Music Review: Michelle Branch "All You Wanted"
Michelle Branch
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All You Wanted
Album: The Spirit Room
Year: 2002
Michelle Branch befriends a popular guy in the mild-mannered "All You Wanted."
Summery guitars open the single, setting a joyful tone. In the first verse, she explains that she saw the popular guy hanging out with all his beautiful friends. From the outside, she saw the adolescence she always wanted: friends, parties, the status, and be held in high regard by the teachers. Branch attempted to make her own clique cool. She followed the girl's trends in his clique and how the girls flirted with him. In the process, she lost her own identity.
But she found out that life in the cool world of high school was unsatsifying. The popular guys' friends were mostly hangers-on. He didn't even like his girlfriend. It was someone he was 'supposed' to date. He wanted a genuine friend. For the popular guy, Branch is the escape from the social politics. With Branch, he can be himself.
In the chorus, Branch offers to rescue him from that world. At school, the guy feels a lot of pressure to be perfect all the time. The guy was looking for a friend who wasn't trying to use him.
Branch confides in the guy. She says she feels overwhelmed, too. The guy is a close friend and someone she can ask for advice. Branch inquires the guy if he will let her in to the intimate details of his life.
After the chorus, Branch defiantly says that she would be there for him at anytime.
The chorus is sung twice.
The second verse is abbreviated and sung with scarce instrumentation to end the single.
Love conquers all in the modern caste system of high school. Branch discovered the popular kids have problems, too. The popular guy reaches out and learns that their are other people at school worth talking to. Branch's vocals vary. She's perplexed at first that he's even friends with her. By the second verse, she's trusting. At the end, she's protective of him. She is able to convey the progress of their friendship to a relationship.
"All You Wanted" is a teen fairytale worth believing in.
Album: The Spirit Room
Year: 2002
Michelle Branch befriends a popular guy in the mild-mannered "All You Wanted."
Summery guitars open the single, setting a joyful tone. In the first verse, she explains that she saw the popular guy hanging out with all his beautiful friends. From the outside, she saw the adolescence she always wanted: friends, parties, the status, and be held in high regard by the teachers. Branch attempted to make her own clique cool. She followed the girl's trends in his clique and how the girls flirted with him. In the process, she lost her own identity.
"I wanted to be like you/I wanted everything/So I tried to be like you/And I got swept away."
But she found out that life in the cool world of high school was unsatsifying. The popular guys' friends were mostly hangers-on. He didn't even like his girlfriend. It was someone he was 'supposed' to date. He wanted a genuine friend. For the popular guy, Branch is the escape from the social politics. With Branch, he can be himself.
"I didn't know that it was so cold/And you needed someone/To show you the way/So I took your hand and we figured out/That when the time comes/I'd take you away."
In the chorus, Branch offers to rescue him from that world. At school, the guy feels a lot of pressure to be perfect all the time. The guy was looking for a friend who wasn't trying to use him.
"If you want to/I can save you/I can take you away from here/So lonely inside/So busy out there/And all you wanted/Was somebody who cares."
Branch confides in the guy. She says she feels overwhelmed, too. The guy is a close friend and someone she can ask for advice. Branch inquires the guy if he will let her in to the intimate details of his life.
"I'm sinking slowly/So hurry hold me/Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on/Please can you tell me/So I can finally see/Where you go when you're gone."
After the chorus, Branch defiantly says that she would be there for him at anytime.
"All you wanted was somebody who cares/If you need me you know I'll be there/Oh, yeah."
The chorus is sung twice.
The second verse is abbreviated and sung with scarce instrumentation to end the single.
"Please can you tell me/So I can finally see/Where you go when you're gone."
Love conquers all in the modern caste system of high school. Branch discovered the popular kids have problems, too. The popular guy reaches out and learns that their are other people at school worth talking to. Branch's vocals vary. She's perplexed at first that he's even friends with her. By the second verse, she's trusting. At the end, she's protective of him. She is able to convey the progress of their friendship to a relationship.
"All You Wanted" is a teen fairytale worth believing in.