Analysis of Bruno Mars’s Song "When I Was Your Man"

Multi-grammy winning artist Bruno Mars is a famous American pop artist/writer that expresses very powerful tone in his song lyrics. Incredibly talented and generously blessed with musical gifts, Mars has grown to become one of the most influential names in pop music at the moment. He has recorded and released smash hits, shaking the world with his sound and becoming increasingly popular around the globe. A multi-talented man, Mars is not just a pop star but is also adored for his ability to perform in different styles including funk, R&B, soul, reggae, rock, and even hip hop.

In his song “When I Was Your Man” in particular, he is living in a time of regret where he talks about a female he had once let go. The song was released in 2012 along with its album “Unorthodox Jukebox”. What’s more to know about these lyrics, as he says “No, I can not fake it” (Mars), is that it was written based on a true scenario which he felt should not be hidden from the public. Inspired by song writer Phillip Lawrence, him and Mars came out with his first ballad with its single instrumentation of the piano. While the musician is clearly bruised in the song “When I Was Your Man”, it is difficult to live through the guilt and becomes much challenging for him to let go. A heart-brake is an existence that is hard to overcome.

Additionally, the Roosevelt High School alumni Bruno Mars reached Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100 after “When I Was Your Man” was released. It soon became No. 1 on the charts in 2012. With that being said, the audience were quite fond of the lyrics. He wanted to create a song that people can relate to: “You know it’s one of those things where even girls can relate to thing song… Everyone makes mistakes” he said (SongFacts). Relationships can be sometimes difficult to maintain especially when many ups and downs are created. In the chorus, he repeats the phrase “ That I should have bought you flowers, And held your hand” (lines 7-8) where he feels he should have given his past lover that extra attention for her to stay in his arms. He also repeats, “Should have gave you all my hours, When I had the chance” (lines 9-10) meaning once again, he feels he never spent enough time with his past lover. The man is constantly beating himself in those lyrics as he continues to remind himself that throughout every chorus.

Considering that his ex-female sadly disappears out of Mars’ love life, in the lyrics, he also tries to come up with scenarios as to why she possibly left him. He begins to talk about his lifestyle and personnel’s throughout the second verse as he says, “My pride, my ego, my needs, and my selfish ways Caused a good strong woman like you to walk out of my life” (lines 15-16) ; creating some assumptions. With the 31-year-old being such a lady’s man, his ego is more than likely to be quite high. One can assume that a lot of jealousy and trust was mishandled throughout the relationship. He begins to feel sorrowful by saying “ Now I’ll never, never get to clean up the mess I made (oh) And it haunts me every time I close my eyes”, making it seem that he’ll never forget her she’ll always be on his mind.

Lastly, although Mars continues to pound himself for the things he’s done, he only wishes his ex for the best and that her next lover treats her the way she deserves to be treated. He continues by saying “I hope he buys you flowers, I hope he holds your hand, Give you all his hours, When he has the chance”, creating a mental picture of her happiness. As he continues to feel love and continues to hurt himself every day, he hopes the woman’s future lover hears these lyrics and takes all of the advice Mars could not give to himself. His bed continues to “..feel a little bit bigger know” (line 1) as he continues to wake up alone every day.

In conclusion, Mars was “..too young, too dumb to realize” (line 6) what he had in his possession. The message conveyed in his lyrics simply is that people live and they learn from their mistakes. Reality can really become difficult if an individual continues to build an abundance of shame. Relationships are like dollar bills, they come and they go. The pop artist will forever live through that regret and hopes to become a better man. The 2012 Billboard No.1 song greatly affects him and others too.

Works Cited

1. Mars, B. (2012). When I Was Your Man [Song]. On Unorthodox Jukebox [Album]. Atlantic Records.
2. Mars, B. (2013). Bruno Mars Biography. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/bruno-mars/biography/
3. SongFacts. (n.d.). When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars. SongFacts. https://www.songfacts.com/facts/bruno-mars/when-i-was-your-man
4. Billboard Staff. (2013). Bruno Mars' 'When I Was Your Man' Tops Hot 100 Chart. Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1550423/bruno-mars-when-i-was-your-man-tops-hot-100-chart
5. Birchmeier, J. (n.d.). Bruno Mars: Biography & History. AllMusic. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bruno-mars-mn0000984939/biography
6. Lane, D. (2013). Bruno Mars's Official Top 10 biggest songs. Official Charts Company. https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/bruno-marss-official-top-10-biggest-songs__28577/
7. Kile, M. (2012). Bruno Mars Reveals Regret Behind 'When I Was Your Man'. ET Online. https://www.etonline.com/news/130808_Bruno_Mars_Reveals_Regret_Behind_When_I_Was_Your_Man
8. Mendizabal, A. (2013). Bruno Mars 'Locked' Atop Hot 100, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis 'Thrift Shop' No. 2. Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1550423/bruno-mars-when-i-was-your-man-tops-hot-100-chart
9. Devon, R. (2013). Bruno Mars' 'When I Was Your Man' Inspires New Budweiser 'Safe Driving' Campaign. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bruno-mars-when-i-was-your-man-budweiser-drinking-and-driving-campaign_n_2823083
10. Smith, R. (2012). Bruno Mars: 'When I Was Your Man' - Single review. Digital Spy. https://www.digitalspy.com/music/single-reviews/a464716/bruno-mars-when-i-was-your-man-single-review/