“Dust” is a love song. Frank is letting his guard down and allows himself t… Read Full Bio ↴“Dust” is a love song. Frank is letting his guard down and allows himself to move forward with his life. The song also appears on the nostalgia, ULTRA. mixtape.

Written by Maejor & Frank Ocean, produced by Maejor & Troy NōKA.

Dust
Frank Ocean Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Who's that talking in the library?
Who's that talking in my library?
Is that you? No, I won't put you out
'Cause what would this place be without my muse?
Nothing special

Every book in here, I wrote
Some I'm not too proud of

Some I wish I could burn
So many pages I wrote, wish I could revise them
But there's no erasing
And the best advice I got was keep writing, yeah
And keep living, yeah
And keep loving
Oh, loving and living and loving

And when the ink dries
And the pages turn to dust, so will we
Turn to dust, so will we
Dust, dust

Who's that laughing in the library?
Who's that laughing in my library?
Is that you? No, I won't put you out
'Cause what would this place be without your smile?
Nothing special

I fell in love with you, girl, ohh
You let yourself inside with no respect for privacy
You said, "There's too much on my mind"
Then you ripped out a page
And set that shit on flame
I quit writing
And, ohh, I kept living, whoa, whoa, whoa

I kept loving

And when the ink dries
And the pages turn to dust, so will we
Turn to dust, so will we
Dust, dust

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Frank Ocean's song "Dust" present the artist's emotions about his creative process and the impact that one person had on his life. The song centers around the idea of the library, where all of Frank’s work exists. The opening lines are questioning who is talking in the library, as it is a sacred and personal space for the artist. The library symbolizes his creative space, where he can write freely and express himself without limitations. When Frank asks, "Is that you?" it seems he is looking for a connection with someone while he works. He recognizes that his muse brings something special to his creations, and without her, his work might not be as profound.

Frank Ocean then reflects on the different types of work in his library, some of which he is proud of, and some he wishes he could erase. This statement implies that he does not only write songs but likely writes in other forms too, such as poetry or essays. He further states that he wishes he could revise his work, but acknowledges that he cannot. The chorus "keep writing, and keep living, and keep loving" refers to the advice he received, and that he should never stop creating.

The second verse of the song takes a different approach from the first, as it is more personal. Frank recounts a lover who made him quit writing. The lover's presence in his library was disruptive, and they did not respect his privacy. This relationship seems to have been toxic, as the lover set one of his pages on fire. However, Frank decided to focus on living and loving, even though he stopped writing for a while. The chorus of the song repeats, suggesting that just as pages of a book turn to dust, all things pass away, including people’s lives.

Overall, "Dust" is a beautiful and emotional song that speaks to the different facets of the creative process and how life's experiences can affect it.

Line by Line Meaning

Who's that talking in the library?
Who is the person conversing in the library?

Who's that talking in my library?
Who is the person conversing in my library?

Is that you? No I won't put you out
Are you the person I hear? I won't ask you to leave.

Cause what would this place be without my muse
This place would be less special without my source of inspiration.

Nothing special, every book in here I wrote
Nothing extraordinary, I am the author of every book in this library.

Some I'm not too proud of some I wish I could burn
Some of my books are not my best work, and I want to destroy them.

So many pages I wrote, wish I could revise them
I've written countless pages, and I wish I could go back and edit them.

But there's no erasing and the best advice I got Was keep writing, and keep living, and keep loving
Even though I cannot erase my mistakes, I received the best advice to continue writing, living, and loving.

And when the ink dries and the pages turn to dust So will we turn to dust, so will we dust, dust
When our lives come to an end, like the ink drying and pages crumbling to dust, we too will turn to dust.

Who's that laughing in my library?
Who is the person laughing in my library?

Is that you? No I won't put you out
Is it you that is laughing? I won't ask you to leave.

Cause what would this place be without your smile
This place would be less special without your joyful presence.

Nothing special, I fell in love with you girl
Nothing extraordinary, I have fallen in love with you.

You let yourself inside with no respect for privacy
You entered without asking or showing regard for my privacy.

You said there's too much on my mind
You admitted to having a lot on your mind.

Then you ripped out a page and set that shit on flame
You tore out a page and burned it.

I quit writing, I kept living, I kept loving
After that incident, I stopped writing briefly but continued living and loving.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Antwoine Collins, Brandon Michael Green, Christopher Breaux

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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