The thought of him no longer being around
Well sure it would be sad but not really different
"The funny thing is," DeMarco told Uncut. "I wrote this record and now he's out of hospital, cancer free. I feel like a jerk; it's very bizarre. Regardless of him doing well or not well, I don't really know that guy. So maybe it's just me internalizing this and thinking, how am I supposed to feel about this?"
Mac plays tug-of-war between calling his father, seemingly to say goodbye, or letting him “fade away” with no closure from Mac– the ultimate revenge for an absent father.
Mac’s dad had recently been diagnosed with cancer, causing him to come back up into Mac’s life. This song has at least something to do with that.
Watching Him Fade Away
Mac DeMarco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Walk around as if you never cared in the first place
But if you never call, you'll end up stuck
Without another chance to tell him off right to his face
And even though we barely know each other
It still hurts
Watching him fade away
Watching him fade away
Watching him fade away
I know you never meant to put him down
And even if you did, he sure deserved it
The thought of him no longer being around
Well, sure, it would be sad, but not really different
And even though we barely know each other
It still hurts
Watching him fade away
Watching him fade away
Watching him fade away
Watching him fade away
The lyrics to Mac DeMarco's song "Watching Him Fade Away" speak of the struggle of coming to terms with the inevitable end to a relationship. The opening lines suggest that the singer has lost contact with someone they once knew and is now too afraid to reach out to them. The singer is trying to appear as if they never cared for this person in the first place, but in reality, they are hurting inside. They know that if they don’t call, they might miss the opportunity to tell this person exactly how they feel.
As the song progresses, the singer acknowledges that they barely knew the person they are referring to, but it still hurts them to see them fade away. The song shows a mix of emotions, as the singer tries to balance the pain of losing someone with the realization that they never really knew them in the first place. The lines "I know you never meant to put him down / And even if you did, he sure deserved it" emphasize the singer's self-awareness.
In conclusion, "Watching Him Fade Away" is a song about grappling with the end of a relationship and the pain of losing someone you once knew, even if only briefly. The lyrics show a mix of emotions as the singer tries to come to terms with the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Haven't got the guts to call him up
I am afraid to confront him directly by calling him
Walk around as if you never cared in the first place
I pretend as if I was unaffected and didn't care about him
But if you never call, you'll end up stuck
If I don't call him, I will miss the opportunity to voice my opinion
Without another chance to tell him off right to his face
Without a chance to confront him directly and express my feelings
And even though we barely know each other
Although we aren't close, it still affects me emotionally
It still hurts
It causes me emotional pain
Watching him fade away
Seeing him drift further away from me, emotionally or physically
I know you never meant to put him down
I know you didn't intend to hurt him, but you did anyway
And even if you did, he sure deserved it
Even if you hurt him intentionally, you may have had a good reason
The thought of him no longer being around
Thinking about his absence in my life
Well, sure, it would be sad, but not really different
It would cause sadness, but my life will be essentially the same without him
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: MacBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind