My All - Song

Mariah Carey - My All (From the album: Butterfly) 1997

Spanish guitar strumming slowly, forlorn, feelings we leave behind resurface and a song brings to life emotions that we find hard to verbalize or even understand. The mood of 'My All' is that of gloom, solitude, dejection and ultimately a pleading to the one who left you this way. Rarely do we come across vocalists who can bring alive feelings to such an extent that it becomes larger than life, it goes to the point that you start relating to it in a very personal way. She sings of being alone and of unrequited love, the desperation in her velvet smooth voice is so apparent it gives you chills. She sings of sleeplessness, of drowning into this man who is no longer with her, she will risk her life for a moment of togetherness. She yearns so sincerely that the listener glides into their own personal situation, music becomes a langauge, it speaks to the listener.

'Baby can you feel me, imagining im looking in your eyes, i can see you so clearly, vividly emblazoned in my mind yet your so far like a distant star, im wishing on tonight'

Its like this endless haze, this limitless space that is solely dedicated to her disdain, to her heartbreak. She is lost somewhere in this vacuum. You imagine her lying somewhere pining, she is so human that it becomes unreal because we are forced in our everyday lives to be strong and keep it together. The soothing yet plaintive sound of the Spanish guitar tugs you to fall into her woes, some fall into their own woes. Mariah's voice so lustrously hypnotic can reduce the best among us to cave in and reminisce; do we have an unrequited love somewhere in this world? Do we spend precious moments of our lives remembering how it used to be and do we wish it were the same like it was. Do we long for what's was unfairly taken away from us?

The song builds up simultaneously with her plea, her voice reaches the stratosphere to exemplify and magnify her cravings;

I'd give my all to have just one more night with you, I'd risk my life to feel your body next to mine 'Cause I can't go on living in the memory of our song, I'd give my all for your love tonight.

The bridge is a dreamy sequence. Humming solitude never sounded so convincing.
The song closes with a very low note as if to symbolize how low she really feels.

My All is one of those classic torch ballads that we covertly find ourselves indulging in to set free feelings we force ourselves to hide from the world. So openly, unabashedly pleading for lost love vocalized by Mariah's angelic voice, it’s a perfect love ballad for those who live vicariously through music.

The video takes the emotion to another level. Directed by the visionary and legendary Herb Ritts (RIP).