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Connor Ewert

Barnes

English 1201

2 May 2021

Rhetorical Analysis of “What Is Love” By Haddaway and Jaymes young

song.

This phrase has an important significance to both of these music videos and helps to explain the

deeper meaning in both of them and how they are related. The original song by Haddaway

contains lots of flashy scenes and interesting rhythms and beats that make the song very

catchy. Where these two songs differ however, is in the way they are presented and the

approach they take to being presented. Jaymes cover of “What is Love” takes a more calm,

melancholy approach to the original track. His new version still pays tribute to Haddaway's

original 1993 song while trying to go deeper into the heartbreak and Pain of love.

The original 1993 song written by Haddaway was the most successful song that he

produced, his second most popular being “Life”. “What is Love” was a song he created in only a

day and a half. Haddaway wanted the song to paint love as something personal to everyone. He

wanted to make sure to let everyone know that love was unique and individual for anyone who

felt it. His song was written to show that there is no definition for love, to emphasize that he

used the often asked personal question “What is Love” as the title of his song. Haddaway had

not had many successful songs and no hits until he released “What is love” in an album with his

second best song “life”. After these two more popular songs he did not have another approach
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to the top 5 list again. Jaymes young’s version of “What is love” was written because Jaymes

felt as if the song would also work well to show how love can be painful just as much as it can

be enjoyable.

Even though these songs are very similar in structure and lyric, they differ deeply in

meaning and interpretation. Haddaway's song describes how love is individual and can be

interpreted in your own way with the repeating of the phrase “What is love”. Jaymes version

shows how love can be confusing and painful to the point where you don't know what love is

anymore. He does this by including times in his song where he questions himself, asking “is this

love?” after he gives examples of how he has been ignored or turned away by his lover. This is

important because it shows a clear difference in motivation and the writer's meaning for each

of their songs. Both of the versions of “What is love” may contain the same lyrics but clearly

contrast heavily in their message of what love really is and what it can be.

The structure of both of these songs also helps to clarify what the message is and how it

differs. In Haddaway's music video for “What is love” there are many bright colors

accompanied by impressive dancing and lyrics that give a more lighthearted feel to the song.

This is aligned with Haddaway's message that love is what you want it to be and is original to

everyone. The structure and tone of Jaymes video and song is much more somber than

Haddaways. Jaymes wanted to make sure the listener knew that his song was trying to convey

that maybe love is not all that it is cracked up to be. The lyrics are very similar between the two

songs but there are some minor differences that really separate the two as their own work. One

difference in Jaymes song is the slow pace and more thought-out feel, as if the writer had just
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experienced heartbreak. Another difference is in the pace. Jaymes' song is much slower and this

helps it come off as more emotional.

In conclusion Haddaway's hit song had a large influence on many people and was a

number one trending song in Europe for the time of its release with its message of independent

and personal love, many artists have taken influence and inspiration from his music and

especially this song. One of those people being Jaymes Young who made an already good

original song even deeper to try and include those who had not been so lucky with love and had

been badly hurt in the past. I think that both of these songs are related to each other heavily

but differ strongly in their message of love that lets you have a better understanding of what

exactly is love.
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Works Cited

Haddaway, John. “What is Love” YouTube, CoconutMusicGermany, June 18. 2014, Viewed

February 21, 2021.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEXWRTEbj1

Young Jaymes. “What is Love” YouTube, Jaymes Young, Mar 2. 2018, Viewed February 21, 2021.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRP3Cqgpd6Q