This document provides an analysis of Rihanna's song "Fire Bomb" from her album "Rated R". It explores some of the lyrical techniques and metaphors used in the song that portray her messy relationship and domestic violence at the time. Specifically, it highlights her use of fire imagery to represent the dangerous and volatile nature of the relationship and her desire for revenge against her abusive partner. The analysis also notes how the lyrics paint a picture of the immense damage caused by how her partner "lit the match" and suggests the song shows Rihanna's fragile mental state in the aftermath of the relationship.

1. By Shannon Horton

2. • “Fire Bomb” is a ballad-type of song that isn’t very typical
of Rihanna’s style.
• It represents all the negativity of break-ups or
possessiveness in relationships.
• “Fire Bomb” was from her album “Rated R”. This album
was recorded during her messy relationship with Chris
Brown, so she was going through a lot of domestic
violence at the time she wrote this song. This means that
the venom in the song could possibly be directed at the
partner that was beating her.
• There are a lot of interesting techniques used in the lyrics
of the song: for example, many places in the song open
the doors for double entendres and subliminal meanings.

3. Yeah
Whoa Evokes a sense
Colloquial Language Gunfire left a hole of danger and
creates a sense of In the tank mystery in an
affirmation- Like she is almost military
reassuring herself, the
Losing gasoline style
“Whoa” Is almost as is if Fire is on my trail
she is mesmerised by the And he's after me
idea itself (not yet revealed Hope it don't hit
to the audience) Before I get where I'm going
Creates a
I gotta get where I'm going
sense of
Take off my mask to breath.
breathlessnes You could‟ve been a apart of a
s as there is Masterpiece
no pause Fluid in the breaks
Was the last to leak Using fire as a
metaphor for a
man-could show
Pause after breath allows the dangerous
the audience to take a Highlights nature of male
breath-caesura further the relationships
danger

4. Follows on from the
penultimate lines of
verse 1-Shows her
determination for
revenge and show the
fast-paced high-speed
nature of revenge/hatred
Juxtaposition of
mischevious line
“Can‟t wait to see your Where I‟m going
face” then a violent,
miscreant type line
“When your front
I don‟t need my brakes
window brakes” Can‟t wait to see your face
When your front window brakes
And I come crashing through
Literally painting the
picture of Rihanna
being a “home-
wrecker”

5. A warning to Reason for
people who are in the lovers to
love in a violent “clear the
way, showing that road” and
even though she The lovers need to clear to road, links first
verse to
will regret running
down lovers, she Because this thing is ready to blow. chorus
will not stop her Setting
act of revenge- I just wanna set you on fire someone
on fire a
regardless of who
Just implies that
it will hurt
setting somebody on So I wont have to burn alone. symbol for
a
fire is minimal dangerous
compared to what the Then you, relationshi
other party has done
Then you‟ll know where I‟m coming from
(notice that the male
p. Painful
love
has only been
mentionned in the Fire Bomb.
first verse, showing
the danger)
Pause builds tension and Showing she knows
creates the imagery of her this pain well. Fire
formulating the plan as the Bomb, shows how
song goes along. people will be set on
fire-the normality and
peace exploding

6. Imagery of hot and
Metal in a microwave is cold, her actions
said to cause an could seem cold, but
explosion, which relates they dont have to be
to the message of the
song “Fire Bomb”
Seems cold but baby know,
It doesn‟t have to be.
Imagery Anthithesis of
turns Microwaving our metal tragedy. burning being
sombre, no beautiful-
hope for Watching it burn and it‟s beautiful, burning love?
love
And it‟s blue and it‟s pitiful when it‟s through
Attempting to justify
her actions-they were It‟s the other half of me.
Death of the
the one to start the
fire I didn‟t do it you lit the match for me. other half of
her-death of
And now we‟re flying from the blast baby, the person
she loves
That‟s the thing.
Shows the collosal damage of Repetition of “That‟s
how the other person “lit the The Thing”
match” establishes a link
between verses and
pre-chorus

7. Shows the
true volatile
nature of
their
relationship-
colloquialis
“Millionth Baby we were killing „em m shows
lack of time
Degree”-shows
the many levels
They couldn‟t handle the millionth
of their
relationship-the
Degree Shows the poor
weakness of We were criminals constructions of
other people. the relationship.
Exaggeration of As we were burning,
the whole world
shows how The whole world called the Police Call me crazy-
important she
regarded the
Fire department, Ambulance. shows that her
mental state is
relationship You can call me crazy. fragile (see
previous lines) –
Listing shows „Cause I believe laments the
her insanity, the sadness of the
whole world The only move for me and you other persons‟
wouldn‟t have death as it is from
done that Is to go out blazing her own madness
Involving the
other member of
Blazing holds semantic field of the relationship in
fire her own madness