Pretty Hurts
Beyoncé Lyrics

Ms. Third Ward, your first question:
The singer is being asked about her aspirations in life.

What is your aspiration in life?
The question to know someone's aspirations in life.

Oh, well my aspiration in life would be
The singer wants to be happy in life.

To be happy
The artist's goal in life is to achieve happiness.

Mama said, you're a pretty girl
The artist is quoting her mother as calling her beautiful.

What's in your head it doesn't matter
The singer's mother doesn't care about her daughter's thoughts but only her beauty.

Brush your hair, fix your teeth
The mother wants her child to do everything to enhance her physical beauty.

What you wear is all that matters
The mother believes that appearance is what is important.

Just another stage
The artist is on a stage where she is judged by others.

Pageant the pain away
Participating in a beauty pageant is a way to forget the artist's pain.

This time I'm gonna take the crown
The singer wants to win the beauty contest/honor.

Without falling down, down
The artist wants to win without being brought down by the competition.

Pretty hurts
The idea of beauty is painful.

We shine the light on whatever's worst
The media highlights every aspect they find essential to look good or hide flaws.

Perfection is a disease of a nation
The pursuit of perfection is a harmful practice across communities.

You tryna fix something, but you can't fix what you can't see
One cannot fix something that is not apparent.

It's the soul that needs a surgery
The problems are not on the surface but deep within where only surgery to the soul can fix it.

Blonder hair, flat chest
This is an ideal beauty standard for fair colored hair and small breasts.

TV says bigger is better
Media portrays a sizable chest as beautiful.

South beach, sugar free
The South Beach diet is an example of a low-carb diet that helps maintain weight.

Vogue says Thinner is better
Vogue's content suggests that being thin is better to be beautiful.

Ain't got no doctor or pill that can take the pain away
Medicines and treatments are unable to relieve the internal pain.

The pain's inside and nobody frees you from your body
The singer's pain originates inside and is their own responsibility to manage and heal.

Plastic smiles and denial can only take you so far
Putting up a façade won't stay effective for long.

Then you break when the fake façade leaves you in the dark
The distorted understanding of beauty will eventually let the individual down and cause suffering.

You left with shattered mirrors and the shards of a beautiful girl
The image that the singer sees of themselves is shattered, broken like pieces of a broken mirror.

When you're alone all by yourself
When the singer is on their own.

And you're lying in your bed
The artist is contemplating the issues in bed.

Reflection stares right into you
The artist is facing their reality and identity.

Are you happy with yourself?
The singer questions their contentment.

You stripped away the masquerade
The singer removed the pretense of beauty.

The illusion has been shed
The false perception of beauty has been exposed

Yeah, yes (ah, ah, ah)
A short disclaimer)