Because Of You by Kelly Clarkson

Album: Breakaway (2004)

Charted: 7 7

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Clarkson wrote this about her parents' divorce when she was 6 years old. The song might be aimed at her mom. When the divorce happened, her mom was always busy and little Kelly had to make sandwiches for herself to eat. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Steph - Hickville, MO
In the song, Clarkson sings about trying not to make the same mistakes her parents did, and how because of the divorce, she is scared to fall in love, in fear of going through the same pain. She did eventually get married, tying the knot with Reba McEntire's stepson Brandon Blackstock in 2013, but seven years later the fears she expressed in this song came to light as she went through a painful divorce.
Clarkson's co-writers on "Because Of You" are David Hodges and Ben Moody, who along with Amy Lee were the core members of Evanescence for their debut album, Fallen. Hodges left before the album was released in 2003 and Moody quit the band that October in the middle of a tour after a fallout with Lee. Songs like "Bring Me To Life" and "Going Under" (both co-written with Lee) proved they were in tune with the modern pop-rock sound and could build the perfect bed for a powerhouse female singer delivering very intense lyrics.

Hodges and Moody also produced the track, giving them their first hit away from Evanescence. A few years later, they worked on "What About Now," a hit for another Idol alum, Chris Daughtry.
On her Breakaway DVD, Clarkson explains that she started writing this song long before she won American Idol. Kelly was 16 when she was with friends one night and they were talking about the influence that older people/peers have on you and started writing it. She sent the demo tape to producers David Hodges and Ben Moody, who liked the song and worked on it with her. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Carolina - Kindersley, Canada
"Because Of You" was the third single from Clarkson's second album, Breakaway, following the Max Martin/Dr. Luke productions "Since U Been Gone" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes." All three songs were huge hits, casting aside any doubts that Clarkson was a flash in the pan, and also raising the profile of American Idol, which became a clear path to stardom.
Clarkson made her Grammy debut singing "Because Of You" at the 2006 ceremony in a very emotional performance. Years later, Kelly explained that before leaving for the venue, she got a call from her doctor's office telling her she might have cancer. The next day she learned that the office screwed up - they gave her the wrong results and she was actually fine.

"Everyone was like, 'You're performance was so beautiful,'" she said on the podcast Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend. "That's because I thought I was dying!"

Kelly picked up her first two Grammy Awards that night, taking Best Pop Vocal Album for Breakaway and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Since U Been Gone."
In 2011, Clarkson told Entertainment Weekly why she'd like to be remembered for this song: "I think because I worked so damn hard to get it on an album and just everyone was against it. There was some blood, sweat and tears going on there. I think I'm most proud of that song - just getting it on an album because no one liked it until it hit # 1 worldwide and everybody was on board."
Clarkson told the UK newspaper The Guardian: "You may as well grab a knife. That song really is the most depressing one I've ever written. I tried to get it on Thankful, and was laughed at and told I wasn't a good writer. So then I tried to get it on Breakaway – and the label saw the results, people responding to it, and allowed it to become a single. Then took credit for its success, of course."
Many musicians have stories to tell about record executive Clive Davis giving them valuable advice, but Clarkson had the opposite experience.

Davis was in charge of her label, Sony, and when she played this song for him, what he said made her burst into tears. "I cried because he hated it and told me verbatim that I was a 'sh--ty writer who should be grateful for the gifts that he bestows upon me,'" she posted. "He continued on about how the song didn't rhyme and how I should just shut up and sing. This was devastating coming from a man who I, as a young girl, considered a musical hero and was so honored to work with."

Clarkson didn't heed Davis' advice. She kept writing songs and kept having hits with them. Songwriting serves as a kind of therapy for Clarkson as well, helping her deal with traumas like her 2020 divorce.
In 2007, Clarkson recorded a new version of this song with Reba McEntire. Released as a single from McEntire's album Reba Duets, it went to #50 in the US. Around this time, Clarkson signed a management deal with Starstruck Entertainment, run by Reba's husband, Narvel Blackstock. In 2013, she married Reba's stepson, Brandon Blackstock. Neither relationship ended well. In 2020, Clarkson filed for divorce and exchanged lawsuits with Starstruck.

