Music Review: Hilary Duff "Stranger"

Hilary Duff

Stranger

Album: Dignity

Year: 2007

       After three years together, Hilary Duff notices a change in her boyfriend’s behavior in the jaded “Stranger.”

          A tricky Hindu beat opens the single, setting a disconcerting tone.  There is something wrong and she can’t figure out what caused it. Last weekend at his house, she asked him if was ready to leave. She was putting on her jacket when he yelled that the last beer was taken and slammed the refrigerator door. Her arms trembled, and her keys dropped on the floor. She left the keys on the floor until he went into the bedroom and picked them up. After relaying the story to her friends, they told her it was nothing to worry about. He was stressed out and having an awful day. The next night, they go out with some friends. He pulls out the chair for her. His arm is around her the entire time and she joins the conversation, he gazes at her. His anger the other day only bothers her more. (“Nobody believes me when I tell them that you're out of your mind/Nobody believes me when I tell them that there's so much you hide/You treat me like a queen when we go out/Wanna show everyone what our love's about/All wrapped up in me whenever there is a crowd/But when no ones around.”)

              Once they are in the car, he says he plans to not see those people ever again. His eyes narrow and he gives her a cold stare, daring her to say something.  This is not the guy who called her to just say hi and hear her voice.  She wonders why he loses his temper with her yet keeps his cool when other people are around. She believes if they were to witness one of his outbursts, they wouldn’t ever make excuses for him again. (“There's no kindness in your eyes/The way you look at me, it's just not right/And I can tell what’s going on this time/There’s a stranger in my life/You're not the person that I once knew/Are you scared to let them know it's you?/If they could only see you like I do/Then they would see a stranger too.”)

            He keeps the radio tuned to his favorite station now and walks ahead of her whenever they run errands. She can guess what’s wrong and try to get him to talk.  However, the conversations are pointless with him he doesn’t respond. She has stopped trying and looks out the window of the car.  She remembers when they were talking about past relationships. He called his ex a psycho and said her family didn’t like him.  He will tells his friends he did all he could, yet she cared about herself and they will believe him. He will be having the same talk with the next girl and this time she will be called psycho.  However, she will always know what really happened. (“Did I ever do anything that was this cruel to you?/Did I ever make you wonder who was standing in the room? /You made yourself look perfect in every way,
So when this goes down, I'm the one that will be blamed/Your plan is working so you can just walk away/Baby your secret’s safe.”)

                The chorus is sung again.

                In the bridge, she thinks of how three years ago, marriage and a future together were once possible. Now, she wishes she wouldn’t have brushed aside her first glimpse at his anger in the first three months they were dating. All of this could be avoided. (“Such a long way back, from the place that we are at/When I think of all the time I've wasted, I could cry.”)

         The chorus is sung twice to end the single.

       Duff’s rankled, cross vocals are needled by his jabs as he stitches her in as the scapegoat. It’s the one continuous thread he will keep using. The friendships she developed over the years will be tainted.

             The weary “Stranger” seethes in the silence, scratching to get out of the trap set out for her.