Irreplaceable - Music, Theme and Lyrics

Music, Theme and Lyrics

"Irreplaceable" is a mid-tempo pop ballad with R&B influences. Written in the key of B♭ major, the beat is set in common time and moves at a moderate 88 beats per minute. Knowles' vocal range in the song spans nearly two and a half octaves, from B♭₂ to E♭₅. While most of the songs in the album are aggressive and uptempo, her voice on "Irreplaceable" is toned down. "Irreplaceable" uses a gently strummed acoustic guitar, following the B♭₅-F₅-Cm₇-E♭_6/9 chord series. Hermansen and Eriksen combined the classic chord progression on an acoustic guitar, a modern-sounding 808 drum beat and cellos. Al Shipley of Stylus Magazine noted that the guitar strum can be found in Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna's 2007 single "Hate That I Love You", a song co-produced by Stargate and Ne-Yo. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote that a 2007 Stargate-produced single "With You", performed by American R&B-pop singer Chris Brown, also features the same element. He wrote, "'With You' is the convincer, even if you can instantly tell that producer Stargate was just trying to roll out 'Irreplaceable' one more time." while Billboard magazine wrote that it "leans a bit too heavily" to the song.

Bill Lamb of About.com wrote that the female empowerment theme of "Irreplaceable" has similarities to that of Terry McMillan's 1995 novel Waiting to Exhale. Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that "Irreplaceable" resembles ballads sung by Whitney Houston. Spence D. of IGN wrote that the song was inspired by Aretha Franklin's work since "Irreplaceable" consists of several variations in gutturals and octave range. The lyrics of "Irreplaceable" concern the breakdown of a woman's relationship with her boyfriend after she discovers his infidelity, and the song "sounds a lot like a statement of independence". Lamb noted the song has "strong lyrics with an unmistakable point about female resilience". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe wrote, "With a heretofore unknown grasp of nuance, Beyonce combines heartache, bravado, and anger as she tells a cad he's far from irreplaceable -- and that, in fact, her new man will be arriving momentarily." Hermansen said that "Irreplaceable" is a song that "people from all walks of life can enjoy". Knowles said that the song is "a little honest", and, "... basically we can't forget our power and our worth. And sometimes you're so in love, you forget that. And sometimes you feel like you're not being appreciated. And sometimes they forget that they can be replaced."

The song's lyrics are constructed in the verse-pre-chorus-chorus form. It begins with guitar strumming, and Knowles sings the hook-intro, "To the left, to the left" three times in alternating bars, and proceeds, "Everything you own in a box to the left". In bar seven, she sings the first verse, arguing with her boyfriend about the indifference of their relationship, and tells him to walk away. The pre-chorus and chorus follow, "You must not know 'bout me ... I can have another you by tomorrow / I could have another you in a minute ... Don't you ever for a second get to thinking / You're irreplaceable". In the second verse, Knowles recollects the moment she discovered her boyfriend's infidelity. The same pattern leads to the second chorus. Towards the end, Knowles sings the bridge, where she tells her lover, "Replacing you is so easy". The song closes with an ad-libbed chorus. The Boston Globe noted that Knowles sings some parts of it in a higher register "that complements the lyrics' wounded sensibility".