Comments: 68

AnonymousBrilliant song love it. Well done! Go girl
Kellie from Sydney, Australia.Anyway, sorry for the long rant. I think I got a bit my into it due to being very tired.
Kellie from Sydney, Australia.This song always makes me think of my childhood, when my parents separated when I was very young, maybe about 6 (and they also used to drink alcohol A LOT, and get into MASSIVE fights, sometimes physical) and my mother ended up cheating on my dad, and she separated from him, and not only did it kill him, but I remember my mother taking me to stay over at another place when I was 7, and when I got home my dad asking me who she slept in her bed with (hence the "I watched you die, I heard you cry every night in your sleep, I was so young, you should have known better than to lean on me")
I also have memories of seeing my dad with 2 blacks when I was 7 and being so worried and asking him what happened, and my mother's new boyfriend has apparently sent someone to bash my dad, and also when I was a teenager and my dad was drunk, him chasing my mother's boyfriends car down the street while welding a sword (the cops were called and a police woman turned up and asked me if I made the call. I was in bed very, very sick at the time from cancer and has just had chemo so I told them that it definitely wasn't me!)
A lots of bad memories when it comes to my parents, especially when it came to how much alcohol they consumed (my mother would go out drinking at least 3 nights a week, leaving us kids at home along. For as long as I can remember, my dad has drank AT LEAST 12 cans of beer EVERY DAY, he only maybe took off 3 or 4 days when he was really sick. Also they stayed living in the same house together up until I was 20, when they finally sold the family house and moved away from each other.

I ended up growing up being a serial cheater, all the while having serious boyfriends up until present day, and I find it very, VERY hard to feel many emotions. I also binge drank alcohol pretty frequently and ended up with substance abuse issues. My fiance I have now is the first time that anyone has ever gotten me to open up, and he did that by giving me space, and letting me have my freedom, and I ended up always going to him, and he was never ever judgemental about anything I had to say (he comes from a very rich, very messed up family, and was actually brought over here to Australia from Croatia by his grandparents when he was 8 after his mother abandoned him there, and left him to be raised by nuns.) He has a very morbid mind like me, and has seen worse stuff than I have (with everything but 1 thing, my identical twin girls being born prematurely and dying in my arms) and that is very, VERY rare!!!
Barb from OklahomaMy mom recently passed from cancer and I'm having difficulty and hard times with my dad more so than ever and I'm just curious as to how you made it through everything
AnonymousMy mom is exactly the same
Christy P from KentuckyThis song has so much emotion. I feel the same way she does.
Peyton from PhillyThe content in here and the feelings expressed are why she’s shortening her name to her first and middle name as I don’t think anyone can blame her for wanting ties to her dad
Dan from Mahón, SpainThis is such an emotional song....
Sonshine from Jasper, IndianaI do t think it was Originally Kelly's song. My 40 year old daughteristenedto this by Pink when she was a kid.
Debra from TexasThis song touches my heart in so many ways. When I here it it reminds of neglectful Mother who loved my abusive -father more than she loved me. There was no comfort for me as a 7 yr old or 10 yr old abused by multiple men; only jealousy and neglect from the woman who was supposed to love & protect me. As a result I grew up afraid to live, afraid to be myself, feeling unworthy of being loved, unworthy of even living. Yes, nonexistent self-esteem! It’s been a long hard road, but at 48, and with all abusers being deceased now, I finally have had closure and have learned to love myself thanks for my Father in Heaven, if not for God who loves me despite my flaws, I would have killed myself long ago. This is a beautiful song and I can really feel Kelly’s pain as she sings it. Anyone who has been through childhood abuse knows exactly what this song is about...
Kathy Rose from Colorado This is the most heartbreaking yet beautiful song that I have ever heard. I hold it and you Kelly tenderly in my heart
George from Vancouver, CanadaClive Davis is a prick! Is he typical of record executives?
Priscilla Johnson from Pinellas Park, FlTo Paul....
I just want to hug you.....I'm so sorry..I pray that you find that inner peace and a beautiful woman comes to you and helps fill that void....Its so hard to love these days....People are lost and don't know how...I have been single for 5 years, because my ex didn't value my heart...I too thought about ending my life, but when I think about all the things I learned while with him, I'm keeping my heart and that void I too have missing to the person that will love me unconditionally and unselfishly..... Like your friend, I love you too (Of course because of the God that's in me, also a sister to you that sustained a broken heart)...You deserve happiness and I pray that it reaches you and stay and I pray you have room in your heart to trust that process...God loves you and felt you were strong enough and capable enough to endure it....And He was right, because you were able to right these words.... Take Care.....

