The Weeknd needed to get some things off his chest, and so, out of almost nowhere, Abel released My Dear Melancholy,. As the title suggests, the six-song EP is laden with dark and brooding lyrics set over reverb filled instrumentals. Throughout the project it’s obvious that Abel is venting about Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez. Although heartbreak and depression can drive a man to madness, thrusting him down a hole of mental health ailments, The Weeknd capitalizes off his pain and delivers an EP that is reminiscent of his older work. The aesthetic of My Dear Melancholy, feels like Thursday, or House of Balloons. No one can say that The Weeknd’s pop-fueled commercial projects Starboy and Beauty Behind The Madness didn’t deliver. Still, it’s refreshing to hear Abel return to his roots on a less commercial project that exploits raw emotion and sounds less manufactured than his last two efforts.
Whereas other artists might hide their emotion behind layers of ambiguous metaphors, The Weeknd refuses to hide behind vague references, and bares his soul for the world to hear. You know who he’s talking about, and what he’s referring to. Abel weaves a tale of crippling depression, suicidal thoughts, impassioned sexual encounters, and paralyzing regrets. The lyrics are dark, yet relatable. Love and pain are two emotions that every human on this planet can identify with, and the pain in Abel’s voice is so palpable that you might find yourself daydreaming about a lost lover.
Tragic and brooding, depressing and introspective, these are the darkest lyrics on My Dear Melancholy,.
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Call Out My Name
“Said I didn't feel nothing, baby, but I lied
I almost cut a piece of myself for your life
Guess I was just another pit stop
'Til you made up your mind
You just wasted my time”
“We found each other
I helped you out of a broken place
You gave me comfort
But falling for you was my mistake”
Try Me
“I didn't know you were down for him finding out
I thought you had some kind of love for your man
Well, I'm not tryna break up something
You've been workin' out, you've been steady
But I'm ready to go all the way if you let me”
Wasted Times
“And even though you put my life through hell
I can't seem to forget 'bout you, 'bout you”
“I hope you know this dick is still an option
'Cause I'll beat it up (I'll beat it up, yeah)
I'll take my time to learn the way your body functions
You were equestrian, so ride it like a champion (I'll beat it)”
“And now I'm askin', who do you belong to now?
Who you give that love to now?
Who you pullin' up on?
Who you gettin' sprung for now?
And what they got that I ain't got? 'Cause I got a lot
Don't make me run up on 'em, got me blowin' up their spot
'Cause I ain't got no business catchin' feelings anyway
I ain't got no business catchin' feelings”
I Wasn’t There
“What makes a grown man wanna cry?
What makes him wanna take his life?
His happiness is never real
And mindless sex is how he feels, ooh, he feels”
“You'd rather something toxic
So, I poison myself again, again
'Til I feel nothing
In my soul (in my soul)
I'm on the edge of something breaking
I feel my mind is slowly fadin'
If I keep going, I won't make it”
Hurt
“So stay away from me
I'm warning you
You try to fill the void with every man you meet”
“'Cause all the nights you slept alone dryin' your eyes
And all the nights you thought about takin' your life
'Cause if it's love you want again, don't waste your time
But if you call me up, I'm fuckin' you on sight”
Privilege
“And I don't wanna hear that you are suffering
You are suffering no more
'Cause I held you down when you were suffering
You were suffering”
“Blues away, way, way
I got two red pills to take the blues away
Blues away, way, way
I got two red pills to take the blues away”
“And I'ma fuck the pain away, and I know I'll be okay
They said our love is just a game, I don't care what they say
But I'ma drink the pain away, I'll be back to my old ways”