R.A.F.T.

role - Carrie Underwood
audience - ex-boyfriends
format - "burn book"
topic - why their relationships did not last

Cover Song Analysis: "What Hurts the Most"

Once in a while, a popular and current band remakes the song of a previous artist; making it their own by adding a new and creative spin to the hit. Mark Wills, a talented country singer, was chosen to sing “What Hurts the Most” by the writers of the song, Jeffrey Steele and Steve Robson. "What Hurts the Most" was released for the first time on Wills 2003 album "And the Crowd Goes Wild". Although the original song by Wills was not as popular or profound as versions that would be sung later in the decade, "What Hurts the Most" is said to be one of his greatest hits. However, a mere three years later, the contemporary style of the now famous Rascal Flatts would transform the song into one that would set outstanding records in the category of country music.

The unique twang of the Rascal Flatts lead singer, Gary LeVox, in unison with the instrumental expertise of Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus combine to form a new level of country music. Throughout their musical career, the three entrepreneurs have soared with an incredible ten number one singles. Perhaps one of their most renowned hits, “What Hurts the Most” was the number one song in the United States for 4 weeks in 2006. Even more profound, the version by the Rascal Flatts ranked twenty-six on Billboards Top 100 songs for that year. The album “Me and My Gang”, which debut the song, reached the double platinum status just one month after being released. Although the version of “What Hurts the Most” by Rascal Flatts was different from Mark Wills’ original version in regards to the rank of the songs, the lyrics and the message remained

unchanged.

Poetic devices are pervasive throughout the original and lesser known version of “What Hurts the Most” by Mark Wills. The narrative throughout the song portrays the loneliness and heartbrokenness of someone that has just lost someone that was dear to them. In the same way, the singer describes how “[dealing] with the pain of losing [them]” was unbearable. Ubiquitous, alliteration is used all through the song to enhance the lyrics. When illustrating the pain that is present, the story teller says he is overwhelmed with “having so much to say/and watching [her] walk away”. The alliteration that is utilized in these two lines of the chorus was employed to augment the narrative as a whole. Similar to the use of alliteration throughout the song, hyperbole is exploited in the chorus to make certain that the audience is aware of the singer’s hardship during this time. He describes the experience of losing this woman that he loved as something that “hurt the most”. In essence, the narrator, using a metaphor, compares losing the love of his life to the worst thing imaginable.

Because the lyrics of the Mark Wills version of “What Hurts the Most” are similar to that of the more recent Rascal Flatts version, the same poetic devices are utilized in the song. However, the endings of the two songs are dissimilar. Instead of ending the song by repeating the chorus, which is the method that Mark Wills made use of, Rascal Flatts terminated the song by emphasizing that the narrator “was trying to” love this woman”. Another modification that Rascal Flatts made to the lyrics was in the first verse of the song. The singer in the original versions states that “going on with [her] still upsets [him]”. On the contrary, Rascal Flatts version describes the singer being upset by “going on with [her] gone”. By taking a different approach to the song, Rascal Flatts changed the viewpoint of the narrator from being discontent whenever he saw the girl he loved, to being lost without her love. Finally, the music in the version of “What Hurts the Most” is mellower and less optimistic when compared to the upbeat tempo of Mark Wills original version.

By and large, the transformations to “What Hurts the Most” that were made by Rascal Flatts had a profound effect on the song as a whole and the impact that the song had on the audience. Because the feelings of being brokenhearted and forlorn are pervasive in society today, the band altered the song in order to connect with the audience. The melody and tempo were also modified so as to match the tone of the song and mood of the narrator who has been faced with these unbearable situations. Even though the artists are similar in regards to their musical styling’s, the Rascal Flatts cover version of the song “What Hurts the Most”, that was originally sung by Mark Wills, was altered in order to benefit the song all together. By adjusting the music without drastically changing the lyrics, Rascal Flatts preserved the nature of the song, while still leaving their own impression on the music industry.