Reply:10/9/16
When I hear this song it bring back a hurt that just won't go away, as a young man I meet a women who was a little bit older then me for months I chased her finally we started to date then got married, then after a year one day I came home and she was gone, she continue to come around wanting money but didn't want to be with me any more, when we was married everything was about having fun and not caring about anything, I wanted to be a good husband and do the right things, I could never do anything right with her from sex to hanging out with her friends, I had broke up with my girlfriend just a few months before I started seeing her, I try to do everything for her and forgot about myself saying all of this one day after she left I was sitting on my bed thinking about ending my life I hated what I had become, my friend Terry came over sat down with me and I told him what I was thinking he said he loved me and he wanted me around, few days later my old girl friend stop by late one night she came in made love to me and left, after that day I never looked back knowing I would be ok but when the song comes on its some parts like not crossing the street when she left everytime I would go by places we had went together it made me sick, and not trusting anyone was something that took years, and to this day my life is still empty, not that I don't have a good life it's that I worked so hard to be with her and then for her to do what she did has left a hole in my heart that I'll never be able to fill, Kelly thank u for the song it's a reminder of a time in my life that I wanted to give up and now far I have came, when u sing this song I see it in your eyes great job it hit home love ya.
Paul Bushell from Wichita KsWhen I hear this song it bring back a hurt that just won't go away, as a young man I meet a women who was a little bit older then me for months I chased her finally we started to date then got married, then after a year one day I came home and she was gone, she continue to come around wanting money but didn't want to be with me any more, when we was married everything was about having fun and not caring about anything, I wanted to be a good husband and do the right things, I could never do anything right with her from sex to hanging out with her friends, I had broke up with my girlfriend just a few months before I started seeing her, I try to do everything for her and forgot about myself saying all of this one day after she left I was sitting on my bed thinking about ending my life I hated what I had become, my friend Terry came over sat down with me and I told him what I was thinking he said he loved me and he wanted me around, few days later my old girl friend stop by late one night she came in made love to me and left, after that day I never looked back knowing I would be ok but when the song comes on its some parts like not crossing the street when she left everytime I would go by places we had went together it made me sick, and not trusting anyone was something that took years, and to this day my life is still empty, not that I don't have a good life it's that I worked so hard to be with her and then for her to do what she did has left a hole in my heart that I'll never be able to fill, Kelly thank u for the song it's a reminder of a time in my life that I wanted to give up and now far I have came, when u sing this song I see it in your eyes great job it hit home love ya
Wyatt from Dfgdg, AfghanistanWell if you look at the lyrics "
I watched you die
I heard you cry every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry in the middle of the night
For the same damn thing"

