Aggression deliberately and persistently directed against a particular target, or victim, typically one who is weak, vulnerable, and defenseless. This is the definition of bullying. No matter what age, gender, race, or size no one is ever completely safe from it. What brings someone to torment another individual is completely mind-boggling, but some people seem to derive a kind of sick satisfaction from it. There are many bullied individuals who are able to deal with the bullying and lead successful lives, but it’s still extremely painful. Demi Lovato is one of those people. Her latest single “Skyscraper” embodies all of those emotions into a beautiful song. “Skyscraper” is an anthem for anyone who’s ever been put down, laughed at or abused by others.

There is a story behind this song that makes it all the more meaningful. Demi Lovato has dealt with an eating disorder since she was a young girl; it stemmed from other children in elementary school calling her fat. Later as she became more famous, all the hurtful things that magazines and people said about her were extremely hard to handle. This song is her expressing her pain.


“Skies are crying, I am watching


Catching teardrops in my hands


Only silence, as it's ending,


Like we never had a chance.


Do you have to make me feel like there's nothing left of me?”(1-5).
The feeling of indignation as she asks them why they never even tried to care is something anyone who has ever been bullied can instantly relate to. The feeling that you have nothing left to give to the people you love because people who have so much hate in their hearts are taking all the love out of yours. I can relate to this and so can many others.

When you’re bullied your life seems to be coming to pieces. You have to deal with the stress and fear of never knowing if today is going to be the day when your tormentors decide to take it a step further. At times you just want to tell them to just do it now and get it over with. Anything would be better than how I’m living now.


“You can take everything I have


You can break everything I am


Like I'm made of glass


Like I'm made of paper” (6-9).
Sometimes it feels like you’re walking on eggshells around yourself; anything can trigger those deep emotions that need to be hidden to survive. You’re in such a fragile place, and it always feels like others don’t know how delicate you need them to be with you.

Something that Demi touches on in this song is how the bully is just as insecure as the bullied. Bullies need to feel like they have control to be able to wake up every morning, and that’s why others’ pain fuel them. Demi Lovato shows just how much clarity she has about her situation with the following lyrics:

“As the smoke clears I awaken, and untangle you from me

Would it make you feel better to watch me while I bleed?

All my windows, still are broken

But I'm standing on my feet” (13-18).
When she says that things begin to lighten up and she wakes, I take it to mean that she sees that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. By acknowledging that her bullies need her to function, she has regained some of the power and is able to have some conviction even though her life may be falling apart. She can now begin to pick up the pieces of her world bit by bit and build again.

Up until this point in the song Demi is showing us her deep and incredible pain. She’s searching her mind for what could possibly be the reason for it, but then she has a moment of brilliance. A moment I am jealous of. Instead of being a victim, she finds her anger and in her anger she finds strength.


“Go on and try to tear me down


I will be rising from the ground


Like a skyscraper!


Like a skyscraper!”(24-27).

This is where the song gets its title. She likens herself to a skyscraper; no matter what others do, she will survive. That was her moment when everything was going to be ok. Not because others changed but because she changed.

If everyone who has ever been bullied had the same amount of clarity and strength that Demi Lovato shows in this song, then suicide and depression resulting from bullying would be greatly decreased. At the beginning of the song she is so broken that she can’t even stand up for herself. By the end of it, she believed that she was worth more than the way she was being treated. Demi Lovato is only 18 years old but she did something that some people never learn to do; she fought for herself. This song was her breaking point and her starting point. “Skyscraper” is a song that anyone who has ever felt defeated can instantly relate to. “Skyscraper” is a song of hope and inspiration for our generation.