Jane Willson A pop-song just pouring out intense dark feelings after an ugly break-up, “Without
You”, by American singer/songwriter Halsey, paints a deeply personal picture of someone who has offered everything she had best, only to be taken advantage of and left behind, without so much as a look back or a simple recognition for all she has done.
Written by Halsey herself, in collaboration with Louis Bell, Kelsey, and Amy Allen,
the song also had a sort of indirect contribution from huge pop-star Justin Timberlake – for Halsey took a couple of lines from his own (very famous) break-up song, “Cry Me a River”.
As a matter of fact, the affinities between the two artists go beyond that, because just as Timberlake had written his song about a break up from Britney Spears, which everybody knew about and included rumors of cheating from her part, Halsey, too, wrote this song following the end of real-life romance with rapper G-Eazy, fully lived-through in the public eye.
What is the Halsey Without Me Lyrics Meaning?
In the lyrics (as in the artist performance, as well), we can see the extent of the pain she felt while contemplating the fact that she helped and cared for this boyfriend, personally and professionally, and how he is now turning his back on her, with no recognition for the things she did for him.
The lyrics move on describing a scenario in which this man, who she helped to elevate himself, is now very successful and doesn’t care to remember, or appreciate, who was that put him there (against, apparently, other people’s advice and opinions), and now she doesn’t even know, anymore, what she was thinking to have done those things she did for him.
Going ahead, and all the way until the end of the song, there are no signs of
reconciliation or forgiveness. There is a sense of just moving in circles with this bitter realization of having even absorbed problems and darkness that didn’t belong to her in the first place. As it happens to so many people, a person in love may give everything away and even get mixed up in all sorts of problems. According to Halsey, there were just things she couldn’t notice at the time because her “love was blind”.
Interesting Facts About Song and Artist:
“Without Me” was first released in October 4 of 2018, by label Capitol Records.
Halsey’s real name is Ashley Nicolette Frangipane. She, herself, came up with her stage name for two main inspirations: Halsey is both an anagram for her real first name, and the name of a subway station in New York City.
“Without Me” was Halsey first single, as a lead artist, to go to the very top of Billboards Hot 100 list, making her a number one artist.
Despite the fact that the song shows Halsey’s bad feelings about her ex-boyfriend and his behavior, the singer declared on an interview that rapper G-Eazy actually loved the song and that they remained big fans of each other’s work, no matter what went on in their personal lives.