It seems to talk about a person killing themselves because she leaves them, i don't have proof but that's my thoughts
Sunshine from Oklahoma City, OkIf you listen closely the song is blantanly about child abuse.
Valerie from Eureka, CaPowerful, strong messages in this song.
Linda from Debary, FlThis is a very emotional song no matter why it was written. To me, it reminds me of me being married at 15 yrs old and going through a lot of harmful domestic abuse. I had no one to turn to because back then there were no programs for battered wives and my parents believed in the old saying that " You made your bed. Now lay in it", and refused to help in any way. Back then in the early 60's (61-65) men had all the rights and women had almost none in a marriage. It was even legal back then for husbands to rape their wives and the wife could do nothing about it. No laws protected them and neither did most families. Linda
Sheri Keller from Topeka, KsI have made a video with this song and use it as part of a class I teach to high conflict divorced parents. It immediately catches their attention to the harmful damage that separated parents do when they place their children in the middle of conflicts and lean on them for adult emotional support. Very strong lyrics and a great message to parents who choose to divorce. Grow up and take care of your children.
B from Groningen, NetherlandsI had an alcoholic mother who suffered from severe delusions. This song expresses what I felt growing up and even now. Every single word rings true and hits me like a ton of bricks. Often it's hard for me to cry, but everytime I put on this song it helps me to remember and I can cry again. I can't praise Kelly enough for having the balls to release such a heartfelt song. It's such a help to me!
Martha from New York, NyThe lyricks, if you read them make it sound like the girl was raped. And as awefull as that may be it is the impression I get when I hear it.
Elizabeth from Helston, United Kingdomi once had to bake my own birthday cake because my parents were fighting on the day of my 10th birthday party. i cried for hours. its so true, parents only see their pain.
Elizabeth from Helston, United Kingdomi love this song so much. it is related to my life in so many ways, i have only recently discovered it and i wish i had heard of it before, its given me strength to believe that im not alone.
my parents are still together but they have told me that they are only still living together to keep my life as normal as possible and when i leave home my dad is moving out. i wish they would just seperate now so i dont have to endure the hatred any longer.
"i was so young you should have known not to lean on me". how i feel every day.
Julie from Pittsburgh, Pathis song haz touched me behond words. ive not really felt wat kelly felt when she wrote this song because my parents are still together and happy. but i can relate to how she felt. i love this song. thank you kelly. "my heart cant possibly break when it wasent whole to start with"
Savannah M. from Dallas, TxOMGEE. I had to pick a song for school that you really liked and was to your life. I picked this song. I have sung this song to myself and cried over it too many times. This song goes to my heart. I want to thank Kelly for writing this and I know if she got through life okay and got her dream she chased for, I know I can do it too. I love you Kelly! If you agree with me please comment me back. Im Savannah.(:
Kayleigh Raine from Beacon, NyMy dad left a few days ago like moved out and stuff....i really like this song because it shows im not alone....i listen to it every morning before school because if she can face the day then so can i....thank you so much for writting this song. you are such a talented singer!
Nat from Derby, EnglandGreat song! Sorry if i'm wrong, but i'm pretty sure it's about a family break up/divorce when she was a kid. "I cannot cry because I know that's weakness in your eyes" suggests her parents see her being upset as a weakness. "You never thought of anyone else. You just saw your pain" suggests they couldn't see how much she was hurting... but the best line is "My heart can't possibly break when it wasn't even whole to start with!" Bless her!
Theresa from Murfreesboro, TnKelly's voice on this song is rich, emotional, and sincere. Love her attitude!
Meg from Australia, AustraliaOk, so I'm still a child and I haven't been abused like Kelly describes in this song. But I feel so sorry for her! I think it's awful that parents think only about themselves when they are going through a divorce ( I understand this doesn't apply to all divorces) The kids suffer too.
Landon from Winchester, OhWhether Kelly had to fix her own food because her mother was busy or her father abused her, this song makes sense to struggling marriages in America and is an instant number one!
Sally from Sydney, AustraliaThis song reminds me of a girl I used to live with. She never knew her father and her mother had a string of loser boyfriends who used to beat her up. My friend basically acted as an emotional crutch for her mother from her very earliest memory.

Her mother's bad life decisions and her constant use of her daughter for comfort and emotional assistance created a daughter who was so scared of getting hurt the way her mother did that now, at the age of 30, the daughter has all but lost the ability to fall in love and really feel things.
Hurt from West Yorkshire, EnglandEveryone will make of what they want. I believe Kelly sang it about her mother.

