The song title may relate to the album’s concept and journey through Las Vegas, where all of the visual references released in the rollout of After Hours (excluding the cover arts of the first two singles) feature Abel bloody and injured.
The track was first previewed in a snippet on March 18, 2020 posted to his social media accounts that was revealed to be the track by music-identifying app Shazam.
A music video for the track was released on April 7, 2020.
In the video, Abel is seen at a party surrounded by balloons and confetti. This alludes to the House of Balloons, Abel’s first mixtape. Now, however, the balloons are colored, representing the glamour of Abel’s life as an incredibly successful artist. Yet even after achieving super-stardom, Abel finds himself in a familiar setting, the house of balloons. This can be seen as a full circle moment for Abel, where the closing track of his latest album After Hours brings him back to the place where it all began. Now, he has a decision to make – does he fall back to his old ways, or does he finally break free of his addictions?
The last scene of the video shows Abel escaping the party and watching in horror as another paralyzed version of Abel (one who chooses to stick to his old ways) is getting torn apart by people (Abel’s addictions) on a spinning platform in the center of the room. This escape from the house of balloons is Abel’s attempt to pave a new path in his life rather than going through the motions all over again and getting trapped in the vortex of hedonism. Abel stumbles out of the party into the desert surrounding the Las Vegas Strip, then falls to the ground out of sheer exhaustion from trying to break away from the life he has known for far too long. In the isolation of the desert, he bleeds out, while the other Abel, paralyzed in the house of balloons, torn apart by his own addictions, meets the same fate. Abel’s escape from the house of balloons wasn’t enough. As he lies in the middle of the desert, bleeding out, Abel Tesfaye is “Alone Again”.
“Until I Bleed Out” debuted at #80 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart week of April 4, 2020.
Until I Bleed Out
the weeknd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm so paralyzed
I can't explain why I'm terrified
I'm so terrified
Well, I don't wanna touch the sky no more
I just wanna feel the ground when I'm coming down
It's been way too long
Just want it out of my life
Out of my life, out
I wanna cut you outta my dreams
'Til I'm bleeding out
'Til I'm bleeding
I wanna cut you outta my mind
'Til I'm bleeding out
'Til I'm bleeding
I wanna cut you outta my dreams
Whoa, I'm bleeding out
Girl, I'm bleeding
I wanna cut you outta my mind
'Cause I'm bleeding out
Oh, I'm bleeding
Girl, I'm bleeding
I keep telling myself I don't need it
I keep telling myself I don't need it anymore
I keep telling myself I don't need it anymore
Need it anymore
The Weeknd's Until I Bleed Out is a hauntingly beautiful song that speaks to the pain and anguish of a broken heart. The lyrics describe the feeling of being paralyzed with fear and terror, unable to move on from a love that has ended. The singer expresses his desire to cut the object of his affection out of his dreams and mind until he is bleeding out, as he struggles to rid himself of the lingering memories and pain that are holding him back.
The lines, "I don't wanna touch the sky no more, I just wanna feel the ground when I'm coming down" speak to the singer's desire to stay grounded and connected to reality, rather than indulging in the superficial and fleeting pleasures of drugs or any other vices that might help him forget his pain. He wants to cut his former lover out of his life completely, and this includes every aspect of his consciousness, even his dreams.
The repetition of the phrase, "I'm bleeding," in the chorus has an almost hypnotic effect, emphasizing the singer's intense emotional pain, and the urgency he feels to escape it. The imagery of blood serves as a powerful metaphor for the depth of his suffering, and his need to bleed out represents his hope for a cathartic release of all the sadness and pain that he has been holding inside.
Overall, Until I Bleed Out is a deeply introspective and poignant song that explores the complexity of human emotions, and the struggle to move on from a love that has ended. Its haunting melody and powerful lyrics make it a standout track on The Weeknd's album, After Hours.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't move, I'm so paralyzed
I am emotionally frozen and unable to take any action
I can't explain why I'm terrified
My fear is so intense that I cannot find the words to describe it
Well, I don't wanna touch the sky no more
I am no longer interested in achieving great heights or experiencing extreme highs
I just wanna feel the ground when I'm coming down
I want to stay grounded and avoid the rush of coming down from a high
It's been way too long
I have been feeling this way for a long time
And I don't even wanna get high no more
I have lost interest in getting high
Just want it out of my life
I want to remove any presence of drugs or negative influences from my life
I wanna cut you outta my dreams
I want to remove any thoughts or dreams that involve you from my mind
'Til I'm bleeding out
I want to keep cutting you out until it hurts me just as much as bleeding out
I wanna cut you outta my mind
I want to remove you completely from my thoughts
'Cause I'm bleeding out
I am hurting deeply, like I am bleeding out
I keep telling myself I don't need it
I am trying to convince myself that I no longer need drugs or the person I am referring to
I don't need it anymore
I have realized that drugs or the person I am referring to are no longer necessary for my life
Lyrics © WARP MUSIC LIMITED, Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Not In Bed, Prince 85, Abel Tesfaye, Daniel Lopatin, Leland Wayne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@meeskatati3108
I can't move, I'm so paralyzed
I'm so paralyzed
I can't explain why I'm terrified
I'm so terrified
Well, I don't wanna touch the sky no more
I just wanna feel the ground when I'm coming down
It's been way too long
And I don't even wanna get high no more
Just want it out of my life
Out of my life, out
I wanna cut you outta my dreams
'Til I'm bleeding out
'Til I'm bleeding
I wanna cut you outta my mind
'Til I'm bleeding out
'Til I'm bleeding
I wanna cut you outta my dreams
Whoa, I'm bleeding out
Girl, I'm bleeding
I wanna cut you outta my mind
'Cause I'm bleeding out
Oh, I'm bleeding
Girl, I'm bleeding
I keep telling myself I don't need it
I keep telling myself I don't need it anymore
I keep telling myself I don't need it anymore
Need it anymore
@froggy4968
This man is actually such a cinematic actor, he played this album perfectly.
@JTS1128
Hopefully every song will have a video and it’ll be a complete cinematic adventure
@jhonniotkrs
Hamza Mohamed this man is not acting
@jockyjorge
LMAO NO 😐😐😐
@HaharuRecords
No. I think you are right🐏
@ChevsWorld
Jhonnio Tkrs he really isn’t acting and it’s beautiful
@dysfunctionalisme
Honestly, it's really sad Abel's darker songs are less popular than his radio friendly bops but OG xo fans know this is why we got on the ride with him in the first place
@riptidev10
Radio is overrated
1 like per week lmao
Actually its mostly the ear bleeding advertisements
@eevilmann30285
All i hear on the radio from the weekend is starboy(rarely), save your tears, and blinding lights. I wanna hear the hills and too late and all of the good stuff.
@giorgionotaras22
@@eevilmann30285 in my county its the hills, starboy, blinding lights, and save your tears, thatz all idk why