[Mind] Games

Tell Me Why - Taylor Swift 

When asked to explain the meaning for this song, Taylor Swift explained, "I’d been talking to a guy I’ve never “officially” dated. Sometimes it’s the hardest thing when you have all these dreams of dating them, and you’re getting close, but it doesn’t work out. He would say things that would make me go, “Did you just say that?” It bothered me so much because he would say one thing and do another, do one thing and say another. Because he didn’t know what he wanted, he would just play all these mind games". 

This guy was purposely manipulating her and going back on what he said. 
You could write a book on how to 
ruin someone's perfect day
And I need you like a heartbeat
But I know you got a mean streak 
Makes me run for cover when you're around. 

He played with her emotions and really hurt her. Playing mind games and manipulating one another in a relationship isn't healthy. Ultimately, Taylor Swift decided it was best to end the relationship because he was always putting her down. 

I Don't Wanna Know (ft. P. Diddy) - Mario Winans

The deception in this relationship has truly hurt the man that found out about it. From multiple sources, he heard that his girlfriend cheated on him with another man. However, this man is denying the truth because it hurts too much. He is being lied to by two different people -- himself and his girlfriend. He is denying himself of the truth, because he wants to protect himself from the pain and heartbreak that comes when he thinks about reality. The girlfriend is lying to him, because she wants to have the best of two guys loving her. She needs to feel loved, and the way she is doing this is by deceiving them both and manipulating them to give herself the best outcome.

Honesty - Billy Joel 

Billy Joel criticizes the deception of the world. Everywhere, people are lying; no one is telling the truth. 
Honesty is such a lonely word. 
Everyone is so untrue. 
Honesty is hardly ever heard. 
And mostly what I need from you. 

Billy Joel wants his love to be honest, but he knows that the world is full of deception. All he wants is one truthful relationship, which he knows is hard to find. 

Quit Playing Games With My Heart - Backstreet Boys

This song, extremely popular during the time of the boy bands demonstrates the effect of game playing and manipulation on a relationship.
Quit playing games with my heart
Before you tear us apart.
This girl is manipulating her boyfriend and hurting him. Her boyfriend is getting nervous that all of this game playing is hurting their relationship. He fears that the relationship can't take this strain the manipulation and deception is causing. He believes that if it continues, the relationship will be gone.

The Best Deception - Dashboard Confessional 

This song demonstrates the effect of lying and cheating in a relationship. This boy discovers that his girlfriend cheated on him and is hurt deeply by this.
Well don't you see, don't you see that the charade is over?
And all the "Best Deceptions" and the "Clever Cover Story" awards
Go to you

He never heard of these lies and of this cheating from the girl, but rather from someone else. This made it hurt even more than it already did. He breaks up with this girl that didn't treat him the way he should have been treated. As usual, the lies hurt the relationship, and ultimately ended it. 

Your Love is a Lie - Simple Plan 

This song is pretty self-explanatory from just looking at the title. "Your Love is a Lie". The girlfriend in this song is cheating on the boy in this song. She keeps covering up her cheating with lying. He knows that she is cheating on him, and in this song, she is calling her out. Everything she does is all a lie, because he doesn't know how she truly feels. She is telling him that she loves him, when in reality, she is cheating on him and manipulating him. Like the girl in "I Don't Want to Know", this girl is trying to manipulate two guys in order to get what she wants. 

Song Without Words, I'll Love My Love

The song "I'll Love My Love" is a classical piece composed by Gustav Holst in the early 1900s. This song is a beautiful piece that clearly demonstrates a sad relationship. The slow and hesitant melodic line displays melancholy very well. The person that this song is about is probably very upset from the deceiving and manipulation of his/her partner. It is easy to tell that this song is very sad, a sort of sad that cannot be expressed in words, but only in music. This is the emotion we all feel when we discover we have been tricked by someone we really care about.

Billie Jean - Michael Jackson

This song is known by almost everyone around the world. Michael Jackson sings about a girl that he believes is tricking him. He thinks that she is pretending to be a past lover of his who got pregnant. He doesn't believe that the son could possibly be his. There was no way he impregnated someone.
Billie Jean is not my lover.
She's just a girl that claims I'm the one.
But the kid is not my son.
He believes that there is no possible way that this could be his son. Once again, in this song, the character in the song is lying to himself. The whole song he sings, "the kid is not my son". However, later, "then showed a photo my baby cried his eyes were like mine". There is a possibility that the baby is truly his, but the entire song he lies to himself and denies this possibility.

Just Can't Enough - Black Eyed Peas 

In this song, the singers are singing about what addiction does. It becomes this part of your life, and you just can't stop thinking about it. You can't control yourself.
Boy I think about it every night day
I'm addicted; wanna jump inside your love.
I wouldn't wanna have it any other way.
I'm addicted and I just can't get enough 
Though this song is about love, it can be applied to any situation in which someone is addicted to something. When you are addicted to something, you can't stop thinking about it. You don't believe that anything is wrong with your habit, so you don't want to change it. When your addicted to something, your mind continuously makes you believe that you need this substance. It plays a game on you and makes you believe that you need only that substance to survive. It manipulates you and makes you want to continue with that substance. 

Nocturne (Op. 9 No. 2) - Chopin 

The passion in this beautiful piece displays the emotional response of a person that discovers they have been manipulated. The melancholy lines of this song demonstrates the usual passionate emotions of Chopin. It tells the story of a person that is upset with his/her relationship. The deception and manipulative ways of his/her partner has gotten to this person. The quick turns represent the emotional ups and downs that come with being in a relationship. The slow beginning shows the extreme sadness a person feels when he/she discovers that they have been manipulated. At certain points throughout the song, the anger is displayed by the strong use of forte. Finally, the anger builds up to its peak at the very end with the fortissimo part of the coda. At the very end, the person has calmed down with the dreamlike ending. The person has ended this relationship because of the deceptive ways of his/her partner. The manipulative relationship has been put to an end, and the person is at ease. 

Mind Games - John Lennon

In this song, John Lennon describes how people play mind games with each other. 
        Were playing those mind games together,
             pushing the barriers, planting seeds.
                                   ---------------
        Protecting our images in space and time
When playing a mind game, you need to push the limits of the other person's brain, or, as John Lennon words it, "push their barriers". To do this, you must plant little seeds of ideas in their head, which will grow. These little seeds of deception and trickery will turn into something that will completely confuse the receiver of this mind game. If you are trying to manipulate someone into thinking your way, you need to plant ideas in their head and make them think about it.