Music Review: Joss Stone " You Had Me"
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Joss Stone
You Had Me
Album: Mind Body and Soul
Year: 2004
Joss Stone leaves her drug addicted boyfriend in the willful “You Had Me.”
An assured guitar opens the single, setting a decisive tone. Part of the chorus opens the single. She says at one time, she would’ve married him. Looking at him, now, though, he can hardly stand. Her savings are gone. She can no longer trust him. He will only play upon her sympathy. (“You had me/You lost me/You're wasted/You cost me/I don't want you here messing with my mind.”)
The nights he would call her names. He would make up stories of what her friends said, trying to keep her isolated. It was an effort of his to knock her down a couple pegs. He tells her another story but she tells him to stop. She doesn’t want to be in his life anymore. (“Spitting in my eyes and I still see/Tried to keep me down/I'm breaking free/I don't want no part in your next fix/Someone needs to tell you this is it.”)
In the pre-chorus, she thinks he will her want her back again. However, she can’t cover for him or try to get him help if he doesn’t want it. When he is hungover, he is abusive towards her. He doesn’t have a job. He stole checks from her and money out of her wallet in order to pay for his drugs. (“Hey listen you'll be missin' /Out on all my love and my kissing/Make your mistakes on your own time/When you come down you're just no good to have around/Instead of making money you took mine.”)
In the full chorus, she isn’t in denial anymore. He has serious problem and it’s beyond what she can do. She watched friends hit their bottom. She is drained. (“You had me…I've realized in time/That my eyes are not blind/I've seen it before/I'm taking back my life.”)
He will lie to her whenever he can, knowing she will give him the benefit of the doubt. The last straw was at a friend’s engagement party. He got high beforehand. Once there, he made inapproriate remarks to the bride-to-the-be. She did defend him to her parents, telling them he had his problem under control just as he told her. However, he refuses to see the damage he has done to himself and the people that care about him. (“You tried to trade on my naivete/But the things you do and say embarrass me/See once upon a time I was your fool/But the one I leave behind is you.”)
The pre-chorus and chorus are sung again.
In the bridge, his problems have escalated over the years. It begin with drinking and smoking all the time. She could deal with him being drunk. However, he got addicted to cocaine. At first, it was once in awhile. He told her he was fine. Over time, he lost his job, their apartment and her money was dwindling. Then, she found his vials and bags. It scared her. (“Vodka and a packet of cigarettes/That's all it used to be but now/You're sniffing on snow when you're feeling low/Suffocating dreams that could have been/Maybe for a minute I was down with that/But it didn't take long for me to see the light/You swore you had control of it /But when I stepped back you slipped on your supply.”)
The chorus is sung again.
In the second bridge, she’s planning to move back home and be single for a while. She was going to school for a while but quit because of him. There is so much more she wants to do. Maybe it will stop her nausea and constant stomachaches. (“Taking it back I'm taking it back/Taking back my life/Taking it back I'm taking it back/Taking back my life/Ain't nobody got no business stressing all the time/Taking it back I'm taking it back/Taking back my life.”)
The chorus is sung again.
The second bridge is sung again to end the single.
Stone’s rugged vocals have her teeth bared, prepared to do battle. It has taken some time to realize she isn’t being cruel. She’s looking out for herself It’s not being selfish, it’s making sure she doesn’t end up in jail or hurt.
The robust “You Had Me” can handle whatever comes its way.