Music Review: Nick Lachey "I Can't Hate You Anymore"

Nick Lachey

I Can’t Hate You Anymore

Album: What’s Left Of Me

Year: 2006

         Nick Lachey struggles to figure out why his marriage failed in the personal “I Can’t Hate You Anymore.”

                A somber guitar and a wistful piano opens the single, setting a fragile tone.  He opens the door to his apartment and puts his plastic bags of groceries on the counter. The refrigerator hums as he puts the fruits and vegetables away. His sneakers squeak on the linoeleum floor. He turns around on the side to grab some lunch meat, making his sneakers squeak again. He laughs and looks around for his ex. It takes a split second for him to realize she’s not there. On his walls, there are pictures of his mom and dad, siblings and his nephews. It was as thoug she didn’t even exist in his life at all. After he was served with divorce papers, he took all his wedding photos and any sentimental things in the relationship and burned them. He thought it would make him feel better, rid of him of his questions. However, before he threw everything away, he looked at the singed photographs one more time. He remembers one huge fight they had. It had started over her not doing the dishes like she promised. They didn’t talk for about two weeks. But he thought they would get through it. A week later, he was reading through the divorce papers. He called her numerous times asking what caused her to give up. She never answered. (“An empty room can be so deafening/The silence makes you wanna scream/It drives you crazy/I chased away the shadows of your name/And burned the picture in a frame/But it couldn't save me/And how could we quit something we never even tried/Well you still can't tell me why.”)

             They were once a great couple who were considerate and supportive of each other. After they got married, their relationship changed. Suddenly, he was competition. If she needed some extra time to spend with family and friends, he let her have it even if he had planned a special weekend for just the two of them. He asked her how if she needed any help with work and offered career advice. None of it was enough. He had dreamed of having a child together a few years and moving back to the Midwest, away from the commotion. However, she took it away from when she chose to leave. She wanted to better herself. For the longest time, he resented her ambition. He couldn’t look at a picture of her for months without seething. Now, he’ll glance it and study her expression, searching for pieces of the person he once knew.  (“We built it up/To watch it fall/Like we meant nothing at all/I gave and gave the best of me/But couldn't give you what you need/You walked away/You stole my life/Just to find what you're looking for/But no matter how I try/I can't hate you anymore/I can't hate you anymore.”)

     She was ok with having a steady career and being a modest success. However, she began getting more recongnition at her job. It caught the attention of the executives and she was given more opportunities which meant leaving him out. His opinion didn’t matter anymore. She was only listening to those who told her what she wanted to hear. She had turned into someone she said she didn’t ever want to become. When she was away, he spent many nights sobbing, wondering what he did wrong. Now, he has to put himself first. Too many changes have happened between and they can’t go back. He has to move forward with his life. There are still days he misses her and wants to share a picture of something he had seen earlier in the day. (“You're not the person that you used to be/The one I want who wanted me/And that's a shame but/There's only so many tears that you can cry/Before it drains the light right from your eyes/And I can't go on that way/And so I'm letting go of everything we were/It doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.”)

         The chorus is sung again.

         In the bridge, his life revolved around her for so many years. He wonders how he missed the signs she wasn’t happy.  He doubts he will ever be able to pinpoint why. (“Sometimes you hold so tight/It slips right through your hands/Will I ever understand?”)

          The chorus is sung twice to end the single.  

         Lachey’s funereal, probing vocals delve into the memories of his relationship as they nip at him, leaving his skin red with marks while he searches for answers. Answers he knows he won’t be able to find. However, he has to try.

   The vulnerable “I Can’t Hate You Anymore” humanizes, which at the time, a very public breakup.