This becomes the motivation for achieving the kind of success that will allow them to look good to others. Again though, this is an empty success because regardless of how the person looks to others, they still feel no worth within themselves.
The third and final verse expands on this message and suggests that money is no answer. As West states, "We buy our way out of jail, but we can't buy freedom." This reference to freedom relates to being free to live according to yourself and your own needs, rather than a need to prove yourself to others. This is also emphasized in lines four to six of the verse: "We'll buy a lot of clothes when we don't really need em / Things we buy to cover up what's inside / Cause they make us hate ourself and love they wealth." These lines show that the desire for items is really a way to cover inner problems. In addition, these lines emphasize that the desire for wealth exists because of a dislike for ourselves. In short, if you do not feel that you are enough in the eyes of others, attaining wealth becomes the solution. West then makes the point that despite apparently being aware of the problem and seeing that wealth is not a real solution, he still cannot help but feel the need for material things. As he states, "I wanna be on 106 and Park pushing a Benz." This shows how strong the desire for material wealth is. In the final lines of the third verse, West mentions some problems related to excessive spending including that "I got a couple past due bills" and that "I got a problem with spending before I get it." The first example links back to the girl described in the first verse, because it shows that how other people see you becomes more important than how you are actually living. This shows the major problem, which is that your own priorities become confused, where you are willing to sacrifice yourself so that other people will think you are doing well. The second example of spending before...
No matter how much you achieve, you will be seeking more material possessions to prove your wealth. Presumably, there will be no end to this until you see the real value in yourself and stop living to try and impress other people and prove yourself. In the final line of the third verse, West says that "We all self-conscious I'm just the first to admit it." This reinforces the theme of living your life based on how you are perceived by others, with this line also suggesting that everyone experiences this same problem.
Overall then, the verses of the song establish that people are driven by a need to prove themselves and please others. The less valuable people feel they are, they more they are driven to gain material possessions to make up for what they lack. However, whatever a person gains is never enough because it does not represent real value to the person. In essence, West shows how people give up actual success in return for looking like they are a success. However, as long as people are living to please others, they can never take the actions they need to take to please themselves. In response, a person's self-esteem only declines further, while their need to gain outer signs of wealth grows higher to make up for it. The end result of this is then described in the chorus, where West repeats that it all falls down. This establishes that the material things do not really create any value in a person. Instead, the person is living based on an act. In the end, the act falls down and leaves the person feeling even emptier than before. West does not provide the solution to the problem, but does suggest that everyone gets caught in the trap of living to please others.
Works Cited
West, Kanye. "All Falls Down." Lyrics007.com. Retrieved 22 July, 2005. URL: http://www.lyrics007.com/Kanye%20West%20Lyrics/All%20Falls%20Down%20Lyrics.html
