Lil Silva and Sampha are both English recording musicians. Lil Silva, also called TJ, has produced music that can be described as UK funk or instrumental pop. Sampha, 33, has done some notable collabs with U.S. artists like Kanye West and Solange. Together, the pair was able to deliver a record that many can relate to.
In the over three-minute track, the two use their unique sounds to express their feelings. Going back to being an inner child, Sampha reflects on how he feels wrong when he attempts to look forward, thus he forces his emotions inside. On one line he sings, "Why I feel like all of this is set in stone? Why I feel it's too late to telephone? And talk about it like we're adults, but the child in me can't let go."
In a statement shared about the song, the artists said, "'Backwards' is the feeling of alienation and constantly venting in a matrix you find yourself inside, whatever that may be.… Restricted and feeling guilty to move forward, constantly going backwards mentally."
As the melody continues to rise, so to do the emotions. Sampha begins to repeat, "It's all me," as the song starts to fade. This insinuates that he takes the blame for all the emotions that he's managed to suppress.
At the end of the single, the beat turns majestic, with a sound that is both R&B and futuristic.
Stream the song on Apple Music or Spotify down below.
Quotable Lyrics
The child in me is not responsible
For all the hurt that you've ever known
That shotgun you've let it go
Like anytime you feel vulnerable