I’m In Here – Sia

Video:

Lyrics:

I’m in here
Can anybody see me?
Can anybody help?
I’m in here, a prisoner of history
Can anybody help?
Can’t you hear my call?
Are you coming to get me now?
I’ve been waiting for
You to come rescue me
I need you to hold
All of the sadness I can not
Living inside of me
I’m in here
I’m trying to tell you something
Can anybody help?
I’m in here
I’m calling out but you can’t hear
Can anybody help?
Can’t you hear my call?
Are you coming to get me now?
I’ve been waiting for
You to come rescue me
I need you to hold
All of the sadness I can not
Living inside of me
I’m crying out, I’m breaking down
I am fearing it all
Stuck inside these walls
Tell me there is hope for me
Is anybody out there listening?
Can’t you hear my call?
Are you coming to get me now?
I’ve been waiting for
You to come rescue me
I need you to hold
All of the sadness I can not
Living inside of me
I’m in here
Can anybody see me?
Can anybody help?Analysis:

In this song, the singer, Sia, is looking out from within herself and feels trapped in her sad feelings as a result of her past. Portraying a normal appearance, she wants someone to help her, but no one can do that because no one sees how she’s truly feeling. She wants someone to see that not everything is as it seems. But in the end, everyone, including the people closest to her, look over her and her feelings. I believe Sia is attempting to portray her own personal feelings to the people closest to her- her friends, family, a significant other. She is attempting to reach out to people that love her for help in the struggle she is enduring with her personal feelings, but she is overlooked as a result of keeping a normal appearance.

The words the poet uses in the poem are abstract. The words express the concept of depression which is something that can’t be experienced with any of our five senses. Phrases and questions are repeated throughout the song such as, “Can’t you hear my call?” which expresses the distress the singer feels. The diction contributes to the poem by clearly expressing the feelings of the singer. The reader can experience the same emotion the singer does.

This song is serious and sad using phrases such as, “I’ve been waiting for you to come rescue me I need you to hold All of the sadness I cannot Living inside of me,” “I’m calling out but you can’t hear,” “I’m crying out, I’m breaking down I am fearing it all Stuck inside these wall.” It sets the tone and the tone stays the same throughout the whole poem.

The average line length in this song is 3-7 words per line. The average length of the stanza is 3-7 lines per stanza. It has no rhyme scheme and is described as an open poem.

Figurative language used in this song is, “Stuck inside these walls” which is a metaphor for feeling trapped within her feelings. “I need you to hold All of the sadness I cannot Living inside of me” is personification because sadness is being given human-like characteristics such as “living” and being something that can be held.  “Prisoner of history” is a metaphor which represents that she feels these particular emotions as a result of an occurrence from her past that she can’t get over. There is irony is this song because Sia is calling out for help repeatedly, but not physically asking for help. The title is perfectly suiting for the song. In the song, she is calling out for help, but no one’s responding because she’s not showing her hurt on the outside. On the outside she looks perfectly normal proving that looks are deceiving and don’t show who a person really is. The title “I’m in here” is stating that who she is as a person and how she feels is inside her

The poet successfully recreates her experiences within the reader by her word choice, tone, and the melody of the song. In the song, the poet is calling out for help, and she sings about the sadness she feels. She sings with a soft tone and the melody is slow and both portray the hurt that she feels. The word choice, tone, and melody come together to make the sadness the poet is signing about resonate within the reader and make them feel it, too. Since the word choice is straightforward, it’s easy for the reader to imagine and strongly experience the feelings the poet feels within them. The poem succeeds in sharpening the reader’s awareness of something significant. The song talks about how someone’s appearance doesn’t demonstrate how they truly feel. Someone may look happy on the outside, but feel complete sadness within them.