For me - it is a song that I would sing to my abusive step-father.

It is the line - 'I was so young, you should have known better than to lean on me.'

'I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me' (to me I have lost my trust in men because of what my step-father did to me)

'My heart can't possibly break as it wasn't whole to start with' (for me this is my own guilt and self-blame as for many yrs I thought I caused the abuse even though I was only a child)

'I now cry in the middle of the night' (at nightime although I'm an adult - this is a huge trigger for me and I have reoccuring nightmares nearly nightly where I'm a child and my step-father is coming into my room to abuse me)
Meredith from Wauwatosa, WiDepressing song, but Kelly's voice is wonderful!
Heather from Toronto, CanadaNONONO! It's all about Kelly's dad, who abused her shen she was younger! trust me, I think I know...I know her very well.
Elizebeth from Coral Springs, FlI love this song sooooo much.I think that's the best song of all of Kelly's songs.I really feel like punching anyone who says that song sucks.It's wonderful although I've never been through what she's been through but sometimes when my parents argue I feel almost the same way.Kelly and her song's pretty,Your just marvolous Kelly seriously
Heather from Toronto, CanadaNO YOU'RE ALL WRONG! When Kelly was young, her father abused her. She is singing about him, Trust me, I met her two years ago, and asked her.
This sond is even deeper than you think...
Karie from Jacksonville, FlThis song is very powerful to me cause I dedicated it to my mother who died when I was 8 she always needed comfort and looked in the wrong places
Emily from Hedgesville, WvThis song is so whiny, No offense to Kelly, but sometimes sh*t doesn't work out between parents, it didn't for alot of peoples parents. you don't hear me whining about it on the radio. grow some balls kelly.
Brittany from Ocean City, MdI really feel that this song is not geared to the parent that left, but perhaps the parent that stayed. The verse, "I was so young you should have known better than to lean on me," gives reference to someone that was around. This song is so true in every aspect.
Dj from Winchester, VaMan I love this song. B ut then again I love Kelly Clarkson!
Tina from Monterey, CaAll you people who dis this song clearly haven't been through sommething that made you feel this way, to some people, it completely expresses how they feel about something. Your insensitivity disgusts me...
Tina from Monterey, CaAll you people who dis this song CLEARLY have never had anything CLOSE to what inspired kelly to write this song. Consider how other people might feel about music that totally expresses how they feel before saying such rude things about peoples feelings.:-(
Lilly from Nsw, United StatesThis is such a cute song, and I love it beyond description. I <3 you Kelly
Nikki from Wooster, OhI really enjoy this song. This is actually one of my favorites by her. I can relate to how she feels. I know what it is like to have your mom lean on you for comfort and your dad never being around. I think that a lot of teens and even adults can relate to the way that she feels.
Sandee from Indiana, InI love this song I think its sad about her parents getting a divorce but I can understand that!!! I feel bad about her situation!!!
Merm from New York, NyKelly has blonde hair in the video... It suits her much better than her original brown hair.
Jennifer from Toronto, CanadaActually the song is about Abuse. Emotional, abuse. Scarred from not having a childhood and being torn between parents. Having a mother always lean on her, being afraid, left with so many scars. A reminder to parents, very sad. Jennifer, Toronto
Ricky from Los Angeles, CaI can't stand this song. It sounds like someone is complaining too much and can't handle a little humility.
Caitlin from Upper Township, NjI think so many people can relate to this song because so many kids have had to deal with divorce. The song i so right because it shows just how hard divorce can be on kids.
Victoria from Somewhere, IlI love this song. At the moment im doing a report on is for reading class and i was looking for confirmation on what it is about exactly. My father is an alcoholic and i can relate to every line in this song. It became my favorite because i love listening to songs i can relate to. When i was going through rough times with my dad i heard this song and it made me feel like there are other people who have gone through the same thing. thanks kelly!
