All Of Me by Billie Holliday - Free Essay with the Song Analysis

"All of me" is a song by Billie Holliday that was created in December 1931. The major themes that the author conveys are patriarchy and objectification of the female gender. Specifically, objectification is displayed when she sings "All of the me". Why does not take all of the me-Can't you see-I'm no good without you-Take my lips-I want to lose them-Take my arms-I'll never use them in layman's dialect, the lyrics tell the man she is addressing to come and take the whole of her since she is useless, nothing, and meaningless without him. She goes ahead and says "Your goodbye-Left me with eyes that cry-How can I go on-dear without you-You took part-That once was my heart-So why not take all of me", In these lines, she alleges that without him she is just an object, and the whole of her body is his possession. She is, therefore, saying a woman cannot survive without a man, and the man is the controller of a woman's body.

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On the other hand, patriarchy has been evidenced through this song when the author talks about females being unable to stand on their own without the assistance of a man. This particular assertion has made women be the weaker gender since men see them as individuals who cannot survive on their own. Sometimes the actions of women in the past have been the primary reason for sex discrimination. Were it that women were tough and independent all along, such discriminations would not have been there. Although this song is a love song that tells the man that she cannot survive without him, it also brings parallel information other than that of love. Holiday articulates that he has the aptitude to devour her emotions, thoughts, and even body, which accentuates that men are overriding over women.

The song was composed during the period when jazz songs were very prevalent. During that time, Holiday became famous for identifying serious issues in the society and different cultures and turning them into music which people could understand better. Although she had a point by stating how she was feeling after breaking with the man, she went extremely by saying that she was nothing and meaningless without him. The tone of the song seems sad angry and inspires the audience to express some hatred towards the man. This song relates to most Holidays tracks and certain facts in the society where men take advantage of women because they belong to the weak gender.

The librettos of the song stood out to me since they display a contrast of feminist works. It sends contradictory information that is currently being passed in the modern world, gender equality. It means that men and women should operate in a mutual relationship and not parasitic one where if the host is absent then the parasite dies. Specifically, because or relationship, she allows a man to bring her down, which rescinds how she understands herself. After hearing the lyrics of this song, I feel disappointed and frustrated since I do not understand that a woman can forget about her worth and believe that she cannot survive without a man. These are the cases that have advance gender discrimination since women are seen as a human who cannot stand for themselves but must get assist from their male counterparts.