Context of “I Will Survive”

So I thought I would look into the differences of context between the two versions of “I Will Survive” that Wendy brought up on Thursday. One version is by Gloria Gaynor and the other is by Cake. Since there was not much difference in the lyrics, I am assuming that the difference in context is coming from the rest of the music like differences in guitar, vocals, drums, overall sound, etc.

The Gloria Gaynor version seemed much more upbeat and optimistic compared to the Cake version. I think this was accomplished because the beat seemed to drive more and background horns seemed peppier. The strings after the course also seem optimistic, if that makes any sense.

The Cake version seemed like a big F you to whoever broke up with him. I can’t pin point the reason why but the overall sound makes me think that. I think the only difference in the lyrics is when Cake changes the lyrics from “I should have changed that stupid lock” to “I should have changed that F’ing lock”.  This seems like something who is sick of something and doesn’t want to deal with it anymore would say. The tone of his voice seems more monotone which gave me the impression that he is bored and done with the relationship.

Another thing that really stood out to me was the difference in male and female voice with the lyrics of the song.  For me, when a female would say the lyrics, I would think that she is ready to move, start again, and overall much more optimistic. When a male would say the lyrics, it sounds like he much more negative and cares much less.