☝️ Key Points
- The song is about self-awareness, acceptance, and love, in which Nelly Furtado reflects on her experiences and life
- Despite her young age, she feels like she has lived many lives and that with each experience and knowledge gained, she becomes less naive or innocent
- Furtado talks about the expectations others have of her and how she tries to fulfill them
- She expresses her disappointment and sadness that reality often doesn't meet her expectations or hopes
- Finally, she accepts the inevitability of change and celebrates imperfections and freedom in her love, conveying a message of acceptance and self-worth
Interpretation
"Try" by
Nelly Furtado is a song about self-awareness, acceptance, and love.
In the first section, Furtado reflects on her life and experiences. She explains that as she grows older and gains experience, things are not always as they seem ("everything is not as it's sold"). She feels that despite her young age, she has lived many lives and that the more she sees, the less she grows, which could suggest that with more experience and knowledge, she becomes less naive or innocent.
In the choruses, Furtado sings about another person who wants more from her. She admits that she can only try to meet those expectations ("all I can do is try").
In the second verse, Furtado describes her disappointment and sadness about how reality often doesn't match what she expected or hoped for ("all of the real people are really not real at all"). She feels compelled to say goodbye to a lifestyle she had designed for herself.
In the last section of the song, Furtado accepts the inevitability of change and the fact that we can't always be what others expect of us ("all of the things we want each other to be, we never will be"). However, she celebrates these imperfections and the freedom she feels in her love ("we are free in our love"). This conveys a message of acceptance and self-worth."