On “Bad Intentions”—a raw but smoldering R&B ballad whose lyric video shot to more than a million views soon after its January 2014 release, largely on the strength of her staggering social-media presence—Niykee’s near-lifelong devotion to sharpening her songwriting is more than evident. “I realized early on that the only way to make my voice heard and say what I wanted to was through music,” says Niykee, whose older sister Rachel battled cancer for most of her life and died when Niykee was 12. “It was less like a hobby for me and more like a lifesaver,” she adds. Since her family couldn’t financially support her musical education, Niykee gave herself vocal training by singing along to a Diana Ross greatest-hits CD, and learned to play guitar by holing up in her room with an acoustic handed down to her by a family friend. And when it came to her songwriting, Niykee relied on a natural sense of rhythm she attributes both to her South African roots and passion for hip-hop, yet also drew a great deal of inspiration from the bare-bones authenticity of singer/songwriters like Bob Dylan and Tom Waits (two artists beloved by her sister and older brother).
In her early teens, Niykee began posting pop covers on YouTube while continuing to cultivate her songwriting. “On Friday and Saturday nights when all the other kids were going out, I was staying home and writing songs or, when I got a little older, driving hours to some broke-down bar and begging them to let me get up and play,” says Niykee, who struggled with bullying throughout her school years. “I was doing everything I could to move my music along, but nothing was working out at all.” Having promised her sister that she’d make an impact with her songs, Niykee told her parents that she’d put songwriting aside and go to college if her music career hadn’t made any major strides by the time she turned 18. Then, the day before her 18th birthday—and shortly after she’d ditched the pop covers and started posting her acoustic takes on tracks by hip-hop artists like Chief Keef, A$AP Rocky, Lil Wayne, and Pusha T—Niykee wound up on WorldstarHipHop and found herself fielding interest from a flood of record labels. Instead of aligning herself with a label right away, she graduated high school six months early and self-financed the recording of a host of her own songs, eventually signing with Steve Rifkind and Russell Simmons’ All Def Music and setting to work on her debut EP.
With her personal highlights so far including getting hand-picked by Snoop Dogg to accompany him onstage at the YouTube Brandcast in May 2013, Niykee has kept up a steady songwriting routine despite the whirlwind of recent years. Now a magnet for up-and-coming producers, she constantly combs through beats sent her way and finds that many end up sparking song ideas. “I’ll know if a beat’s good after the first five seconds, and then I’ll get a song in my head and start writing immediately,” she says. “I go out to my back porch with my guitar and the words just come, and usually it’s all done in under 30 minutes.” As she continues develop as a lyricist, Niykee notes that the pain of her past serves as an endless source of unlikely inspiration. “Even when I’m not writing literally about things that have happened to me, all the pain of my childhood and losing my sister ends up getting pushed into my music,” she says. “It shapes my songs and builds this deeper meaning under everything, which is one the most important things to me—I need to know that I could listen to any of my songs 20 years from now, and still be proud of what I had to say.”
Rolling Stone
Niykee Heaton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Darlin why you taking so long?
Uh oh, uh oh, ooh
I'm feeling kinda broken
Can't blame God for this one
I won't, I won't, I won't
Let me be your lullaby, playing in your head, this song every night
I've seen this all before, seems like a lifetime ago
What's it all, what's it all worth?
I don't wanna be alive if it doesn't feel like this right now, feeling right now
I'm not afraid to die, if you're by my side it's all right now, feeling right now
Be there when I'm alone
Love me even though I'm a motherfuckin' rolling stone
Carry me home, and I'll love you, I won't, I won't go
Some shit I gotta work on
I just hope that you won't move on
Uh oh, uh oh, ooh
I'm beggin baby hold on
I'll call you tonight when I'm alone
Alone, alone, ooh
Let me be your lullaby, playing in your head, this song every night
Give me ten minutes, let me bare my soul
I've seen this all before, seems like a lifetime ago
What's it all, what's it all worth?
