The Weeknd’s fourth studio album is entitled “After Hours.” The title track for Abel’s new album is “After Hours.” Abel revealed the cover art for his new album on the 18th of February 2020, just a day before the release of this third promotional single for his new album, and then teased us with the track’s release date through Twitter and Instagram. The Weeknd expresses his longing for his former love girlfriend, who he has already abandoned, most likely Bella Hadid, in the song’s lyrics. Let’s take a look at the context behind The Weeknd’s single “After Hours” to see if the singer is pining for Bella Hadid to return.
Introduction
The concept behind The Weeknd’s song “After Hours” is about an irreparable love relationship that ended in misery. As he hopes for peace, this album serves well as an apology message for his previous misdeed. Furthermore, the song’s murky vibes and altered sounds over an undeniably hard-hitting production are reminiscent of attitudes seen on The Weeknd’s classics, such as November 2012’s Trilogy. The concept of this song is close to that of Trilogy’s “Initiation,” in that he goes on to show the pain and misery that come with suffering.
After Hours Lyrics
The Weeknd has carefully composed a song with a sonic imagination that’s evolving greatly as the soundtrack of a movie. Let’s take a look at the lyrics.
[Verse 1]
Thought I almost died in my dream again (Baby, almost died)
Fightin’ for my life, I couldn’t breathe again
I’m fallin’ in too deep (Oh, oh)
Without you, I can’t sleep (Fallin’ in)
‘Cause my heart belongs to you
I’ll risk it all for you
I want you next to me
This time, I’ll never leave
I wanna share babies
Protection, we won’t need
Your body next to me
Is just a memory
I’m fallin’ in too deep, oh
Without you, I can’t sleep
Insomnia relieve, oh
Talk to me, without you, I can’t breathe
[Verse 2]
My darkest hours
Girl, I felt so alone inside of this crowded room
Different girls on the floor, distractin’ my thoughts of you
I turned into the man I used to be, to be
Put myself to sleep
Just so I can get closer to you inside my dreams
Didn’t wanna wake up ‘less you were beside me
I just wanted to call you and say, and say
[Chorus]
Oh, baby
Where are you now when I need you most?
I’d give it all just to hold you close
Sorry that I broke your heart, your heart
[Verse 3]
Never comin’ down, uh
I was running away from facin’ reality, uh
Wastin’ all of my time out living my fantasies
Spendin’ money to compensate, compensate
‘Cause I want you, baby, uh
I be livin’ in heaven when I’m inside of you
It was simply a blessing wakin’ beside you
I’ll never let you down again, again
[Chorus]
Oh, baby
Where are you now when I need you most?
I’d give it all just to hold you close
Sorry that I broke your heart, your heart
I said, baby
I’ll treat you better than I did before
I’ll hold you down and not let you go
This time, I won’t break your heart, your heart, yeah
[Bridge]
I know it’s all my fault
Made you put down your guard
I know I made you fall
Then said you were wrong for me
I lied to you, I lied to you, I lied to you (To you)
Can’t hide the truth, I’d stay with her in spite of you
You did some things that you regret, still ride for you
‘Cause this house is not a home
[Chorus]
Without my baby
Where are you now when I need you most?
I gave it all just to hold you close
Sorry that I broke your heart, your heart
And I said, baby
I’ll treat you better than I did before
I’ll hold you down and not let you go
This time, I won’t break your heart, your heart, no
After Hours Lyrics Meaning
Let’s learn the meaning behind the lyrics of the song ‘After Hours’ by The Weeknd section-wise.
Verse 1 Meaning
Thought I almost died in my dream again (Baby, almost died)
Fightin' for my life, I couldn't breathe again
I'm fallin' in too deep (Oh, oh)
Without you, I can't sleep (Fallin' in)
'Cause my heart belongs to you
I'll risk it all for you
I want you next to me
This time, I'll never leave
I wanna share babies
Protection, we won't need
Your body next to me
Is just a memory
I'm fallin' in too deep, oh
Without you, I can't sleep
Insomnia relieve, oh
Talk to me, without you, I can't breathe
The Weeknd buys himself into a car wreck after the narcotic-filled carousel that was interpreted in the music video for the forthcoming album’s first number-one hit, “Heartless,” as seen at the end of the music video for the album’s second song “Blinding Lights.” The singer is no stranger to the subject of death, as he starts his verse with the same theme. However, he clearly expresses the life-threatening events of those luminous tapes of imagination as a sequel is concealed within the context of The Weeknd’s song “After Hours.”
