The 2010 single features Lovefoxxx, lead singer of Brazilian band CSS, on vocals and includes remixes by Xavier de Rosnay, Jackson and His Computerband and Breakbot. The track was used in the title sequence for the film Drive, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and starring Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan. Nightcall was included on Kavinsky's debut studio album, OutRun.
Kavinsky performed the song with Angèle and Phoenix at the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony on 11 August 2024. A studio version of this cover was released on 20 September 2024.
Nightcall plays in the background of a flashback scene in the film The Lincoln Lawyer. It also plays during the opening credits of the 2011 film Drive, and in scene 25 of Our RoboCop Remake, both directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The song was used in a commercial for the Sony Xperia phone promoting its low-light camera features. The song is also featured in the CW show Riverdale in episode 99. In 2022 and 2023, it was used in a commercial for Volvo C40 Recharge.
The song was also used in the soundtrack for the film The Lincoln Lawyer, directed by Brad Furman and starring Matthew McConaughey. The song is sampled by Russian band Би-2 in their lead single Чёрное солнце on their 2017 album Горизонт событий. It was sampled by Lupe Fiasco for his single American Terrorist III, as well as by Vinny Cha$e & Kid Art for their 2012 song Drive. It was also sampled by Childish Gambino for his song R.I.P featuring Bun B on his mixtape R O Y A L T Y, and by Will Young for his 2012 song called Losing Myself. Nightcall was covered by English band London Grammar for their debut album, If You Wait. It was also covered by former Bluetones' frontman Mark Morriss on his second solo album, A Flash of Darkness, and by English shoegaze band My Vitriol.
Nightcall
Kavinsky Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(We'll go all, all, all night long)
I want to drive you through the night, down the hills
(We'll go all, all, all night long)
I'm gonna tell you something you don't want to hear
(We'll go all, all, all night long)
I'm gonna show you where it's dark, but have no fear
(We'll go all, all, all night long)
There's something inside you
It's hard to explain
They're talking about you, boy
But you're still the same
There's something inside you
It's hard to explain
They're talking about you, boy
But you're still the same
I'm giving you a night call to tell you how I feel
(We'll go all, all, all night long)
I want to drive you through the night, down the hills
(We'll go all, all, all night long)
I'm gonna tell you something you don't want to hear
(We'll go all, all, all night long)
I'm gonna show you where it's dark, but have no fear
(We'll go all, all, all night long)
There's something inside you
It's hard to explain
They're talking about you, boy
But you're still the same
There's something inside you
It's hard to explain
They're talking about you, boyBut you're still the same
There's something inside you (there's something inside you)
It's hard to explain (it's hard to explain)
They're talking about you, boy (they're talking about you, boy)
But you're still the same
In Kavinsky's song "Nightcall," the singer is making a late night call to someone they care about in order to express their feelings. They want to take the person on a drive through the night, down the hills, and show them a darker side of life. They acknowledge that what they have to say may not be what the person wants to hear, but they urge them not to fear.
The repeated lines of "there's something inside you" and "they're talking about you boy, but you're still the same" seem to suggest that the person being addressed is struggling with something internally, and that others are aware of it. However, the singer is still supportive and sees the person for who they truly are, despite what others may say.
Overall, the song is a sort of anthem for those who feel misunderstood or out of place. It's about finding someone who understands you on a deeper level and being there for them, even when things get tough.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm giving you a night call to tell you how I feel
I want to communicate my emotions to you during the night
I want to drive you through the night, down the hills
I desire to take you on a thrilling ride at night where we can experience the hills
I'm gonna tell you something you don't want to hear
I'm going to reveal a truth to you, which may be uncomfortable for you to hear
I'm gonna show you where it's dark, but have no fear
I'm going to bring you to a place where it's dark, but you do not need to be afraid
There's something inside you
You have an essence within you that is unique
It's hard to explain
It's difficult to describe this essence in words
They're talking about you boy
People are gossiping about you
But you're still the same
Despite what others may say, you remain unchanged
There's something inside you (there's something inside you)
You possess a distinctive quality within you
It's hard to explain (it's hard to explain)
This quality is challenging to articulate
They're talking about you boy (they're talking about you boy)
People are discussing you in a negative light
But you're still the same
Nevertheless, you remain faithful to yourself
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Guy Manuel De Homem Christo, Vincent Pierre Claude Belorgey
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Paul Schaller
Love this song.....
