Love Lockdown
Kanye West Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
What I had to do, had to run from you
I'm in love with you, but the vibe is wrong
And that haunted me, all the way home
So you never know, never, never know
Never know enough, 'til it's over love
'Til we lose control, system overload
Screaming, "No, no, no, no-no"
I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
See I wanna move, but can't escape from you
So I keep it low, keep a secret code
So everybody else don't have to know

So keep your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Keeping your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown, you lose

I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
I can't keep my cool, so I keep it true
I got something to lose, so I gotta move
I can't keep myself, and still keep you too
So I keep in mind, when I'm on my own
Somewhere far from home, in the danger zone
How many times did I tell you 'fore it finally got through?
You lose, you lose
I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
See I had to go, see I had to move
No more wasting time, you can't wait for life
We're just racing time, where's the finish line?

So keep your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Keeping your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown, you lose

I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
I bet no one knew, I got no one new
Know I said I'm through, but got love for you
But I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
Gotta keep it going, keep the loving going
Keep it on a roll, only God knows
If I'll be with you, baby, I'm confused
You choose, you choose
I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
Way I wanna go, I don't need you
I been down this road too many times before
I'm not loving you, way I wanted to

So keep your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Keeping your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown, your love lockdown
Now keep your love lockdown, you lose

You lose
You lose




You lose
You lose

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Love Lockdown" describe Kanye West's struggle with a dysfunctional relationship. He loves the person but the vibe between them feels wrong, so he has to escape. He keeps his emotions bottled up and with a "secret code" because he doesn't want everyone else to know about his personal life. He has to keep going, keep the loving going, but he's confused about his feelings towards this person. He doesn't want to be with them in the way that he thought he did, and he's not willing to settle for a relationship that doesn't satisfy him.


The song's lyrics touch on themes of loneliness, isolation, and emotional turmoil. Kanye is trying to escape his feelings of love and confrontation with his partner, but he's struggling to do so. He is in a state of emotional lockdown, where his love is contained and controlled. The song's refrain, "you lose," is a stark reminder of the consequences of not being true to oneself and settling for a relationship that isn't fulfilling.


Line by Line Meaning

I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
I'm not feeling towards you the way I thought I would


What I had to do, had to run from you
I had to distance myself from you


I'm in love with you, but the vibe is wrong
I have feelings for you, but something is off


And that haunted me, all the way home
I couldn't stop thinking about it


So you never know, never, never know
You can never really be sure


Never know enough, 'til it's over love
We never truly understand until it's too late


'Til we lose control, system overload
Until we lose ourselves and become overwhelmed


Screaming, "No, no, no, no-no"
Exclaiming in refusal and denial


See I wanna move, but can't escape from you
I want to move on, but I can't seem to get away from you


So I keep it low, keep a secret code
I keep my feelings to myself and hide my emotions


So everybody else don't have to know
So that others don't have to be involved


I can't keep myself, and still keep you too
I can't continue to prioritize both myself and our relationship


How many times did I tell you 'fore it finally got through?
How many times did I have to tell you before you understood?


See I had to go, see I had to move
I had to leave and find my own way


No more wasting time, you can't wait for life
We can't afford to waste any more time waiting for things to happen


We're just racing time, where's the finish line?
We're running out of time, but we don't know what the end goal is


I'm not loving you, way I wanted to
My feelings for you aren't as strong as I thought they would be


I bet no one knew, I got no one new
No one knows that I haven't moved on yet, and I haven't found anyone new


Know I said I'm through, but got love for you
I said we were over, but I still have feelings for you


Gotta keep it going, keep the loving going
We have to keep trying to make things work


Keep it on a roll, only God knows
Keep going, but unsure of what will happen


If I'll be with you, baby, I'm confused
I'm not sure if we are meant to be together


Way I wanna go, I don't need you
The path I want to take doesn't involve you


I been down this road too many times before
I've been through this situation many times in the past


You lose
You will regret not appreciating me




Lyrics ยฉ Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Malik Yusef El Shabbaz Jones, Kanye Omari West, Jenny Bea Christina Englishman, Laneah T. Menzies, Jeffrey Nath Bhasker

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@mamaziha79

This is what is most painful...When there is still love between two people, is that one of them, decide to reject you "again" and block you in all possible communications...Like in this beautiful masterpiece...
https://youtu.be/OydK91JjFOw

