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Ashley Renee Pendell

Professor Tim Waggoner

21.SU.ENG.1201.502. English Composition II

19, June 2021

“What Hurts the Most”

I chose the song “What Hurts the Most” written by Jeffrey Steele and Steve Robson.

The two artists that I chose, as there are several artists that recorded this song, are Rascal

Flatts, and Aaron Lewis. Little unknown fact… It wasn’t Rascal Flatts who first recorded the

song, although they were the ones who made the song the most popular and, the most known

back in 2006. They recorded the song for their studio album Me and My Gang and both the

song and album, became a success for the band. The original songwriter, Jeffrey Steele, wrote

the song for/about his son passing away in an ATV accident at the young age of 13. It was

Steele’s way of moving past the loss. “What Hurts the Most” by Rascal Flatts, is a song as

indicated in their music video, about a young boy who dies as a result of a vehicle crash. The

Rascal Flatts version is directed towards a country music audience using loud electric guitars

and drums, where as the Aaron Lewis version is composed of a quieter, laid back, style using

just an acoustic guitar and a dobro (slide guitar).

In the Rascal Flatt’s video, it’s a story of a young couple in love, sitting in the

boyfriend’s truck talking about the future. At the end of the video the young girl is running

towards her boyfriends’ truck, and that is then when we see the cross on the side of the road.

She then tells her boyfriend out loud, as she is sitting next to the cross, that she saw him in her

future. The young boy had passed away in an auto accident in his truck. There is a small,

similar correlation to what Steele originally wrote the song about and what the Rascal Flatt’s
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music video is in relation too. The main claim of the Rascal Flatt’s video seems to make you

think about life. That life is short. Anything can happen in a second. Don’t take life for

granted. Cherish every moment that you have and don’t let it pass you by. Just like what

happened to Steele’s young son.

Aaron Lewis has a way of captivating people with his voice and drawing people in and

telling a story. His voice is raw, pure and has a little bit of rasp to it at times. You can feel the

pain in his voice. When he sings, he gives off this emotion that he has felt the pain of this

song. He has felt the hurt of being able to “take the rain on the roof of this empty house…

take a few tears now and then and just let em’ out…” He’s felt the pain of “being so close and

having so much to say and watching you walk away… and never knowing what could’ve

been… And not seeing that loving you is what I was trying to do…” he’s been there. He’s felt

that. He’s done that. You know his pain is real and you can feel it. We can only tell of a story

being told by the lyrics and Aaron, who is able to captivate us with his instruments that are of

which, his acoustic guitar and his velvety voice. His style of this song is much more laid back

and quiet with him and one other person playing a dobro (slide guitar). His voice brings out a

very Pathos feel to the song.

What does hurt the most though? A lot of people right now, to this very day, are still

coming back and resonating with this song. Whether it’s the Rascal Flatt’s version or, the

Aaron Lewis version. They are coming to this song to find peace, closure, comfort, resilience,

and something they can rely on in this crazy time of COVID-19, the pandemic and so many

lives being lost and taken too soon. For both videos, there’s a feel of all three, Ethos, Logos

and Pathos. Pathos being people are losing their husbands and wives, sisters and brothers,

nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, grandma’s and grandpas, cousins and friends and so
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many others lost. The Ethos and Logos appeals to the fact that we KNOW that we are losing

our police and first responders, our fire and even paramedics. There are states that have

defunded the police and their first responders. You name it, and all over the world we’re

losing it. All our hearts are heavy right now.

So, tell me, “What Hurts the Most?” Is it the crippling depression that’s weighing

down on you that stops you from getting out of bed every day, that you struggle just to get in

the shower? Is it the crippling anxiety that comes along with it? Are you homeless and

sleeping on any bench or park bench that you can find? Are you able to afford food? Can you

find a babysitter? What about being able to find a job? Are you still struggling to find a job

because no one will hire you? Are you stuck in a dead-end job and you don’t get enough

hours? Are you not getting paid enough and is there a struggle to support your family and put

enough food on the table? What is it? “What Hurts the Most?” Is it your blood pressure? Your

insulin? Your migraines, your hypo or hyperthyroidism, your celiac disease? Did you lose a

limb and the physical therapy is too hard? Did you break a leg and the therapist doesn’t care

about you? Did your loved one just pass away and you’re now trying to survive and figure out

how to go on now? There are so many things that several of us deal with behind closed doors

that none of us know about that truly do “Hurt the Most… and having so much to say… And

never knowing what could’ve been.” None of us know what battles each of us fight. Please be

kind. The world needs more kindness, love and people who care about others. Reach out, it

could save a life.

Works Cited

“Rascal Flatts – “What Hurts The Most” (Official Video)” YouTube, uploaded by Rascal Flatts,

Dec 10, 2010 https://youtu.be/7qH4qyi1-Ys

“Aaron Lewis – “What Hurts The Most” Live”, YouTube, uploaded by AaronLewisTV, July

25, 2011 https://youtu.be/pQf9Jeh9GiQ