@Keeper69s
I'm a truck driver and this is one of my top tracks for my night drives.
2am, middle of nowhere, anywhere in the country; every turn and length of road is undiscovered as I've never driven them before.
Yet the realization of 80,000 pounds at 70 mph running off the road, down a hill, or into an obstacle, could come in the fraction of a second.
And no one will experience it but me, in that moment.
It's haunting but beautiful.
@mikeshinwa3398
In case anyone was wondering about the meaning behind the lyrics, here's a great one that I found on SongMeanings. If you listen to all the previous EPs by Kavinsky, and observe the recurring themes, you'll see that they all tell a story, with each EP representing a different chapter in the story:
In "Teddy Boy", the main character (the guy on the album cover art) has a car crash and dies in the hospital but comes back as a ghostly phantom driver.
In "1986", he is haunting the highways and reminiscing on what happened to him in the moments leading up to and immediately after the crash
In "Nightcall" it seems as though he's trying to get in touch with someone in his former life, whom he loved, but never had the courage to tell her. He wants her to ride with him so she can experience all the things he's experienced since he died. And he's telling her not to be afraid.
"I'm giving you a night call to tell you how I feel
I want to drive you through the night, down the hills
I'm gonna tell you something you don't want to hear
I'm gonna show you where it's dark, but have no fear"
This girl can tell something strange is happening because of the way he sounds, the news reports covering the crash and the sightings of the mysterious "ghost car". Hence the lyrics:
"There's something inside you
It's hard to explain
They're talking about you boy
But you're still the same"
She's seen the news coverage of the crash and the police footage of the "ghost car" that is haunting the highways.
She knows he's supposed to be dead but here he is on the phone with her. She can tell he's changed by the way he's talking. He sounds ghostly, depressed, electrified even. But despite how inhuman he sounds she can't help but feel like he's still the same person he was before he died. So she just might ride with him.
Given the dark/sombre and haunting sound of the song, you can also interpret this song being about depression, how it slowly reduces us to a shell of our former selfs; a phantom driving aimlessly on a highway to their personal hell, struggling to open up to those we love.
@Andaril2
I'm giving you a night call to tell you how I feel
I want to drive you through the night, down the hills
I'm gonna tell you something you don't want to hear
I'm gonna show you where it's dark, but have no fear
There's something inside you
It's hard to explain
They're talking about you boy
But you're still the same
There's something inside you
Its hard to explain
They're talking about you boy
But you're still the same
I'm giving you a night call to tell you how I feel
I want to drive you through the night, down the hills
I'm gonna tell you something you don't want to hear
I'm gonna show you where it's dark, but have no fear
There's something inside you
It's hard to explain
They're talking about you boy
But you're still the same
There's something inside you
It's hard to explain
They're talking about you boy
But you're still the same
There's something inside you (there something inside you)
It's hard to explain (it's hard to explain )
They're talking about you boy (they're talking about you boy)
But you're still the same
@RecordMakers
Our new artist 𝐧𝐢𝐭 attended a 24-hour puzzle championship: https://youtu.be/PZqS7AW7xEg check it, it's crazy! 🧩
@ARTYOM.1
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
@therealbertiesworld
W
@user-ii9bl6de2j
There's puzzles inside you, unlock and you'll find fame. There's puzzles inside you boy, but they're not the same.
@Xanecx
IT IS ACTUALLY HIM! NO WAY IT IS HIM!
@Lokirik
Круто
@HyperCore-zi1ie
one day I promised myself that this would be my first music played in my first car. Today is the day
@blindmannn35
What's the car?
@JustNobody-lt6uf
Congrats man