Gretchen Dineen

Professor Scot

English 1201 K01

14 February 2021

“It’s My Life” Song Analyzation

Talk Talk originally recorded “It’s My Life” in 1983 while No Doubt’s version was

recorded in 2003. That twenty-year difference influenced the music video production, and how

simple or complex the story being told comes across to the audience. The stories being told are

completely different, one following a man spending time with animals and nature, while the

other follows a girl throughout her life of crime and killings. "It's my Life" by Talk Talk and "It's

my Life" by No Doubt may share the same title and lyrics, however, the videos show no

comparison at all in other aspects. There is so much contrasting between the two videos, which

include different audience appeals, different stories being told, and overall, the different

messages being sent to viewers.

Talk Talk’s lead vocalist Mark Hollins is followed around a zoo in their song “It’s My

Life”. The music video is very simple, showing shots of a variety of animals, while Mark is seen

with his mouth closed or covered with a black line. We can see the animals running or swimming

and Mark laughing, showing the audience how happy both the character and animals are. This is

basically the entire video, continuously showing shots of animals and Mark. Nothing more,

nothing less. The video uses pathos, making the audience feel the emotion of happiness.
 No Doubt’s video follows lead singer, Gwen Stefani, through her life of crime. She kills

three men, which happen to be played by other members of the band. Flashbacks are used

frequently when she is explaining her life story in court. She shows her best moments of a

luxurious life to her worst defeat where she is crying in an electric chair. More scenes are used in

No Doubt’s production compared to Talk Talk’s video, but they both use pathos. No Doubt’s

video uses pathos to make the audience feel concerned, but also interested into following what

will happen to the main character.

While both videos show the same appeal and both lead singers of each group are the main

character, they videos are easy to contrast. Firstly, the audience appeals are different when it

comes to age. Talk Talk’s video can be for anyone, even kids. It is very kid friendly with the cute

animals and beautiful nature shots. On the other hand, for No Doubt’s video I can’t say the same.

I believe the audience for No Doubt’s video is for teens and up, because no kid needs to watch

(or much rather would enjoy) a video of a women killing multiple people and in court facing

charges. Therefore, an obvious difference between the two videos is who the video is intended

for. Other than age, anyone else can enjoy the video.

Secondly, a huge difference is there are two different stories being told within the videos.

One is about a man with animals and the other is a woman involved in crime. No correlation at

all, not even found in the lyrics. When I watch Talk Talk’s video, I think about the claim being to

enjoy life and what surrounds us. When I watch No Doubt’s video, I think about the claim that

nobody was doing good for the main character, so she ended up convincing herself that this is

her life, and she can do whatever she wants. Additionally, the camera and audio quality of No

Doubt’s video was more advanced than Talk Talk’s, which shows a dramatic difference. It

makes sense because 20 years does bring advantages to video production. Therefore, the claims
that each video make me think about are different, and I am sure many other viewers could

relate.

Lastly, the overall message being sent to the viewers is different between both videos.

One message, like the claims, is to enjoy life and what surrounds us. It is shown in the form of

nature, beauty, and how the main character is doing just that. Mark is appreciating and smiling at

what he has. He is not doing anything illegal and living his best life. The overall message is to do

what makes you happy while you still have time. However, Gwyn's message she is telling in her

story is that it’s her life, she can do whatever she wants, and don’t you forget that!

All in all, Talk Talk and No Doubt both had unique ways to share “It’s My Life” with an

entertaining music video. They both had their own unique approaches to interpret the lyrics, and

they were completely opposing in terms of stories being told. I believe there were more

differences than similarities. The videos including different audience appeals, have different

stories being told, and the overall message being sent to viewers.
 Works Cited

“No Doubt - It’s My Life (Edited).” Youtube, uploaded by NoDoubtTV, 6 Oct. 2009,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubvV498pyIM&list=RDubvV498pyIM&start_radio=1.

Talk Talk band. “Talk Talk - It’s My Life ( Official Video).” YouTube, uploaded by Talk Talk

band, 28 Mar. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFH5JgyZK1I.