☝️ Key Points
- The singer feels emotionally fulfilled, praising her partner for their care and love.
- The singer's sexual dissatisfaction is addressed. She feels sexually neglected.
- The repeated refrain 'It's not fair' illustrates her frustration and disappointment over the lack of sexual fulfillment in her relationship.
- Despite her sexual dissatisfaction, the singer holds onto the relationship, reflects on her feelings, and hopes that she may be overreacting.
- Overall, the song describes the dilemma of being emotionally fulfilled but sexually unsatisfied in a relationship.
Interpretation
The song 'Not Fair' by
Lily Allen deals with a relationship in which the singer is emotionally fulfilled but sexually dissatisfied.
In the opening lines of the song, she praises her partner for his love and care. She feels respected and safe with him, as she expresses in the lines 'Oh he treats me with respect, He says he loves me all the time, He calls me fifteen times a day, He likes to make sure that I'm fine'.
However, the song takes a turn when she reveals her sexual dissatisfaction. She feels sexually neglected, as she expresses in the lines 'When we go up to bed you're just no good, Its such a shame... you never make me scream'.
In the chorus, she repeats 'It's not fair' and 'I think you're really mean', which showcases her frustration and disappointment. She feels that he doesn't care enough about her sexual needs and therefore is unfair.
Despite her sexual dissatisfaction, she holds onto the relationship, as she expresses in the lines 'Then I remember all the nice things that you ever said to me, Maybe I'm just overreacting maybe you're the one for me'.
Overall, 'Not Fair' is a song about the dilemma of being in a relationship that is emotionally fulfilling but sexually unsatisfying, and the difficulty of reconciling these two aspects.