The worst is when the rejection is based on a stupid misunderstanding on the one hand, and a very bad understanding on the other hand, having triggered "The damned Kraken & his cohort of demons", destroying everything...
Anger is always a bad advisor... It makes you make many mistakes, like erasing yourself, refusing him from now on, all access to your conscience, your thoughts, as he did himself, and lock yourself in a cold mutism to heal, move forward and especially protect yourself from all new venomous and painful stings... Instinctively you must protect yourself and take refuge in your citadel...
Even if you have to live with a love lockdown and a cold case love too...
https://youtu.be/eMjEyWaoNKE

To love sincerely and deeply someone and to lose him in such a brutal and violent way...It's hurt like hell...
https://youtu.be/Uil0L-0F4no
https://youtu.be/IPPTTvxojvg

And I'm still wondering how to communicate with a very complex emotional "Rubik's Cube"...
https://youtu.be/MM62wjLrgmA
https://youtu.be/ifv7S__-vaI

Don't ask me why...
But I needed to "get it out there." ๐Ÿง 



@shaundixon3645

@@mamaziha79 mine was after 35 year marriage I was totally unforgivabley betrayed , not cheating but far worse for me but nothing to her ,
I was put in care at 5 , adopted at7 put back in care at 11 left care 16 joined army , met future wife at 19 still virgin, she pursued me relentlessly, I was more than hesitant .
We got together , I told her โ€œ I will never cheat on you , never hit you , if you want me never to lie , donโ€™t ask about my pastโ€ I kept my word , she did too.
After 30 years some thing was wrong , the dice was rolling , didnโ€™t know what it was , said nothing , was extra vigilant , my defences were up . Then sept 2017 my wife and 2 daughters announced they had found my family , it took ยฃ 14000 and failed cos of actions I had taken to hide . I had 2 forged idโ€™s then 1 they knew me as,it took dna test to find my family in USA . To them this was really good they were ecstatic , to me it was end of my world which was just them.
I never asked fo it,
After 35 years in total I was out of house in 20 mins .
Left everything but clothes on my back and 1 hold-all ,I know they didnโ€™t understand ,
I lived homeless on spare ground behind garden center , 4 years later was seen by friend of friend , they told my wife , who arrived with 2 daughters and 1st grandchild I had never met. They full of apologies and vowing never to communicate with my family again ,.
It took 4 weeks to convince me to go back with them, it was not the same , seperate bedrooms , never touched my wife , I wouldnโ€™t even go in bathroom when she was in it,
Met my younger daughters friend from unI many time she was studying psychology. One day she was stareing at me for longest time till I said โ€œwhatโ€ , she replied โ€œ you need some serious professional help, your head is all mashed upโ€.
They all went on to list odd behaviour ,like asking to use toilet every time , asking if I could make cup of tea , only ever sitting on kitchen chair in kitchen and turning it to face door, disappearing for up to three days , having an object fear of grandchild, terrible nightmares all night every night that I had no memory, many more , too many to mention, all I could say was โ€œ something ainโ€™t right itโ€™s not the same ,the vibe is wrong , Iโ€™m not loving you the way I want to โ€œ daughters friend said โ€œ thatโ€™s love lockdown by Kanye westโ€
Never heard of it before so hear I am listening to it , and at last talking ,
This song could be my road back to not been crazy and scaring people



All comments from YouTube:

@peacehammertitan778

I remember the night when 808s dropped and the radio hosts were so confused. This auto tune and heavy 808s have become a staple of rap and hip hop 10 years later. This man was so ahead

@midlaroi244

Except T Pain did it years before this.

@dolphinerofachero3159

@@midlaroi244 it isnโ€™t about whoโ€™s the pioneer, is all about whoโ€™s the loudest

@depopjordans

@@midlaroi244 T pain's autotune sound was literally inspired by a song on the college dropout so really it was Kanye all along

@albeanie7977

@@midlaroi244 love your name

@midlaroi244

@@albeanie7977 he grew up around me in Australia now hes #1 in Australia and America. Im envious

112 More Replies...

@EJ-lh9co

2010 : love lockdown
2020 : actual lockdown

@hellenbits

Truth ๐Ÿคฃ

@lennon9383

song came in in โ€˜08

@AshleyLiss-sg8fb

This lockdown is going to cause a spike in births in about 9 months #actuallovelockdown

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