Erica Torres

4/1/19
ENGL1010
Fillmore

Billie Eilish: idontwannabeyouanymore Rhetorical Analysis

A newer and upcoming artist named Billie Eilish is an American artist was born into a

family of musicians and found herself having the same passion growing up. As a kid, she sang in

her church choir that furthered her devotion for music, as well as her influencer, elder brother,

Finneas O’Connell. One of her top ten songs included Idontwannabeyouanymore, which ranked

number 19 was on the charts for two weeks straight, according to Billboard. This song has a lot

of meaning about how Billie Eilish feels about herself, and the difficulties she has within her

head.

In verse one of Idontwannabeyouanymore it starts with her telling herself to not be the

way she is, and that she, “Fall apart twice a day”, ("Genius"). This was used to explain her

feelings inside her thoughts, which she considers annoying, and how she does not want to be

depressed according to an interview she gave with Genius. In an anaphora statement she sings, “I

just wish you could feel what you say”, ("Genius"), which opens an understanding on how she

may not explain how she truly feels, when people may ask. She sings about how she shows, but

never tells which helps explain that she does not like to talk about it. The listener may reflect on

this verse and conclude that she has a battle of depression within her head. Her last line in verse

one she states, “Kinda mood that you wish you could sell”, ("Genius"). Billie Eilish continues to

use secondary person to explain how she feels by pairing it with a personification use, as if you

could get rid of her depression by selling it.

The chorus begins with imagery sentence stating, “If teardrops could be bottled. There’d

be swimming pools fill by models”, ("Genius"). The first sentence uses imagery of bottling her
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ENGL1010
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tears to end up showing what Eilish would do with her tears, which is make a swim pool and fill

them with models. These lines not only express how much tears Eilish would have, but who

would be hanging out in them. Eilish explains in an interview with Genius, that she considers

models to be the saddest type of people. This was because models are always being observed and

will be looked at forever, which she does not like. She expressed this thought through using an

enumeration and metonymy, which gives specific detail to her word choice of models. Eilish

then ends the chorus with singing, “Told a “tight dress is what makes you a whore”. If “I love

you” was a promise. Would you break it, if you’re honest? Tell the mirror what you know she’s

heard before. I don’t wanna be you… anymore.”, ("Genius"). She concludes the chorus with

using words like break to show her struggles with insecurities and lack of confidence. It also led

to the conclusion for her audience that she self-loathes herself.

The second verse then picks up with the description of her loneliness and pain through

singing, “Hands getting cold. Losing feeling, is getting old”, ("Genius"). Which was used as an

understatement since losing feeling was made a less important idea than it should be. After Eilish

sings, “Was I made from a broken mold?”, ("Genius"). This sentence was written with the

background story of Billie Eilish being homeschooled and on home Fridays her and others that

were homeschooled would make candles through molds that sometime broke during the process.

She made these lyrics into a metaphor to reference how she feels about herself being imperfect,

or defective. Eilish set the tone of her song when she sang, “Hurt, I can’t shake. We’ve made

every mistake. Only you know the way I break,” ("Genius"). Not only did this sentence help set

the tone but was used as a hyperbole to exaggerate that she considers herself and Billie Eilish to

be separate people. In her interview with Genius, she explains that she hates Billie Eilish, yet
Erica Torres
4/1/19
ENGL1010
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considers them a team. Overall, she expresses through verse two that no one will know the way

she feels.

The chorus is used again after verse one. It is a repeating pattern on how she doesn’t want

to be herself, while explaining she is the only one who can be her. Through the chorus, she

informs us of the irony, and alliteration of repeating words on how she feels about herself, which

creates the hook for her audience. Eilish explains that, “I don’t wanna be you.. Anymore”,

("Genius"), meant the most out of everything she has wrote, it is her favorite line. This gives the

effect to the audience to either relate with her or comprehend how she feels about herself.

In conclusion, Billie Eilish uses a pathos appeal because she used her emotions to

persuade her audience to invoke sympathy or to make the audience feels how she feels; the

audience can be anyone that is interested in her mental battles. The overall tone is to explain the

hurt that she feels because of a constant battle within her head, fighting herself with Billie Eilish,

who she considers to be separate yet the same. Idontwannabeyouanymore, was released July

21st, 2017, when Billie Eilish was only fifteen years old in her album Don't Smile at Me. This

was the first song that, “Eilish’s team created a vertical video for the song. Owing to this,

“Idontwannabeyouanymore” became the first song of Eilish’s career to have a vertical video

made for it. The video was directed by Eli Born.” ("Song Meanings and Facts"). Billie Eilish, the

pop/alternative artists has continued to write songs that express the way she feels within her head

and is performing at Coachella this year in Indio, California for the first time.
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4/1/19
ENGL1010
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Idontwannabeyouanymore, Billie Eilish

[Verse 1]
Don't be that way
Fall apart twice a day
I just wish you could feel what you say
Show, never tell
But I know you too well
Kinda mood that you wish you could sell

[Chorus]
If teardrops could be bottled
There'd be swimming pools filled by models
Told "a tight dress is what makes you a whore"
If "I love you" was a promise
Would you break it, if you're honest?
Tell the mirror what you know she's heard before
I don't wanna be you...
Anymore

[Verse 2]
Hands getting cold
Losing feeling, is getting old
Was I made from a broken mold?
Hurt, I can't shake
We've made every mistake
Only you know the way that I break

[Chorus]
If teardrops could be bottled
There'd be swimming pools filled by models
Told "a tight dress is what makes you a whore"
If "I love you" was a promise
Would you break it, if you're honest?
Tell the mirror what you know she's heard before
I-I don't wanna be you
I don't wanna be you
Erica Torres
4/1/19
ENGL1010
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I don't wanna be you..

Anymore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-0BFWk1h1I
Erica Torres
4/1/19
ENGL1010
Fillmore

Works Cited

“Billie Eilish Idontwannabeyouanymore Chart History.” Billboard,

www.billboard.com/music/billie-eilish/chart-history/lyricfind-us/song/1078288.

“Billie Eilish – Idontwannabeyouanymore.” Genius, Genius Media Group Inc., 21 July

2017,
genius.com/Billie-eilish-idontwannabeyouanymore-lyrics

Genius. “Billie Eilish ‘Idontwannabeyouanymore’ Official Lyrics & Meaning |

Verified.” YouTube, YouTube, 9 May 2018,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BzvCCzH-n0.

“Meaning of ‘Idontwannabeyouanymore’ by Billie Eilish.” Song Meanings and Facts, 28

Nov. 2018,

www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/meaning-of-idontwannabeyouanymore-by-
billie-eilish/.
Erica Torres
4/1/19
ENGL1010
Fillmore