Aktuelle Hits verstehen: „Best thing I never had“ von Beyoncé
Aktuelle Hits zu verstehen ist oft nicht ganz leicht. Gut, wenn ein Engländer erklärt, worum es dabei eigentlich geht. David Fermer erzählt auf englisch diesmal - über „Best thing I never had“ von Beyoncé. Fürs Hörverständnis mit Audio.
Sometimes a single word can change the entire meaning of a sentence. Sometimes even just changing a single letter gives a phrase a whole new meaning. The saying “you're the best thing I ever had“ is commonly used in the English language. Often it is a declaration of love. In her new song, Beyoncé adds one letter to this phrase and completely changes its meaning: she sings about someone who was “the best thing I never had“. That one “n“ means a lot.
When looking at Beyoncé's life and her songs, it seems that the young woman from Texas is a good judge of character. Not only has she enjoyed a brilliant career until now, she has also kept her private life well out of the media. No drug problems like Britney Spears, no love problems like Rihanna. Although Beyoncé is one of the richest women in the world, her feet are firmly on the ground.
In January last year, at the top of her career, Beyoncé told the press she was taking a break to “recharge my batteries ... I need to just live life, be inspired by things again.“ A lot happened during that period. Beyoncé spent time with her husband, Jay-Z, and moved away from her father who had been her manager since the start of her career. And now, a year and a half later, her new album “4“ is on the market.
In “Best Thing I Never Had“, Beyoncé sings about someone who she once “almost loved“. “I thought you did everything right / No lies, no wrong / Boy, I must have been out of my mind.“ But then, one day, “I saw the real you“. She left the man she is singing about. In another clever lyric in the middle of the song Beyoncé sings: “Thank God I found the good in goodbye.“
In the opening line of the song, Beyoncé sings another common phrase: “What goes around comes back around.“ This is also true for a superstar like Beyoncé. The scandal around her 1-million-dollar private concert for the Libyan dictator Gaddafi recently caused her big problems. Although she has since donated the money to Haiti, this episode shows that even someone as successful, beautiful and clever as Beyoncé is still not perfect. Thank God she managed to dodge that bullet .
single = einzig
meaning = Bedeutung
letter = Buchstabe
commonly = häufig
declaration of love = Liebeserklärung
judge of character = Menschenkenner
firmly = fest
break = Pause
husband = Ehemann
lie = Lüge
out of my mind = von Sinnen
to donate = spenden
to dodge a bullet = eine Kugel ausweichen
