You Keep Me Hangin' On
Love's Illusion: Breaking Free from Heartbreak with Reba McEntire
Lyrics
(Keep me hangin' on)
Expressing the feeling of being emotionally entangled and dependent.
Set me free why don't cha babe
Pleading to be set free from a relationship.
Get out my life why don't cha babe
Requesting the person to exit their life.
'Cause you don't really love me
Questioning the sincerity of the person's love.
You just keep me hangin' on
Accusing the person of keeping the speaker emotionally attached without genuine love.
Set me free why don't cha babe
Repeating the plea to be set free from the relationship.
Get out my life why don't cha babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Emphasizing the need for the person to leave the speaker's life.
'Cause you don't really need me
Asserting that the person doesn't truly need the speaker despite keeping them emotionally attached.
But you keep me hangin' on
Highlighting the contradiction of being kept on despite not being needed.
Why do you keep a comin' around playing with my heart?
Questioning why the person continues to play with the speaker's emotions.
Why don't cha get out of my life and let me make a brand new start?
Urging the person to leave and allow the speaker to start anew.
Let me get over you the way you gotten over me, yeah, yeah
Expressing a desire to overcome the pain caused by the person.
Set me free why don't cha babe
Reiterating the plea to be set free from the emotional entanglement.
Get out my life why don't cha babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Stressing the importance of the person leaving the speaker's life.
'Cause you don't really love me
Repeating doubts about the person's love.
You just keep me hangin' on
Emphasizing the person's role in keeping the speaker emotionally attached.
No, you don't really need me
Affirming that the person doesn't genuinely need the speaker.
You just keep me hangin' on
Repeating the accusation of being kept emotionally attached despite not being needed.
You say although we broke up you still just wanna be friends
Rejecting the idea of being friends after a breakup due to the emotional pain.
But how can we still be friends when seeing you only breaks my heart again
Expressing the emotional difficulty of seeing the person without reviving painful memories.
(And there ain't nothing I can do about it)
Acknowledging the helplessness in the face of emotional distress.
Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa
Expressing emotional turmoil with vocalizations.
Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa, whoa
-Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa, whoa
-Whoa, ooh, whoa, ooh, whoa
-Yeah, yeah
Reaffirming the plea for the person to leave.
Get out, get out of my life
Directly instructing the person to exit the speaker's life.
And let me sleep at night
Desiring peace and the ability to sleep without emotional burden.
'Cause you don't really love me
Reiterating doubts about the person's love.
You just keep me hangin' on
Emphasizing the person's role in keeping the speaker emotionally attached.
You say you still care for me but your heart and soul needs to be free
Highlighting the contradiction of the person caring while needing freedom.
And now that you've got your freedom you wanna still hold on to me
Pointing out the person's reluctance to let go despite gaining freedom.
You don't want me for yourself so let me find somebody else
Encouraging the person to allow the speaker to move on and find someone else.
Set me free why don't cha babe
Repeating the plea to be set free from the emotional entanglement.
Get out my life why don't cha babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Emphasizing the urgency of the person leaving the speaker's life.
'Cause you don't really love me
Repeating doubts about the person's love.
You just keep me hangin' on
Accusing the person of keeping the speaker emotionally attached without genuine love.
Why don't cha be a man about it and set me free (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Challenging the person to be mature and end the emotional entanglement.
Now you don't care a thing about me
Asserting that the person no longer cares about the speaker.
You're just using me, hey, abusing me
Accusing the person of using and abusing the speaker.
Get out, get out of my life
Reiterating the instruction for the person to leave the speaker's life.
And let me sleep at night (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Desiring the ability to sleep peacefully without emotional disturbance.
'Cause you don't really love me
Reiterating doubts about the person's love.
You just keep me hangin' on (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Repeating the accusation of being kept emotionally attached despite not being needed.
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