Lay Me Down Analysis

The music video for "Lay Me Down" by Sam Smith shows how everyone will be stricken with grief after losing a loved one sometime in their life. The video starts out at a funeral and no music is playing. Smith is pictured in front of a casket at the front of a church standing completely still, ridden with grief. When the song begins, it is very slow paced. The people in the church can be viewed behind Smith holding candles while trying to control their emotions. As Sam Smith walks out of the church, the video flashes back to a time of happiness. Smith appears to be saying his vows to his fiancee as they were getting married. Everyone at the wedding is dressed in all white, making the emotions seem much happier. All of the people are smiling, clapping, and having a good time. The video then reverts back to the church where the music and lyrics slow down again, showing the emotion in the song and Smith is seen alone bowing his head in the church from grief. The images presented in the music video are very simple, yet powerful. The emotion on everyone's faces at the funeral is very evident. All of the people look as if they are on the verge of tears. A little after the music video has begun, the
The fact that the majority of the video takes place at a church fits the emotion created by the words of the song. There is so much emotion in the lyrics right from the start of the song. The very first three lines, "Yes I do, I believe / That one day I will be, where I was / Right there, right next to you" (stanza 1, lines 1-3), tells the listener how tragic and sad of an event losing a loved one was for Sam Smith. He is so torn up about the loss that he continues to elude to the fact that he would rather die than live without his husband. At the point during the wedding, the lyrics being sung were the vows being said by Smith. This helps make the emotion at that point in the video not so sad, but more light and