The singer expresses his need for his lover’s loyalty in the form of the start of a happy family and the birth of their own children together. To do so, however, the couple must abandon all “protection” methods in their sexual practises, such as any means of contraceptive available to prevent incubation and the blueprint for beginning his own family. In the song “Lost in the Fire,” he also referred to searching for the right one to start a family with.
Verse 2 Meaning
My darkest hours
Girl, I felt so alone inside of this crowded room
Different girls on the floor, distractin' my thoughts of you
I turned into the man I used to be, to be
Put myself to sleep
Just so I can get closer to you inside my dreams
Didn't wanna wake up 'less you were beside me
I just wanted to call you and say, and say
The Weeknd is no stranger to feeling lonely, especially when surrounded by people. He actually does not feel at ease with any of the communities in whom he associates. He had to surround himself with a lot of other girls to distract himself from the thought processes that were causing him in order to get past his ex abusive girlfriend. However, even though our Starboy dozed off, he was used to having fantasies of his previous flame, which didn’t provide him with the peace he craved.
Chorus / Bridge Meaning
Oh, baby
Where are you now when I need you most?
I'd give it all just to hold you close
Sorry that I broke your heart, your heart
The song’s chorus continues the theme established in the second verse. He attempts to get closer to his ex while sleeping, and he tries to express the messages he wants to say to her ears. After hours of being knocked out by the opioids, The Weeknd wants her to be by his side. So who exactly is he referring to? Bella Hadid is a strong possibility, as he reveals that he stopped by Selena Gomez during her protests. Abel claims to be the guy she wishes him to be with him this time. He vows to be a better boyfriend this time, treating her with respect in every way.
Verse 3 Meaning
Never comin' down, uh
I was running away from facin' reality, uh
Wastin' all of my time out living my fantasies
Spendin' money to compensate, compensate
'Cause I want you, baby, uh
I be livin' in heaven when I'm inside of you
It was simply a blessing wakin' beside you
I'll never let you down again, again
The singer believes he won’t be able to get away with abusing his ex-girlfriend by actually avoiding her. He feels bad for being the one who hurts someone rather than the one who loves them. He was feeding on the toxicity of delusional dreams, including the fact that he was trying to avoid confronting the realities of the split. He loves the way she used to make him feel, as well as the perspective he used to get from waking up next to her every morning. The singer expresses his desire to return to being himself after not betraying her trust.
Read the meaning behind the lyrics of the song ‘After Hours’ by The Weeknd on Genius in detail.
Conclusion
In the lyrics of After Hours, there are many regrets and condolences for The Weeknd’s ex boyfriend, most likely Bella Hadid. However, the song’s psychotic cover art and sound transport us to 2011, when The Weeknd was dropping mixtapes for Trilogy.
Some Fun Facts About The Song
- “After Hours” is the title track and a promotional single from The Weeknd’s fourth studio album “After Hours”. The song was premiered on February 19, 2020.
- This single’s cover art was shared by The Weeknd on Instagram and Twitter on 02/18/2020. Both posts were captioned with “Album Cover (New Track Tonight)”. The post on Instagram also confirmed that “After Hours” would be the thirteenth track on the album.
About The Artist
The Weeknd
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as The Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Noted for his falsetto and eccentric music style, Tesfaye is recognized for heavily influencing contemporary R&B and inspiring multiple artists. He began his recording career in 2010, anonymously uploading several songs to YouTube. A year later, the Weeknd released the mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence, and quickly earned a following and critical recognition from several mainstream publications due to his dark style of R&B and the mystique surrounding his identity.
In 2012, the Weeknd signed with Republic Records, and re-released the mixtapes as part of the compilation album Trilogy (2012). His debut studio album, Kiss Land, was released in 2013. He followed the album with Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), which was among the best-selling albums of 2015. Containing the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles “Can’t Feel My Face” and “The Hills”, Beauty Behind the Madness won Best Urban Contemporary Album and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2016 Grammy Awards. The Weeknd’s third album Starboy (2016) was a similar commercial success and included the number-one single of the same name, while it also won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards. His fourth album, After Hours (2020), featured the number-one singles “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights”.
The Weeknd has won three Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, nine Juno Awards, and has been nominated for an Academy Award. He holds several chart records, being the first artist to simultaneously hold the top three positions on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart with “Can’t Feel My Face”, “Earned It”, and “The Hills”. The Weeknd was awarded the Allan Slaight Award by Canada’s Walk of Fame. He is one of the most successful Canadian recording artists of all time, with more than 75 million records sold globally.
Official Site – https://www.theweeknd.com/
Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weeknd