I don't wanna be alive if it doesn't feel like this right now, feeling right now
I'm not afraid to die, if you're by my side it's all right now, feeling right now
Be there when I'm alone
Love me even though I'm a motherfuckin' rolling stone
Carry me home, and I'll love you, I won't, I won't go
Tell me that you want me, I'll stay
Tell me that you love me, I won't go away. I won't, I won't go away
Tell me that you want me, I'll stay
Tell me that you love me, I won't go away. I won't, I won't go away
Oh no
I don't wanna be alive if it doesn't feel like this right now, feeling right now
I'm not afraid to die, if you're by my side it's all right now, feeling right now
Be there when I'm alone
Love me even though I'm a motherfuckin' rolling stone
Carry me home, and I'll love you, I won't, I won't go
I won't, I won't go
The lyrics to Niykee Heaton's song Rolling Stone express feelings of loneliness, brokenness, and a desire for love and acceptance. The first verse opens with the singer feeling lonesome and wondering why her lover is taking so long to arrive. She then acknowledges her brokenness, but also takes accountability for it by stating that she can't blame God for this one. The chorus repeats the line "I don't wanna be alive if it doesn't feel like this right now," conveying the urgency of the singer's emotions, and the importance of feeling alive and loved in the present moment. The second verse reveals that the singer has some things to work on, and she hopes that her lover won't move on. The bridge of the song switches to the singer making a plea for her lover to stay and to love her even though she is a "rolling stone," meaning she moves around frequently and may be difficult to tie down. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus and the singer promising not to go away.
Overall, Rolling Stone is a poignant expression of love and fear, loneliness and longing. The singer is clearly vulnerable and is grappling with some heavy emotions. She wants to feel love and connection, but also acknowledges that she has work to do on herself. The use of the term "rolling stone" may be a nod to the classic Bob Dylan song by the same name, which similarly explores themes of restlessness and the search for meaning.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm feeling kinda lonesome
I am experiencing a sense of isolation and loneliness
Darlin why you taking so long?
My significant other is absent and I am wondering why they are taking so much time
Uh oh, uh oh, ooh
Expressing concern and anxiety
I'm feeling kinda broken
I am emotionally shattered
Can't blame God for this one
I cannot find a reason to justify this pain and therefore cannot blame a higher power
I won't, I won't, I won't
My stance is firm and I refuse to accept this pain as my destiny
Let me be your lullaby, playing in your head, this song every night
Allow me to be the soothing voice in your mind, giving comfort every night
Give me ten minutes, let me bare my soul
Grant me a moment to express my deepest thoughts and emotions
I've seen this all before, seems like a lifetime ago
I feel like I have experienced this pain previously and that it has been a long time
What's it all, what's it all worth?
Questioning the value and significance of life and the pain it entails
I don't wanna be alive if it doesn't feel like this right now, feeling right now
I only want to exist if I can experience the intense emotions I am feeling currently
I'm not afraid to die, if you're by my side it's all right now, feeling right now
As long as I am with my significant other, I am not scared to face death, and feel content in the present moment
Be there when I'm alone
I need my significant other to be present when I am by myself
Love me even though I'm a motherfuckin' rolling stone
Despite the fact that I am emotionally unstable and unpredictable like a rolling stone, love me anyway
Carry me home, and I'll love you, I won't, I won't go
Take care of me and I promise to love you without leaving
Some shit I gotta work on
Acknowledging and taking responsibility for personal issues that need attention
I just hope that you won't move on
Expressing a fear of losing the person I love if I don't improve myself
Alone, alone, ooh
Repeating the feeling of solitude and loneliness
Tell me that you want me, I'll stay
If you tell me you desire my presence, I will remain by your side
Tell me that you love me, I won't go away. I won't, I won't go away
Assuring that love and affection will prevent me from leaving, despite any personal struggles I may face
Oh no
Expressing dismay or concern
I won't, I won't go
Reiterating the promise of not leaving
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDRE HARRIS, ANDREW WILLIAMS, MANSUR A. ZAFR, NICOLET ALETA HEATON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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