Missy Higgins Scar Analysis

1000 Words4 Pages
Good afternoon 11F. As most of you may know my name is William and I’ll be discussing Missy Higgins’ pop song ‘Scar’. Missy Higgins is a 31 year old Australian song writer, singer, musician and actor from Melbourne. Her song, Scar, was written in 2004 and received various awards and nominations. Like most of her songs, Scar is about the explanations of emotions she has experienced in her romantic relationships. She writes about how she changes herself in order for her partners to be satisfied. Scar is written from Missy’s own perspective and is most likely based on her past experiences. The fact that she is writing in first person makes a unique impact on the audience, as using very personal language makes the ideas and emotions easier for the audience to relate to. I believe this song is about her reactions to her relationships and over the course of this song she tries too hard to match her partner’s aspirations. By doing so she forgets who she really is and, in the process it emotionally traumatises her, leaving her with a symbolic “scar”. “A triangle trying to squeeze through a circle/He tried to cut me so I'd fit” is a metaphor located in the hook of the song. The triangle represents Missy and the circle represents her partner’s expectations for her. In this case she is trying to fit into what her partner wants her to be, but the only way she could do that is to change, or ‘cut’ away at who she really is. Notice that the lyrics say “cut” instead of “re-shape” or “mould”. This could mean that she is “cutting” her personality away, making her less than what she really was. The language used in this hook is quite violent as well in the words squeeze and cut, meaning that this transition is emotionally painful for her. It also makes the audience realise that this change may be very difficult or even impossible for her and creates a stronger meaning behind
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