In many ways, “Daughter” (usually stylized in capital letters) sees Beyoncé pick up where she left off on Lemonade, her 2016 blockbuster album. She takes on infidelity with anger leading her actions. It’s the kind of vindictiveness that she harnessed in that earlier work.
Moreover, this song falls in line with classic country murder ballads, adding something innate to her exploration of the genre. In her tale, it’s her father’s temperament that is the onus behind her own. Uncover the meaning behind this track, below.
Videos by American Songwriter
[RELATED: 4 Ways Beyoncé Transformed the Music Industry]
Behind the Meaning
Your body laid out on these filthy floors
Your bloodstains on my custom coutures
Bathroom attendant let me right in
She was a big fan
Beyoncé plays a character in this song. In the opening lines, she sings about a bloody body, which we later find out is a product of her own doing. Now I ripped your dress and you’re all black and blue / Look what you made me do, she sings.
They keep sayin’ that I ain’t nothin’ like my father
But I’m the furthest thing from choir boys and altars
If you cross me, I’m just like my father
I am colder than Titanic water
In the chorus, she gets into the pipeline from her father’s anger to her own. When crossed, Beyoncé says she’s not afraid to fight dirty–after all, she is her father’s daughter. I am colder than Titanic water, she sings with a bite in her voice.
Later on in the song, Beyoncé switches her focus from someone in a dress to a man trying to hold his breath. The connection between the two things can only lead to one conclusion: infidelity.
It’s a topic Beyoncé has explored almost ad nauseam. The entirety of Lemonade is about that betrayal. It seems it’s still something that plays on her mind–particularly the violent streak that comes out when she thinks too hard on it.
Help me, Lord, from these fantasies in my head
They ain’t ever been safe ones
I don’t fellowship with these fake ones
So let’s travel to white chapels and sing hymns
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Most Viewed
-
Tim Curry in Rocky Horror Picture Show -
American singer and guitarist Slim Whitman (1923-2013) playing a Gretsch custom acoustic guitar during a press conference at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London, 18th February 1956. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) -
British guitarist, singer and songwriter Mark Knopfler (left) plays a Schecter Stratocaster as his band, Dire Straits, including Hal Lindes (right), performs live in concert at Wembley Arena in London, England, July 1985. Dire Straits played twelve dates (between 4th July and 16th July) at the venue as part of their 'Brothers in Arms' Tour. (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty Images) -
1990 MTV Video Music Awards (L-R) American musicians Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton, Joe Perry, Steven Tyler and Joey Kramer, of the American rock band Aerosmith, pose with their Moonman award backstage during the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California, September 6, 1990. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images) -
Richie Blackmore of Deep Purple, who recorded a classic rock album any dad would love to have. -
Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone in Rhinestone -
Queen – Freddie Mercury, Queen – Freddie Mercury (Photo by Brian Rasic/Getty Images) -
(Photo by John Lynn Kirk/Redferns/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)