"bury a friend" is a single by Billie Eilish from her debut album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?. It is the tenth track on the album and was released on January 30th, 2019. It features uncredited additional vocals from Mehki Raine.
Background[]
Billie posted several snippets of the song prior to its release. She first teased it with a lower quality snippet on her Snapchat. On January 28th, 2019, she posted a snippet of the music video on her Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Theme[]
In the lyrics and video, Billie is a ghostly entity under someone's bed. The person in the bed is scared, but still interacts kindly with Billie, which confuses her. Billie asks the person a bunch of "unanswered questions": to name a few, certain ones are about the mysterious conflict going on between Billie and the person, while others, such as "when we all fall asleep, where do we go?" could have a deeper meaning about afterlife preceding death.
Synesthetic Perception[]
According to the Billie Eilish Experience, bury a friend is perceived to be dark colors in Billie's synesthesia. |
Lyrics[]
[Intro]
Billie
[Chorus]
What do you want from me?
Why don't you run from me?
What are you wondering?
What do you know?
Why aren't you scared of me?
Why do you care for me?
When we all fall asleep, where do we go?
[Verse 1]
(Come here)
Say it, spit it out, what is it exactly you're payin'?
Is the amount cleanin' you out, am I satisfactory?
Today, I'm thinkin' about the things that are deadly
The way I'm drinkin' you down
Like I wanna drown, like I wanna end me
Prechorus]
Step on the glass, staple your tongue
Bury a friend, try to wake up
Cannibal class, killing the son
Bury a friend, I wanna end me
I wanna end me
(I wanna, I wanna, I wanna end me)
(I wanna, I wanna, I wanna)
[Chorus]
What do you want from me?
Why don't you run from me?
What are you wondering?
What do you know?
Why aren't you scared of me?
Why do you care for me?
When we all fall asleep, where do we go?
[Verse 2]
(Listen)
Keep you in the dark, what had you expected?
Me to make you my art and make you a star
And get you connected? I'll meet you in the park
I'll be calm and collected
But we knew right from the start, that you'd fall apart
'Cause I'm too expensive
Your talk'll be something that shouldn't be said out loud
Honestly, I thought that I would be dead by now
Calling security, keeping my head held down
Bury the hatchet or bury a friend right now
[Bridge]
For the debt I owe, gotta sell my soul
'Cause I can't say no, no, I can't say no
Then my limbs all froze and my eyes won't close
And I can't say no, I can't say no
(Careful)
[prechorus]
Step on the glass, staple your tongue
Bury a friend, try to wake up
Cannibal class, killing the son
Bury a friend, I wanna end me
I wanna end me
(I wanna, I wanna, I wanna end me)
(I wanna, I wanna, I wanna)
[Chorus]
What do you want from me?
Why don't you run from me?
What are you wondering?
What do you know?
Why aren't you scared of me?
Why do you care for me?
When we all fall asleep, where do we go?
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- The song is Billie's second-highest charting song on the American Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #14. It has surpassed when the party's over, which peaked at #34, lovely, which peaked at #78, and you should see me in a crown, which only went as high as #93. However, it was surpassed by bad guy, which peaked at #1.
- The ending fades into ilomilo.
- In the song's chorus, sound effects such as glass breaking, a stapler clicking, and a shovel digging up dirt can be heard. These match up with the lyrics, "Step on the glass, staple your tongue/Bury a friend, try to wake up".
- Billie spent nine hours in the studio editing the music video with an editor.[2]
Gallery[]
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References[]
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| v • e WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
| Tracks | |
| Japanese Edition | |
| French Re-Release / Deluxe Edition / Target Edition | |
| Tours | |