Clarkson wrote this about her parents' divorce when she was 6 years old. The song might be aimed at her mom. When the divorce happened, her mom was always busy and little Kelly had to make sandwiches for herself to eat.
In the song, Clarkson sings about trying not to make the same mistakes her parents did, and how because of the divorce, she is scared to fall in love, in fear of going through the same pain. She did eventually get married, tying the knot with Reba McEntire's stepson Brandon Blackstock in 2013, but seven years later the fears she expressed in this song came to light as she went through a painful divorce.
Clarkson's co-writers on "Because Of You" are David Hodges and Ben Moody, who along with Amy Lee were the core members of Evanescence for their debut album, Fallen. Hodges left before the album was released in 2003 and Moody quit the band that October in the middle of a tour after a fallout with Lee. Songs like "Bring Me To Life" and "Going Under" (both co-written with Lee) proved they were in tune with the modern pop-rock sound and could build the perfect bed for a powerhouse female singer delivering very intense lyrics. Hodges and Moody also produced the track, giving them their first hit away from Evanescence. A few years later, they worked on "What About Now," a hit for another Idol alum, Chris Daughtry.
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