Anna from Philly, PaWhen I first heard this song, I thought it was her talking about a lover and it killed me because i knew she was too young to have experienced such love and heartache. I expressed this to my boyfreind and he said she doesn't write her own songs anyway. Then when I read that it was about her childhood, it made so much sense and it made me love this chick so much more. She is so real and it bothers me when people think of her as just an A.I. contestant. She would have made it big on her own even if it wasn't for A.I. She is real, full of heart ans spirit and so special. Rock on girlfriend. I love this song and it makes me cry, that says a lot!!!
Diane from Albuquerque, NmThis is one of my favorite songs and I like a lot of people relate to it because I saw my parents have trouble in their marriage due to drinking and other things. The parts in song where Kelly sings about being scared and not taking risks because she didn't want to get hurt the way her parents did is what made like this song because I have felt that way. I sometimes don't take risks or aviod doing things. I think Kelly wrote this from her heart and it shows that people's actions do have effects on their children.
Sarah from Chapin, IaI definitely can relate to it becuase my parents went through a divorce almost 6 years ago. When I saw the music video, I had to grab a tissue because it reminded me of when I went through that.
Alana from Auckland, New ZealandI really love Kelly Clarkson's songs!! I always feel i can relate to the songs even though there is no reason for it.
Alana, N.Z
Reese from Calgary, CanadaCRAP!!! The song stinks, the video's lousy, and Kelly Clarkson just keeps getting shoved down everyone's throat! Kelly...ENOUGH ALREADY! It wasn't so bad when she was just on American Idol, and then a short time after we heard that "Miss Independent" song once or twice a week on the radio. Now you can't turn around without hearing her at least 3 times a day. In fact, at my work (where I am right now as I'm writing this, lol) we listen to the local top 40 station, and I actually counted that Clarkson was played about 5 times in 8 hours! If that's not over-exposure I don't know what is!
Sharon from Aucklandat 1st i didn't really get the song, i thought that it was about her boyfriend or something, but the video made it clear to me, and it almost made me cry.
Bailey from Arroyo Grande, CaI love this song
i listen to it all the time
my parents are divorced and i memorized every word to the song!!
u rock kelly
Ashley from North Lima, OhThis is a good song. I understand the way she feels, even though I haven't gone throught it. I feel for her. I made me think about people I care for and don't care for, made me relize my reasonings.
Jamie from Sydney, Australiakelly has a tattoo of a cross of her wrist....so maybe people want that covered up?...beautiful song the film clip almost made me cry lol
Stacy from Sunbury, AustraliaI luv kelly clarkson! she is absolutely stunning and the lyrics to this song although anyone can put it in their own way, are about her parents divorce and THUMBS UP KELLY! another touching song for kids who are going through the same kind of thing to listen to and cope with what's happening. an awesome song from an awesome chick! if my parents were to divorce i would definately listen to this song and i think it would help me through the bad times. i have just one question though... why does kelly always cover her wrists?
Amanda from Dub, Irelandthis song is great. when you're listening to it you really feel like your part of it. and if you havent been through it (divorce) before you can just listen to this song because se puts it into a way were you can nearly be part of what happened.... she's great
Jennifer from Las Vagas, NvThis song is sad and I feel apart of it because my parents went thourgh it too, my mom twice. I have memorize every word just by listing to it.
Micah from College Station, TxMy friend from Burleson (Kelly's hometown) told me this song is about a manager at a movie theatre that she had a crush on. I laughed, but apparently so did this girls sister, so he must have been a stud or something.
Letty from Terre Haute, Inthis song is so sad, o love it
Kimberly from Greeley, CoI'm not really in to Kelly Clarkson's type of music, but I suppose I can make a few exceptions. This song is well-done and deserves a thumbs up. I sort of wonder the same thing as Martin. The video is touching and makes me heavy-hearted.
Isa from Launceston, Australiahey i love this song i feel very connected to it
Martin Owens from Belfast, Irelandis this song not about when she was younger and one of her parents were bastards and now she feels for it ?
Elizabeth from Alexandria, VaThis song is about reasons. Like everything happens for a reason. Life has reasons, and that is why things happen.

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