The Weeknd gained widespread critical acclaim for his three mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence, which he later compiled to make a remastered, three-disc album titled Trilogy after signing his record deal with Republic. In 2013, he released Kiss Land, which was considered to be his debut studio album.
In 2014, he dropped “Often,” a remix of Beyonce’s “Drunk In Love,” and “King of the Fall.” The Weeknd released two songs in collaboration with the film Fifty Shades of Grey, with Earned It becoming his solo breakout hit.
His second studio album became highly-anticipated, with riveting singles like The Hills and Can’t Feel My Face leaving fans hungry for more. Beauty Behind the Madness was released on August 28, 2015.
His third studio album, Starboy, was released on November 25, 2016. The Daft Punk-assisted title track led the project as its first official single, released on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, before becoming his third number one track in the United States, as also his home country, Canada. The effort was a commercial success, topping the Billboard 200 albums chart with over 348,000 copies sold in its first week, all eighteen tracks debuting on the Billboard Hot 100, receiving a GRAMMY Award for the Best Urban Contemporary Album, category at the 60th annual ceremony, overall for the second time in his music career and being ranked as the third most popular album of 2017 in the U.S.
Next came the My Dear Melancholy EP, released on March 30, 2018 and revolving around his breakups with Bella Hadid during summer of 2016 and Selena Gomez in October 2017. With the lead single, Call Out My Name, the Canadian singer earned the largest first-day Spotify stream count of any song released in 2018 at that time and his eighth Top 10 entry on Hot 100.
Tesfaye’s fourth studio album (and his first in three years), After Hours was officially released on March 20, 2020, and is named after a 1985 movie directed by his idol, Martin Scorsese. It was primarily supported by November 2019-released singles Heartless and Blinding Lights, with the pair becoming his fourth and fifth #1 singles in the US and the latter his first #1 single in the UK. The title track and In Your Eyes were also released as singles.
Although widely expected to receive multiple nominations for After Hours, Tesfaye failed to receive any nominations for the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards (2021). Tesfaye took to his social media to criticize the Recording Academy, claiming corruption. Speculation arose that the announcement of his then-upcoming Super Bowl performance as well as the discrepancy of being nominated as pop music versus R&B contributed to the snubs. On February 5, 2021 The Highlights was released, as his second greatest hits album. Tesfaye performed at the Super Bowl LV halftime show on February 7, 2021 after announcing he would perform in November 2020. He reportedly spent $7 million on his performance at the show. Despite having a mixed response, the show resulted in a surge in streaming and downloads for Tesfaye's After Hours album as well as for the seven other songs he performed.
His fifth album, Dawn FM was released on January 7, 2022, continuing the writing and production work with Swedish pop svengalis Max Martin and Oscar Holter. The album was preceded by the single Take My Breath in August 2021, with Sacrifice announced as the second single.
I Was Never There
the weeknd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Cry, cry, cry, cry)
What makes him wanna take his life?
Ah, oh (ah)
His happiness is never real
(Real, real, real, real)
And mindless sex is how he feels, ooh, he feels
It won't matter (it don't matter)
It won't matter (matter)
When it's time, when it's time, when it's time (time, it's time, babe)
It won't matter (it won't matter, babe)
It won't matter (yeah)
It was like I was never there
(It was like I was never there)
It was like he was gone in thin air (no)
When it's time, when it's time, when it's time (oh, baby)
It won't matter (it won't matter, babe) it won't matter
When it's time, when it's time, when it's time
It won't matter, it won't matter
When it's time, when it's time, when it's time
It won't matter, it won't matter
It was like I was never there
It was like he was gone in thin air
When it's time, when it's time, when it's time
It won't matter, it won't matter
(When it's time, when it's time, when it's time)
(It won't matter, it won't matter)
(When it's time, when it's time, when it's time)
(It won't matter, it won't matter)
Ooh, and now I know what love is
And I know it ain't you for sure
You'd rather something toxic
So, I'll poison myself again, again
'Til I feel nothing
In my soul (in my soul)
I'm on the edge of something breakin'
I feel my mind is slowly fadin'
If I keep goin', I won't make it
If I keep goin', I won't make it
And it's all because of you
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
Whoa, whoa (when it's time, when it's time, when it's time)
Don't you, baby, hey (it won't matter, it won't matter)
It won't matter, baby (when it's time, when it's time, when it's time)
Don't you know? (it won't matter)
Don't you know? (it won't matter)
Ooh, oh, hey
(When it's time, when it's time, when it's time)
(It won't matter, whoa-oh)
The Weeknd's song "I Was Never There" is a melancholic ballad that delves into the mind and heart of a man who is deeply troubled and consumed by his own personal demons. The opening lines of the song ask the haunting question, "What makes a grown man wanna cry? What makes him wanna take his life?" The answer, it seems, is that the singer's happiness is never real, and he seeks solace in mindless sex, a hollow ritual that only magnifies his sense of emptiness.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "It was like I was never there" coupled with "when it's time, it won't matter." The singer has become insignificant and invisible, a mere shadow of his former self, and his fate is sealed, regardless of his actions or decisions. He is on the edge of something breaking and feels his mind slowly fading, as though he is losing control over his life. The somber mood of the song suggests that nothing can save him, and he is resigned to his fate.
At the end of the song, the singer muses, "And now I know what love is, and I know it ain't you for sure / You'd rather something toxic / So, I'll poison myself again, again / 'Til I feel nothing in my soul." He has come to realize that his love is wasted on someone who is toxic, and he chooses to poison himself to numb the pain, preferring to feel nothing rather than be consumed by his inner turmoil. In the final lines of the song, he acknowledges that his downfall is all because of the person he loved and trusted.
Line by Line Meaning
What makes a grown man wanna cry?
What causes a man to feel such deep emotional pain that he wishes to cry?
Ah, oh (ah)
Expressing a feeling of pain and sadness.
His happiness is never real
His happiness is a façade that is not genuine, and ultimately fades.
And mindless sex is how he feels, ooh, he feels
He uses sex to fill a void within himself, but it does not bring him any true satisfaction or happiness.
When it's time, when it's time, when it's time
It won't matter (it don't matter)
It won't matter (matter)
Eventually, nothing will hold any significance or importance anymore.
It was like I was never there
(It was like I was never there)
It was like he was gone in thin air (no)
He felt as though he was nothing to the person he loved or cared for, as if he didn't even exist.
When it's time, when it's time, when it's time (oh, baby)
It won't matter (it won't matter, babe) it won't matter
At some point in time, nothing in this world will hold any importance or significance anymore.
Ooh, and now I know what love is
And I know it ain't you for sure
You'd rather something toxic
So, I'll poison myself again, again
'Til I feel nothing
He has come to understand that the love he had for someone was not genuine or healthy, it was toxic, therefore he will harm himself over and over in order to numb those feelings and emotions.
In my soul (in my soul)
I'm on the edge of something breakin'
I feel my mind is slowly fadin'
If I keep goin', I won't make it
If I keep goin', I won't make it
He feels as though his soul is breaking, and his mental state is slowly deteriorating. He feels as though he cannot keep going on in this state, as it will lead to his downfall.
And it's all because of you
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
It's all because of you
All the pain he is feeling is because of this person he loved or cared for.
Whoa, whoa (when it's time, when it's time, when it's time)
Don't you, baby, hey (it won't matter, it won't matter)
It won't matter, baby (when it's time, when it's time, when it's time)
Don't you know? (it won't matter)
Don't you know? (it won't matter)
Ooh, oh, hey
Repeating that nothing will hold any importance or significance over time.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Abel Tesfaye, Mike Levy, Adam Feeney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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