1. Maintaining the uplifting ambiance
and hopeful undertones, Abel puts
the point across that a triumphant
return will restore joy to a lusterless
people, and will ultimately trump
the ‘side of evil,’ personified in the
song as the devil.
Following off the previous line a
metaphor is used with a religious
undertone; people will be cheering
for you so loud that heaven will be
able to hear them.
Whatever you’re used to won’t feel
in danger anymore. You’ll be back to
living in peace. On the other hand,
the corruption will change you and
you won’t feel the same.
It won't be in vain
to swallow all your pain
and learn to love what burns
and gather courage to return to
[Hook x2]
Faces in the crowd
Faces in the crowd will smile again
And the devil may cry
The devil may cry at the end of the night
[Verse 2]
The light will shine through the rain
And heaven will hear them call your name
And home will feel like home again
Corruption will fill your brain
With the conversion being the main
theme, Abel writes short verses
about a number of expressions of
fighting through difficulty. The first
verse is basically a copy of the
phrase “what won’t kill you makes
you stronger,” as Abel says to learn
from past incidents to build on
future attempts.
“The devil may cry,” The Weeknd
shows that good (as opposed to an
evil force) will succeed. The light can
be mentioned to goodness in the
world. The light (goodness) will
overcome the rain.
People will celebrate and dance on
your successes. This line is expressed
for the future if you listen to what he
says. It’s a position and what could
happen if you follow the advice.
[Hook x2]
The people will be happy to see
you’ve succeeded. People also will
have faith in you after what you
have done, almost religiously will
believe in you.
You’ll be a legend and people
will tell your stories to others no
matter how long ago it was.
Like Hercules:
[Verse 3]
They will parade upon your victory
They will parade upon your victory
You'll put a smile upon their faces
The world will be yours for the taking
The story you birth will be ageless
Just learn to love pain and be patient
As referenced in Scarface, the world
is ‘yours’ as long as you’re willing to
work hard for it.
Pursuing something and being
patient at something that makes
you weaker in reality is making you
stronger, in the long run you are
successful because of it.
As Nietzsche says “What doesn’t kill
you, makes you stronger."
Whatever hurts you, use it as a
lesson and get used to it and you’ll
become stronger than everyone
else.