Alicia Keys › Lyrics

When asked about name-checking Alicia Keys in the words of his song "Thunder on the Mountain," Bob Dylan told Rolling Stone that "There's nothing about that girl I don't like." And while highly attractive songstress' lyrics may not... Read More

When asked about name-checking Alicia Keys in the words of his song "Thunder on the Mountain," Bob Dylan told Rolling Stone that "There's nothing about that girl I don't like." And while highly attractive songstress' lyrics may not have been the first things on Dylan's mind, but they couldn't have escaped his notice, either.

Keys' songs, most of which she either writes or co-writes, present her as a strong, assertive and deeply thoughtful artist in the mold of the smooth soul stars of the 1970s and 80s. Her lyrics focus on relationships but go deeper than most pop songs, wondering what it is that makes love succeed or fail and delving into complex situations. On her debut album, Songs in A Minor, she admits jealousy over her boyfriend's apparently platonic friendship with another woman. Elsewhere, she revels in love's pleasures ("Fallin' ") but is always aware of the downside of opening herself up too much and/or too soon. Not to worry, though, because Keys also lays down the law in the lyrics to "A Woman's Worth," declaring, "A real man knows a real woman when he sees her/And a real woman knows a real man ain't afraid to please her" -- so get with the program, guys.

Keys continued to delve deep into her feelings on her sophomore set, The Diary of Alicia Keys. She sees that an alternately hot and cold lover gets his comeuppance within the lyrics to "Karma" and gets philosophical on "I Ain't Got You," which concludes that fortune, fame and power are all worthless without love. On her third studio album, As I Am, Keys stays strong, offering in "Go Ahead," a nasty breakup song that may or may not have political overtones, and "Superwoman" a feminist anthem of a sort that hasn't been heard in far too long.