How the song Alone by Heart employs Pathos

Ann and Nancy Wilson, the leaders of the band Heart use pathos in their song “Alone” to show the emotions of love, sadness, and loneliness. The first verse of the song is a great example of how the singer is feeling melancholy and lonely. The lyrics begin with “I hear the ticking of the clock, I’m lying here the room's pitch dark. I wonder where you are tonight, no answer on the telephone. And the night goes by so very slow. Oh, I hope that it won't end though. Alone.” She states that she is lying in the dark, and she is so secluded she can hear the clock ticking. The night is crawling by and all she can do is hope that someone will come to ease her loneliness.  The mood that the first verse creates changes dramatically in the chorus. Ann Wilson begins the song in a slow and subdued manner yet in the chorus she sings “Till now I always got by on my own, I never really cared until I met you. And now it chills me to the bone. How do I get you alone? How do I get you alone?” She sings these verses so forcefully, in a way it sounds like she is pleading. She is trying to say that she was perfectly content with her life, and didn’t need anyone to keep her happy until she met the person she is singing about. She is terrified that she now needs this person and cares so deeply about him (or her).  The way she repeats “How do I get you alone” shows the urgency with which she is pleading for the love she believes this person can give her. “You don't know how long I have wanted to touch your lips and hold you tight, oh. You don't know how long I have waited, and I was going to tell you tonight. But the secret is still my own, and my love for you is still unknown. Alone.” In the last verse she explains how she is planning to share her feelings, but she is scared that they will not be reciprocated so she keeps them to herself. This verse shows that she is feeling disappointed that she does not have the courage to talk about the love she has for the subject of the song.

This song employs many emotions, including love, sadness, terror and loneliness.  Heartbreak is something experienced by anyone that faces this world alone. They say the strong can face the world alone but it is the world that faces it with others. Heart does a great job in tying these emotions together to make a meaningful song that can relate to anyone that has gone through the same experience.