an animal that must be domesticated – as if she is a dog needing to be housetrained. By analyzing these lines, listeners can

In the next verse, the artists’ lyrics actually get worse. After brashly complimenting her jeans, Thicke then praises her for being the “hottest bitch in this place” (line 42). Continuing the ongoing theme of crude and derogatory, rapper T.I. creates an impeccably rhymed third verse, in which he pays tribute to how nice the woman looks while simultaneously encouraging her to let him do her bodily harm while they have sex. Toward the end of his feature, he says “I’m a nice guy, but don’t get confused, this pimpin’” (lines 90-91). This statement denotes that although he thinks she is very good looking, he does not want anything other than sex with her. This also refers back to Thicke’s line in which he stated he was against a relationship. Unfortunately for the artists, this feature combined with the rest of the lyrics only further persuades some listeners to not agree with them – that the lines between yes and no are not blurred, but that this is how the artist’s sees it, not how it actually is. This feature also brings forth more destructive pathos in listeners such as repulsion and disdain. In the breakdown of the song, Thicke sings, “Do it like it hurt, like it hurt/ what you don’t like to work?” (lines 94-95). Sung so smoothly, some people almost miss the part where he implies sex should be painful for this woman and she shouldn’t complain about that. In spite of his