☝️ Key Points
- The song is about a complicated romantic situation in which Kelly Rowland expresses her feelings for Nelly despite an existing relationship.
- The repeated line 'You don't know what you mean to me' emphasizes the intensity of their mutual feelings and the difficulty of dealing with the situation.
- Nelly respects the existing commitment and the fact that she has a child, but he can't ignore his feelings and wishes to be with her.
- The song reflects the emotional conflict of having strong feelings for someone who is already in a relationship.
Interpretation
The song 'Dilemma' by
Nelly is about a complicated romantic situation that the protagonists find themselves in. Kelly Rowland expresses her feelings for Nelly, even though she is in a relationship with someone else, which creates the 'dilemma' of the title. She sings 'No matter what I do, all I think about is you / Even when I'm with my boo, you know I'm crazy over you', which suggests that she is emotionally torn between her current relationship and her feelings for Nelly.
Nelly, on the other hand, acknowledges that he is attracted to this woman, even though he knows she is already in a relationship and even has a child. He respects her commitments, but he can't ignore his feelings and longs to be with her. He sings 'I never been the type to break up a happy home / But uh, there's somethin bout baby girl I just can't leave alone'.
The repeated line 'You don't know what you mean to me' underscores the intensity of the feelings that both protagonists have for each other and the difficulties they experience in dealing with their situation.
Overall, the song is about the difficulty of dealing with strong feelings for someone who is already taken and the emotional conflicts that arise from it.