Paper #1 - Very Late

In Usher's song Burn, he shows that sometimes the right thing to do is not always the easiest, nor is the right thing to do always what you want to do. Your emotions can make it hard to do what is right. They cause you to feel bad and be hesitant about doing what you truly think is best. Your emotions make you doubt yourself and in turn make you hold off on doing what you should be.
In the song, Usher feels that things between himself and his girl are coming to an end. He feels that they have been for awhile and that the best thing to do is to end things between the two of them. His emotions are making that hard for him to do. He explains that he still loves her, but he is hurt and unhappy. His emotions are telling him to work things out but his mind is telling him that things are not going to work. When Usher uses the work "burn" I believe he is referring to the pain he feels inside. He feels that the pain comes with making the decision and he needs to endure it and not let it cause him to run back to his girl. The line; "Deep down you know it's best for yourself but you hate the thought of her being with someone else," shows one of the reasons that he does not want to let her go. The he talks himself in to sticking to his guns by saying, "But you know that it's over, you know that it was through." He does go back and forth in the song about his feelings. The bridge in the song goes, "I'm twisted cause one side of me is tellin' me that I need to move on, On the other side I wanna break down and cry."
In the video, the director illustrates the frustration and struggle of the main character. It starts out with Usher alone in his house but flashes pictures of his ex-"shortie." While he explains why he needs to let her go the camera zooms out the show Usher sitting in front of a giant picture of his ex-girlfriend. The picture shows how significant that this person was in his life. Then the camera shows a close up of Usher's face with flames in his eyes when he explains how he must "let it burn." The flames show how Usher is feeling inside about the decision he is faced with. Usher is then seen looking out a window that overlooks a pool where he visualizes his ex jumping into to it. As she jumps into the pool it ignites into flames showing that she is the cause of his "burning" feeling inside. Next he begins to express how he cannot stop thinking about his ex even when he is with other women. The video flashes from images of him and the ex to him and a different woman. In the next scene the bed that he was in with both women bursts into flames. This shows that the memory of his ex in his bed is overpowering and he thinks of her even when he is with someone else. In the next scene, the director flashes back to the giant picture of Usher's ex-girlfriend but this time the picture is beginning to slowly burn. This image illustrates how the memories of her are slowly burning holes inside of him. Usher is then seen driving down the highway having flashbacks of his ex-girlfriend in his car with him. Then he thinks he sees her standing in the road and stops his car. When he gets out she is no longer there and the palm trees along the side of the road burst into flames. This further emphasizes the fact that almost everything about his everyday life causes him to think about her and feel the "burn" inside. The video then flashes back through all the previous scenes. Then Usher is taking small steps walking back towards his car which shows that he is slowly walking away from the situation.