According to a recent Korean survey conducted on 1,336 unmarried men and women over 20 years old , the second most factor when choosing a partner was “ Economic situation ( 44.3 %)” for women . ( The most important factor in both sexes was “ Personality ( 69.2 %).”) Other researches showed the same phenomenon around the globe . Pew Research Centre reported that 78 % of American women believed that it was “ very important ” that their future husband had a “ steady job ” and a report from the London School of Economics confirmed that women still want to marry men with money . All these studies portray how people are being evaluated by so many criterions including honor , wealth , stable income , and profession even when it comes to love and marriage .
Conditional love is exactly what the single “ Locked Away ”, sung by the American musical duo Rock City , featuring Maroon V ’ s Adam Levine , is questioning : ‘ If I don ’ t have any of those , would you still love me the same ?’ Released on June 29th , 2015 , the song peaked at number six of the Billboard Hot 100 and number three of the UK Singles , the first song by the duo to hit top ten .
“ Locked Away ” starts with the chorus where Adam Levine supposes several scenarios . Adam asks his lover if he were imprisoned (“ got locked away ”) or if he became bankrupt (“ lost it all today ”), would her love for him stay the same . He wonders if he could show his lover his own uncertainties , weaknesses , and misgivings without the fear of her changing her love towards him . In Verses 1 and 2 , R . City continues with these imagining of extreme scenarios to question the girlfriend ’ s unconditional love . If a judge sentenced him a life sentence , could she manage the burden of loving an absent lover ( since he ’ ll be in jail for the rest of his life ) and a criminal ? If he couldn ’ t buy her the glamorous things she wanted , if he could only offer her his love , was it alright with her ? R . City sings that he needs a girl to “ ride for him ”, or have his back , and stay with him until the very end no matter what happens .
The lyrics , especially the chorus which Adam Levine croons throughout the song , “ Tell me honestly , would you still love me the same ?,” leaves behind a meaningful idea of true love and stays as a lingering question in the listener ’ s mind even after the song ends . The inclusion of “ Right about now ”, which is a signature phrase of R & B and hip-hop songs , and the use of slangs in the lyrics such as “ Shawty ( meaning a young and attractive woman )” and “ you are down ( meaning you understand ),” especially help in dramatizing the candid atmosphere of the song and bringing attention to the reggae fusion and dancehall genre .
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