Your Loss, My Gain

Analysis of the song "My Girlfriends Ex-Boyfriend" by Relient K:

Argument:

WATCO-The joy of having a wonderful girlfriend on the doubts that her ex had in her.

Claim-The joy of having a wonderful girlfriend is due to the doubts that her ex had in her.

Reason-Because the joy of having a wonderful girlfriend occured because her ex wanted more out of her and the relationship.

Assumption-Her ex wanting more out of her and the relationship is also due to the doubts that her ex had in her.

Audience:Those who are having doubts in a relationship, and are considering breaking up with their partner, spouse, or boy/girlfriend.

Goal:To get others to notice that one man's loss is another man's gain, and that you don't want to be on the wrong side of the bargain.

How?:

Pathos-Relient K does a good job of using descriptive words to describe how the ex-boyfriend is feeling now that he's lost his girl, with words such as haunting and terrified in the lyrics. They also repeat key phrases during the song such as: “He’s a guy you should feel sorry for,” and, “I owe it all to my girl’s ex-boyfriend,” to remind listeners of the major mistake the ex made with his decision to call the relationship off.

Logos-Pointing out the fact that greed can cause one to lose what is most precious to him/her in the line, “He had the world but he thought that he wanted more…”, is a way of using logic to show why the ex came to the decision of breaking the relationship off. Another logical line shows the fact that he would still be searching for a girl and unhappy with his life if the ex hadn’t decided to drop the relationship.

R(elevance)-The relevance of the message this song portrays, relates to all those who are in a rocky relationship. Doubts, worries, greed, and uncertainty are part of any relationship, and if they aren’t resolved, both parties will regret it sooner or later.

Effective?:I believe the band does a good and creative job of getting their goal across to their audience through the usage of emotion and logic in their lyrics. This song makes one consider what he/she may be giving up if they don’t work things out in their relationship.