Music Review: Beyonce "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

Beyonce

Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

Album: I Am…Sasha Fierce

Year: 2008

           Beyonce moves on after a broken relationship in the feisty “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It.”)

             Lithe beats open the single, setting an exultant tone. Beyonce introduces the song with the pre-chorus by calling for the single young women. (“All the single ladies (All the single ladies)/All the single ladies (All the single ladies)/All the single ladies (All the single ladies)/All the single ladies/Now put your hands up.”

             She and her boyfriend ended their relationship a few weeks ago. She’s decided to go out the bars again. She’s got her girlfriends and they hung out, flirting and dancing the night away. Through the gossip mill of her inner circle, her ex found out she was all over some guy at the club. He calls her up, upset, asking her why she thinks so little of what they had.  She tells him that it’s not his problem and nothing for him to worry about. He was the one who needed space. (“Up in the club, we just broke up/I'm doing my own little thing/You decided to dip but now you wanna trip/Cause another brother noticed me/I'm up on him, he up on me/Don't pay him any attention/Cause I cried my tears, for three good years/Ya can't be mad at me.")  

        In the chorus, she waited and waited for him to give her a ring one day. It hurt when they talked about marriage, he wouldn’t give her an answer. She tells him it’s his turn to be sad now.  He had his chance. (“Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it/If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it/Don't be mad once you see that he want it/If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it/Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh/Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh/Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it/If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it/Don't be mad once you see that he want it/If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it/Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh/Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh.”)

              She’s dating the guy she met at the bar. She’s in her best dress and her spank (a real flavor, according to My Lip Stuff) flavored lip gloss on her lips. They are out again. She’s laughing and pulling him on the dance floor with her, where they slowing movie the music. If her ex updates his Facebook status saying “I’m going to be alone for the rest of my life” with a sad emoticon or tries to get her back, she’ll blow him off. He lost her and he’s going to have deal with it. (“I got gloss on my lips, a man on my hips/Hold me tighter than my Dereon jeans/Acting up, drink in my cup/I could care less what you think/I need no permission, did I mention/Don't pay him any attention/Cause you had your turn/And now you gonna learn/What it really feels like to miss me.”)

            The chorus is sung again.

        In the bridge, she admits their relationship was mostly positive. She’s more into long-term relationships. Starting over is overwhelming and finding someone as decent he was isn’t going to be easy.  She would like to be with him. However, he’s not ready to settle down yet. She wants him to be the man who will make dinner for her and listen to her about her frustrations of the day, even if it aggravates him. She hopes one day he realizes she’s the one, too. (“Don't treat me to these things of the world/I'm not that kind of girl/Your love is what I prefer, what I deserve/Is a man that makes me then takes me/And delivers me to a destiny, to infinity and beyond/Pull me into your arms/Say I'm the one you want/If you don't, you'll be alone/And like a ghost I'll be gone.”)

               The pre-chorus is sung again.

      The chorus is sung twice to end the single.

      Beyonce's forceful, resigned vocals let out her long simmering frustration.  She dreams of having someone by her side, a best friend she will be with always. For the past three years, she thought it was him.It’s not going to be her ex. It has taken a long time to accept that fact. To have him come back is a slap in the face.

 The layered “Single Ladies” is a true self-empowerment anthem, dealing with the gray area of ending a serious relationship and the complicated feelings it often involves.