A Critical Analysis of Christina Perri’s ‘Jar of Hearts’
I know that it has been awhile. But I’m back. So is Christina Perri. And this time, she’s bringing her jar of hearts.
Getting her start when a friend convinced a choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance? to use her song to help illustrate a sappy, modern dance filled with men breaking ladies’ hearts, Perri has quickly gone from waitress to a blip pop obscurity.
Let’s look at the dance:
Sappy. Modern. Dramatic. Perfect for a show like So You Think You Can Dance where the main objective is to make the audience cry in only a mere minute and a half.
But let’s get to the meat and potatoes of the song. The lyrics.
Lyrics
I know I can’t take one more step towards you,
Cause all that’s waiting is regret.
And don’t you know I’m not your ghost anymore,
You lost the love I loved the most.
I learned to live half alive,
And now you want me one more time.
And who do you think you are
Running ’round leaving scars?
Collecting your jar of hearts,
And tearing love apart.
You’re gonna catch a cold,
From the ice inside your soul.
So don’t come back for me
Who do you think you are?
I hear you’re asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found.
But I have grown too strong
To ever fall back in your arms.
I learned to live half alive,
And now you want me one more time.
And who do you think you are
Running ’round leaving scars?
Collecting your jar of hearts.
And tearing love apart.
You’re gonna catch a cold,
From the ice inside your soul.
So don’t come back for me
Who do you think you are?
And it took so long just to feel alright,
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes.
I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed
Cause you broke all your promises.
And now you’re back
You don’t get to get me back.
And who do you think you are
Running ’round leaving scars?
Collecting your jar of hearts,
And tearing love apart.
You’re gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul.
So don’t come back for me
Don’t come back at all.
And who do you think you are
Running ’round leaving scars?
Collecting your jar of hearts.
And tearing love apart.
You’re gonna catch a cold,
From the ice inside your soul.
Don’t come back for me.
Don’t come back at all.
Who do you think you are?
Who do you think you are?
Who do you think you are?
Conclusion
Well Christina. For as much as the indie hipster population needs their own Britney Spears, I just don’t think you have the chops to fit the bill. I understand you have an awesome neck tattoo. I understand that your hair is both jet black and brown at the same time. I understand that you wear combat boots with pretty dresses. But I also understand that your lyrics are about as complex as a Taylor Swift song.
With lyrics straight out of the Evanescence greatest hits collection, “Jar of Hearts” doesn’t even try to hide the simplicity of its main metaphor, if you could call it that at all.
If you did one of those magnetic poetry poems on your refrigerator the only words available to you would be :
Ice, Soul, Cold, Scars, Tearing, Broke, Promises, Alive.
Groundbreaking concepts Christina. Absolutely groundbreaking.
Surely the video will add a much needed layer of depth to the situation. Surely.
Nope.
Good to see modern dancing still making a comeback on the Billboard Top 100
It’s sort of the equivalent of Avril Lavigne being the opposite of Britney Spears because she wears a tie and a beater. I’m not buying it. But despite all of the faults with the song, the artist and the overall package, “Jar of Hearts” hits ladies right in the soft parts. In that special place where they are genetically inclined to swoon at Zac Efron and attend Hanson concerts.
So Christina, I have a poem for you:
Broken promises alive, tearing at cold, ice scars. Who do you think you are?
red herring. 