There are a few songs that can lift your souls up and put it down at the same time and this masterpiece by Rihanna achieves such feats. “Unfaithful” is about a broken relationship where the girl is cheating on the guy and she knows that he knows about this. The song is in the girls perspective and it’s a tragedy to listen to. However, when you hear this now-12 years later from the release date, we still crank up the radio to sing-along to it at the fullest capacity of our lungs.
“Unfaithful” was released on May 02, 2006, from Rihanna’s second studio album – ‘A Girl Like Me.’ The song was an instant hit and was a stand out track from the album. The song charted number one on UK R&B and US Hot Dance Club Songs charts. It became a top 5 hit on many countries around the world. “Unfaithful” also was certified 3x Platinum for sales by RIAA in the United States. The beautiful lyrics of “Unfaithful” were written by Ne-Yo.
Watch “Unfaithful” Music Video by Rihanna
Download “Unfaithful” Song on iTunes and Amazon
Rihanna does a brilliant job on the vocals of the song. Her high pitches and little voice cracks add the much needed dramatic effects to the song. She looks absolutely stunning in the music video as well.
“Unfaithful” has been a key performance on many of the world tours Rihanna had done since.
Lyrics Review and Song Meaning of “Unfaithful”
Verse 1
The first verse sets the backdrop to the song. The first two lines say that the singer has been prone to do the wrong things in life. She is searching for the right thing to do, but it seems to be avoiding her and she ends up doing the ‘wrong.’ She is filled with sorrow as she knows what she is doing is absolutely wrong and unacceptable, but it seems as she cannot resist it.
In the next few lines of verse 1, Rihanna talks about his husband. He is more of a man than she deserves and their love is strong. But something keeps calling her back to the ‘wrong’ and the relationship has turned blue now. Clouds rolling in is a metaphor for dark or bad times. Why? Because she is out of the house, again!
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Pre-chours
These lyrics set out the plot of the song. She is cheating on her man and she knows that he knows about it. And she knows that it is one of the worst things that can happen to a man. She can literally see him dying inside, everytime she steps out of the house.
Rihanna Performs “Unfaithful” Live at Rock in Rio in 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej2ZeiCWMl4
Chorus
In the chorus of “Unfaithful,” we find the singer lamenting over her bad behaviour. She says she wants to stop this, she doesn’t want to hurt him and she doesn’t want to be the reason why he is slowly killing himself.
Verse 2
Second verse elaborates a slimy situation that the couple face on a frequent basis. She is getting ready to go out with her ‘girlfriends’ again, and she knows that he knows it is a blatant lie. There is a mere kiss on the cheek and the broken voice of the guy asks if she is going to be late to return! She replies she won’t be long gone, which probably is true.
Bridge
These lyrics deliver the final verdict on the situation that this couple is facing. Their love is blue and his trust is broken. Without these two, a relationship is a fake, dull and meaningless act. So she would rather have him dead than put him through anymore of this torture. She believes it will be less painful to end his life.
It is interesting how she does not want to stop cheating on the husband and end his pain. Maybe it is too late to repair their relationship. But she would rather end his life than stop cheating on him. Selfish?
Metal Cover of “Unfaithful” by Exit Eden
That concludes our annotation and song meaning revelation of this amazing track. What are your views on this track? Love it? Comment your thoughts about the song, lyrics or the meaning below.
Full Lyrics to “Unfaithful” by Rihanna
Your review is well-written and insightful. I have a different perspective of “Unfaithful”
I believe that despite the artistry and Rhianna’s voice, this is an evil song. That the girl in the song cheats on her man and she knows that he knows makes him a c*ckold. There’s no indication in the lyrics that the guy gets off on this situation, so we can’t assume that he has a fetish. When you get down to it, the girl is pure evil because she knows she is inflicting so much pain but is unwilling to stop. “It’s killing him inside” If she had an ounce of mercy in her, she would either leave him for good and put a bullet through his head.