Taylor Swift vs Sara Bareilles

I’ve been thinking about this for while but I decided to do it now in honor of SB’s new music video which was adorkable.

I’ve realized that Mean and Machine Gun are the exact same song. They’re both about guys in either singer’s life that basically told them that they aren’t going to get anywhere in life with singing.

You, with your words like knives and swords and weapons that you use against me
You have knocked me off my feet again got me feeling like I’m nothing
You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard, calling me out when I’m wounded
You, pickin’ on the weaker man

Tell me off in a letter
Completely ignore me
Getting high off of saying
Why you don’t adore me?

You, with your switching sides and your walk-by lies and your humiliation
You, have pointed out my flaws again as if I don’t already see them
I’ll walk with my head down trying to block you out ’cause I’ll never impress you
I just wanna feel okay again

Baby, please, I’m well versed
In how I might be cursed
I don’t need it articulated

Stand in line wasting
All of your time just to hate me
Every dime gone to ways
You can find that might bait me

I like both songs. They’re both equally catchy and rather hard to get out of your head once you’ve listened to them. They’ve got the same addictive quality because they’re both really  applicable to all kinds of different situations.

The biggest difference, and I think the most important, is how each lady presents herself within the song.

Well, you can take me down with just one single blow
But you don’t know what you don’t know

Someday I’ll be living in a big old city
And all you’re ever gonna be is mean
Someday I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me

And all you’re ever gonna be is mean

And drag me down, sight set proudly
Bring me to the ground see
You love to be somebody’s enemy

Maybe nobody loved you when you were young
Maybe, boy, when you cry, nobody ever comes
Will you try it once?
Give up the machine gun
Machine gun

They both have their moments where they admit that they can’t stand up against the attacks being brought upon them, but Taylor automatically dismisses the person, saying that they will never change. Sara on the other hand, almost challenges the person to try to change. They both acknowledge that the person probably has some effed up past that would make them act the way they are. Only Sara thinks the person has the ability to stop. When I am in an extremely bratty mood about something, Mean is the song I would turn to in a heartbeat. I get why people like this song. Sometimes you just want to tell a person ‘You’re mean and you’ll always be mean.’ But I don’t actually believe that. So when I’m feeling like a 20 year old and am still upset about something, Machine Gun is my song. Though I don’t always assume that a person attacking me didn’t get hugged enough as a child, I do always think they have the ability to change. It doesn’t mean they will, but people always have the option to ‘put down the machine gun.’ That’s why Sara ‘writes the soundtrack to my life’ kinda deal, like TSwift does for so many people. I think that’s what I don’t like about her the most. Her songs are fine, though I’d consider most sub-par. I’m more against her attitude/philosophy of life and how girls seems to adopt it and then act like little fools. I’m not saying SB is like poster child for all things good and right, but I think her attitude towards life is pretty positive in general. And to prove that, here’s her happy break up song!