"i love you" is the thirteenth track by Billie Eilish featured on her debut album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?.
Background[]
The song was first confirmed to exist on her Instagram story on May 14th, 2018, when Billie posted a screenshot of her voice memos where the song's file was shown.
On October 10th, 2018, Billie teased a 15-second snippet of the demo to her fans. This snippet was reposted to her Instagram story on January 2nd, 2019, where she confirmed it to be the twelfth track on her debut album. However, it was replaced by listen before i go, becoming the thirteenth track instead. This was because the album's intro track, !!!!!!!, was a last minute addition to the tracklist.
Theme[]
In Billie Eilish's autobiography, Billie stated that the track was inspired by the night of a photoshoot a few days prior. In the song, Billie describes having a depressed friend who tells her he loves her. Billie admits to feeling the same, and on their date in Central Park, the friend gets sad, but pretends to be happy just to make Billie happy. Throughout this, Billie states that she does not want to love the friend but loves him nonetheless, and that there is nothing he could do to change that.
Synesthetic Perception[]
According to the Billie Eilish Experience, i love you is perceived to be a Grey in Billie's synesthesia |
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
It's not true
Tell me I've been lied to
Crying isn't like you, ooh
What the hell did I do?
Never been the type to
Let someone see right through, ooh
[Chorus]
Maybe won't you take it back?
Say you were tryna make me laugh
And nothing has to change today
You didn't mean to say "I love you"
I love you and I don't want to, ooh
[Verse 2]
Up all night on another red eye
I wish we never learned to fly, I
Maybe we should just try
To tell ourselves a good lie
I didn't mean to make you cry, I
[Chorus]
Maybe won't you take it back?
Say you were tryna make me laugh
And nothing has to change today
You didn't mean to say "I love you"
I love you and I don't want to, ooh
[Bridge]
The smile that you gave me
Even when you felt like dying
[Outro]
We fall apart as it gets dark
I'm in your arms in Central Park
There's nothing you could do or say
I can't escape the way I love you
I don't want to, but I love you, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Video[]
Trivia[]
- During the second verse, an airline safety announcement can be heard in the background.[1]
- The song's chorus features vocal harmonies from Billie's older brother, Finneas O'Connell.
- Billie described it as "one of the best songs [she has] ever created" and said that it is "still one of [her] favorite songs [she has] ever written in [her] life".
- Finneas also believes that the song is "quite possibly [his] favorite song [they'e] ever made".[2]
Gallery[]
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 | |