“Sorry” by Beyoncé

The storyline of this song is based on Beyoncé dumping her man and in the process telling him that she “ain’t sorry”. Her rationale for making this decision is centered on his lack of truthfulness. And while his infidelity is alluded to, especially at the climax of the song, it is never forthrightly stated that he has actually, physically cheated.

First Verse

For example, in the first verse she is basically telling dude to f**k off! Beyoncé is “headed to the club” with her “ladies” and in the process is not thinking about her man. In fact it seems she may be going for a night on the town in a direct effort to forget about him.

Second Verse

In the second verse we see that her man is apologetic and even “crying”. It is during this section that the audience first becomes enlightened to at least one of his infractions, which is “lying”. However, Bee is not in the forgiving mood. Instead her mentality is more along the lines of an eye for an eye.

Chorus

Thus in the choruses we find that Beyoncé has her “middle finger up” and is “wav(ing) it in his face”. She is basically dissing this dude, telling him goodbye and is not “sorry” about any of it.

Bridge

In the bridge we see that the relationship she is referring to is a deep one, i.e. a marriage, as she is wearing this guy’s “ring”, which she now “regret(s)”. We also find out that “he always got them f**king excuses”, which again alludes to her partner as being untruthful.

Climax

As the song climaxes, Beyoncé is already out the door. Her intention is not to get into another relationship but rather to get away from the guy she is singing about, including carrying “(her) baby” with her. And she is not getting emotional about it, as she states she would commit suicide before crying over this situation.

Beyoncé then concludes by more or less identifying the woman her man has been cheating with as “Becky with the good hair”. No one knows who this person actually is (or even if it is a real person), but the general conclusion is that such an appellation refers to a White woman.

Conclusion

Ultimately what this song boils down to is that the singer has caught her husband cheating, is not having it and instead of being overtaken by heartbreak is taking the initiative to bounce and basically telling him to “suck on (her) b*lls” in the process. But “Sorry” is not meant to play out as an attack on an unfaithful husband. Rather is it a self-empowerment song intended to showcase the strength,courage and wherewithal of the woman who has to deal with this situation.

Facts about “Sorry”

• “Sorry” is the fourth song featured on Beyoncé’s 2016 album that goes by the title Lemonade.
• The track was officially released with the rest of the Lemonade album on 23 April 2016 through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records.
• This song has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
• In addition to the United States (where the track peaked at number-11 on the Billboard Hot 100), “Sorry” also charted in Australia, Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
• One of the reasons “Sorry” became such a hit is that fans have concluded that Beyoncé is actually singing about her real-life husband, superstar rapper Jay-Z.
• And in terms of fans trying to pin down who “Becky with the good hair” is, some have concluded it is a fashion designer by the name of Rachel Roy who Jay-Z was friends with. However, Miss Roy herself has denied such.
• Indeed Wynter Gordon, who is credited (on some sites) as a co-writer of “Sorry”, has affirmed that “Becky” is not an actual person.
• “Sorry” was the first standalone video released from Lemonade, which is actually a ‘visual album’.
• Tennis star Serena Williams made a cameo appearance on the music video.          
• Interest in “Sorry” was reignited when Beyoncé re-released “Lemonade” in April of 2019 to commemorate its third anniversary and in the process added a previously unreleased rendition of the song (entitled “Sorry (Original Demo)”) to it.
• According to a number of authentic music databases, this track was written and produced by Diana Gordon, Beyoncé and MeLo-X.