Originalmente, el tema fue escrito para Katy Perry y luego ofrecido a Rihanna. Ninguna de las dos artistas logró grabar la canción y terminó recayendo en Beyonce. Combina elementos del género power pop y de las baladas del soul. La letra del tema gira en torno al feminismo, el empoderamiento de las mujeres y la imagen corporal. Además, aborda las consecuencias que tienen las altas exigencias estéticas de la sociedad en cuanto a la belleza, y los desórdenes alimenticios son descritos como uno de los resultados de este tipo de sociedad altamente superficial.

Letra de Pretty Hurts – Beyonce



Miss Third Wards, your first question
What is your aspiration in life?
Oh My aspiration in life
Would be to be happy

Mama said, you’re a pretty girl
What’s in your head it doesn’t matter
Brush your hair, fix your teeth
What you wear is all that matters

Just another stage
Pageant the pain away
This time I’m gonna take the crown
Without falling down, down

Pretty hurts
We shine the light on whatever’s worse
Perfection is the disease of a nation
Pretty hurts
We shine the light on whatever’s worse
Tryna fix something
But you can’t fix what you can’t see
It’s the soul that needs the surgery

Blonder hair, flat chest
Tv says bigger is better
South Beach, sugar free
Vogue says
Thinner is better

Just another stage
Pageant the pain away
This time I’m gonna take the crown
Without falling down, down

Pretty hurts
We shine the light on whatever’s worse
Perfection is the disease of a nation
Pretty hurts
We shine the light on whatever’s worse
Tryna fix something
But you can’t fix what you can’t see
It’s the soul that needs the surgery

Ain’t got no doctor or pill that can take the pain away
The pain’s inside
And nobody frees you from your body
It’s the soul that needs surgery
It’s my soul that needs surgery
Plastic smiles and denial
Can only take you so far
And you break
When the paper sign leaves you in the dark
You left a shattered mirror
And the shards of a beautiful girl

Pretty hurts
We shine the light on whatever’s worse
Perfection is the disease of a nation
Pretty hurts
We shine the light on whatever’s worse
Tryna fix something
But you can’t fix what you can’t see
It’s the soul that needs the surgery

When you’r alone all by yourself
And you’re lying in your bed
Reflection stares right into you
Are you happy with yourself?
It’s just a way to masquerade
The illusion has been shed
Are you happy with yourself?
Are you happy with yourself?
Yes