Lyric Analysis

“I Want You Around” by Snoh Aalegra

Angelina C. Caraballo
North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University
November 2019
Abstract:
Using thematic analysis, I researched the song named, “I Want You Around” by Snoh Aalegra.
This song was released on her album titled, “-ugh, those feels again” in August of 2019. I chose
this song because Snoh Aalegra is a upcoming artist. I used the lyrics that were given from
LyricFind. After collecting the data, which are the lyrics, I used the coding method. Where I
broke down the lyrics, I used critical thinking skills to expose the underlying meaning behind
what the artist was saying in the song. After coding, I gathered the like codes and put the
similar codes together under themes that correctly represented the like codes. I came up with
three different themes, Anticipation, Emotional and Getaway. After creating themes, I further
explained why I made the codes and themes. This analysis allowed me to encode the lyrics and
evaluate them to conclude that the lyrics describe a story with a woman trying to figure out
how to express her feelings.

Introduction/Background:
Sheri Nowrozi, better known as, Snoh Aalegra, is a 32 years old singer and songwriter who has
termed her work as “cinematic soul”. Snoh is a native Swedish artist who has recorded R&B
rooted material inspired, including her two albums, “Feels” and her latest album titled “-Ugh,
Those Feels Again”, which charted 200 on Billboards. Which is where the song “I Want You
Around” is on. The song “ I Want You Around” was released in early February as a single, along
with the video, before being released on the album. This song marked the first release since her
debut album Feels. Snoh described her sound as deliciously dramatic. Snoh wrote this song
alongside Marcus Semaj. Snoh Aalegra expressed that she writes from a very authentic place,
about her real life experiences and relationships.

Results/Findings: The like codes I used for Theme #1, which was “Anticipation” were:
Uncontrollable feelings, Falling in love, Intimacy. I called this theme Love because it just shows
how Snoh wants this person as in, having strong feeling, not sexually. The part of the lyrics that
supported my Theme #1 would be “I swear it’s hard to keep these feelings to myself”. Snoh
knows that she has strong feelings for this person and came no longer keep them to herself. The
like codes I used for Theme #2, which was “Emotional” were: Presence, Be around, because she
said in plain English, I want you around. The part of the lyrics that I feel supports this theme is
when Snoh says, “I want you around”; because she literally is saying I want you around, she also
stated no we don’t have to kiss, just want to be around you/your presence.
This is how I came up with my coding and theme. My last and final Theme #3 is “Getaway” and
the like codes are: Trips, vacations, routine. I came up with this theme “Trip” because Snoh
literally said it within the song, multiple times. The part of the lyrics that shows this is when
Snoh says, “We can get away”. This is how I came up with my coding and theme for #3.

Discussion: With the song, “I Want You Around” by Snoh Aalegra, there was no real underlying
meaning behind her words because she flat out said “I want you”. Something that I’ve learned
from the TA is that this song is telling a story. Where once she felt confused and scared and
then came to realize that she actually had feelings for this person. This song fits into the
relationships today because many feel this way. Many hide their feelings, go through a phase
where they are scared to express their true feelings. I believe this song is really relatable.
Limitations: This assignment has allowed me to think critically and I really enjoyed that.
Another song that I would like to dissect would be, “Cupid” by 112. The first reasoning being
that this is my favorite song of all time. And the second reason being, I’m really not sure of
what the message that was trying to be conveyed through the song. I have an idea of what the
lyrics may mean but I’ve never went into depth and actually analyzed the lyrics.