Some would say that this song is somewhat male bashing but when you listen deep into the emotion of the song you can hear the universal message that to me is so pronounced.  No matter who you are, where you’re from or what your heritage may be we all can identify with the pain of being hurt. What’s so unique about this song is that it speaks of that human mechanism that we all posses, that innate ability to protect ourselves from repeat offense. If you’ve ever been the victim whether you realize it or not everything in your makeup adjusts itself to make sure that you never experience that kind of pain again. Sheryl in this song is telling the new guy in her life, “hey, listen I’m willing to give this love thing a try but know I’ll never be hurt like I’ve been in the past;” “the first cut is the deepest” “yeah you may cut me but trust me you won’t cut me to the white meat like the last one did”. Too many this is a normal and healthy place to be, because the first law of human existence is “self-preservation”, you must protect yourself because those who don’t protect themselves get cut over and over and over again. The problem I have with this philosophy is that if the new love in your life never has the opportunity to cut you like the one before; whether they have the capacity to do so or not; your heart grows somewhat hard. You become wiser but in some ways bitter. You’re protecting yourself from the potential pain and hurt that he or she could cause but you also shield yourself from the endless love you could be missing out on. The lesson here is, no two people are alike, protect yourself and give your wounds time to heal but by all means give the next one an opportunity at the same love as the one before. Be smarter but love harder, yes, the first cut is deep but it can always heal, with time, love and a heart that can feel.