Kelly Clarkson Made Some Empowering Lyric Changes To Her Song "Piece By Piece"

Kelly Clarkson’s life has changed considerably since she first released her song “Piece By Piece” back in 2015. At the time, she was a new mom to now 8-year-old daughter River Rose, who she shared with then-husband Brandon Blackstock. The couple had been married for three years, and Clarkson wrote the song “Piece By Piece” in part about Blackstock’s role in helping her heal from the heartbreak of her own absent father. Now the couple have finalized their divorce, and Clarkson has changed the lyrics to ones that better suit her newfound independence and self-reliance.

Clarkson, who is also mom to 6-year-old son Remington, performed in Las Vegas over the weekend and revealed a very cool little surprise for her audience ahead of performing “Piece By Piece.” She explained on Saturday, per Us Weekly, “This song I initially wrote just super hopeful, right? And well, sometimes hopeful turns into hopeless, so here we go, ‘Piece by Piece.’”

The song’s original lyrics were written in honor of all the ways Blackstock was different from her own absentee father. Sadly, the couple filed for divorce in 2020. The original lyric read:“Piece by piece, he collected me up/Off the ground, where you abandoned things, yeah/Piece by piece, he filled the holes that you burned in me / At six years old and you know/He never walks away/He never asks for money/He takes care of me/He loves me/Piece by piece, he restored my faith/That a man can be kind and a father could stay.”

On Saturday night however, Clarkson changed the lyrics to reflect her own empowerment in shaping her own healing. She changed every “he” to “I,” singing instead, “I collected me up,” and “I filled the holes that you burned in me” to supportive cheers from the audience.

Clarkson went on to change more lyrics to the song, singing, “Piece by piece, I fell far from the tree/I will never leave them like you left me/And they will never have to wonder their worth/Because unlike you, I’m gonna put them first/I never walk away, I never break their hearts/I’ll take care of things when you leave scars/Piece by piece, I restored my faith/That a heart can still beat even if it breaks.”

While Clarkson’s new lyrics might seem heartbreaking at first glance, there is also power in independence. “Piece By Piece” used to be a song about being saved; now it’s a song about a woman saving herself.