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Tanner Banks

Professor Steele

ENG 1201

23 March 2021

"Let Me Love You"

The original version of "Let Me Love You" by Ne-Yo and the GLEE cover of the song

differentiate in the meaning behind the music videos. Both relate to learning to love yourself but

getting there in different ways. The main characters in the original video are Ne-Yo and his

background dancers. The beat of this version is very upbeat and is frequently played at places

that are made for you to have a good time at. In an interview with MTV News, Ne-Yo says, "The

song is about the importance of loving yourself, which I felt is something few and far between

these days, with everyone getting plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery and just not

understanding that being who you are is your perfection. Everybody is searching for this unreal

perfection, so I feel like this song came along absolutely at the right time". The Glee cover of the

song is performed by Jake who is singing towards Marley. In the show, Marley has had trouble

learning who she is and what is best for her. Jake sings towards Marley in hopes that she will

understand he will love her until she learns to love herself.

The line, "I would like to show you what true love can really do" takes a different

approach in each version. In the original song Ne-Yo says this meaning that he wants the

audience to realize that love may seem scary but once you learn that loving yourself is more

important than being with someone, who will be happy forever. However, in the Glee version

this line towards Marley is a way for Jake to show her that he wants to give her what she

deserves and he hopes that she will let him be in her life. This shows there is a different meaning
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between the two versions of the song when it comes to how the lyrics are portrayed. Ne-Yo is

singing the lyrics in a way that makes you feel it's important to find yourself and love who you

are as a person. The Glee cover of the song ties closely with the plot of the season in Glee. Like I

said earlier, Marley needed to hear Jake sing this song and to understand how he truly feels about

her.

Ne-Yo is widely known for his dancing and upbeat songs. His music video makes you

wanna get up and move with its use of different beats and dances. The Glee version on the other

hand is very slow and uses piano which sets the mood down giving use to pathos. The audiences

of both versions of the song are very different. The original version is made to be seen by a

mature audience due to scenes in the music video itself and where the song is most frequently

played, places like clubs, parties, raves, etc. The original version also is played toward mainly

women, those who are single, or anyone who is struggling with loving themselves. The Glee

version is very clean as it is performed in a band room of the highschool in Glee. The show is

widely watched by all ages.

In conclusion, both versions of the song deal with learning to love yourself. The original

is about learning to be yourself and loving who you are and the cover is about learning to love

yourself with a partner in your life. "How can you understand something you never had, Ooh

baby if you let me, I can help you out with all of that". Being sung in the original version Ne-Yo

means that even though you don't love yourself I can help you get there. This is the whole

purpose of the song, someone helping you love yourself because everyone should. Jake singing

this in the cover is directed at Marley meaning that with him in her life she will be happy. Jake’s

version is more directed towards a certain person, while the original could be directed towards

anyone.
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Works Cited

Ne-Yo. Let Me Love You(Until You Learn To Love Yourself). Youtube, 18 Jul. 2012,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crrOl0egI00. Accessed 14 Feb. 2021.

MusicOfGlee. GLEE- Let Me Love You(Until You Learn To Love Yourself). Youtube, 25 Mar.

2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrCFijIXQW4. Accessed 14 Feb. 2021.

Songfacts. “Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself) by Ne-Yo - Songfacts.” Song

Meanings at Songfacts, www.songfacts.com/facts/ne-yo/let-me-love-you-until-you-learn-

to-love-yourself.