after hours - the weeknd // slowed {with lyrics}

(sorry about the pic covering the actual vid, i had to put it cus i got copyrighted smh)

Song meaning:

The song addresses a failed relationship that ended in heartbreak and serves as an apology letter for his past transgressions, as he desires reconciliation.


'Thought I almost died in my dream again Fightin' for my life, I couldn't breathe again' - Abel starts off this track with commentary on his mortality, a theme that has been explored throughout the course of After Hours' emotional rollout. At the end of the music video for the record’s second single “Blinding Lights,” Abel gets into a car crash after his drug-filled bender that was detailed in the music video of the record’s first single, “Heartless.” However, he seemingly addresses the life-threatening events of those lucid videos as a dream that ends with the beginning of this song, nightmares that are stemming from his distress over the relationship that is the subject of “After Hours.”

'Without you, I can't sleep (Fallin' in)' - Abel claims that it is difficult for him to rest because of heartbreak, and possibly also because of drug withdrawal. Being “alone” is a common theme in After Hours, and Abel uses it to describe the pain he’s experienced after breaking up with his lover and realising that his attempts of being a “better drug-free man” for her failed, and this has given him problems with insomnia.

'Insomnia relieve' - We can see clearly, especially in his lyrics, Abel has difficulties when sleeping. The sleeplessness is appeared in so many tracks in the album. These sleeping problems are known as Insomnia. Based on the previous line, it’s clear that Abel cannot sleep if he’s not with his lover beside him.

'Girl, I felt so alone inside of this crowded room' - Despite being surrounded by multiple women, Abel still feels alone as his former partner is no longer with him. This suggests that Abel is unable to move on even when he is getting unwanted female attention. This line alludes to another track on After Hours, Save Your Tears: ”I saw you dancing in a crowded room You look so happy when I’m not with you."

'I turned into the man I used to be, to be' - This is a double entendre, as he alludes to a previous personality and also addresses his fanbase, telling them that he’s back to his old musical identity. This track is heavily reminiscent of the Kiss Land and Trilogy songs. That matches what he said in the song “Privilege” where he said: "But I'ma drink the pain away, I’ll be back to my old ways". So, with this track, not only did we got our Trilogy Abel back, but the heartless Weeknd that we all know, specially because he mentioned his darkest hours, his dark times.

'I was running away from facin' reality, uh' - Aside from trying to accept the truth about the status of his relationship, Abel also gives information on how he tries to get rid of his feelings about the girl he loves. As he portrays in the music videos to “Heartless“ and “Blinding Lights“, the first two singles off his 2020 album After Hours as being a drug-filled trip, he shows himself distracted from reality. This is not the first time Abel is mentioning that. He had an imprinting past with taking drugs and likes to use certain drug mentions to create a metaphor. One of his most popular wordplays is the chorus of his 2015 record “Can’t Feel My Face“, where he sings: "I can’t feel my face when I’m with you But I love it, but I love it". While directly talking about cocaine, he uses the drug to describe the feeling he gets when he is together with a certain girl. So he is feeling “high“ with that girl. The first line of the chorus can be used in “After Hours”, meaning that not feeling his face feels unreal and not like reality.

'I be livin' in heaven when I'm inside of you It was simply a blessing wakin' beside you' - As the song repeatedly connects the themes of the speaker’s mortality to his feelings about his relationship, it’s not surprising that he turns to the classic trope of comparing romantic love to religious experience. An iconic example of such a metaphor is Romeo’s famous seduction of Juliet.

'Then said you were wrong for me I lied to you, I lied to you, I lied to you (To you)' - It is a recurring theme throughout The Weeknd’s many albums seeing him lie about his feelings towards girls.

''Cause this house is not a home' - Abel uses the famous idiom “a house is not a home” to continue portraying the longing he has for his significant other. The proverb is used to represent the emptiness life can have without others in it with you, with a house being made a “home” by the people you share it with and the memories you create in it with them.

'Sorry that I broke your heart, your heart And I said, baby I'll treat you better than I did before' - In the “After Hours” album, many of the lyrics show Abel’s regrets on his behaviour, specially towards his lover – Bella Hadid.

Source: Genius

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