Everybody check their Beyoncé textbooks, because I'm pretty sure The Weeknd just took a page out of it for his short film Mania. Like Beyoncé's Lemonade, Mania is a short film serving as a kind of extended music video for his album Starboy, but, unlike Lemonade, it didn't come out at the same time as the album. Starboy drops Nov. 25, so the tracks aren't familiar in advance. Thus, I put together a transcript of The Weeknd's short film Mania , so everybody can know what we're working with. You know I look out for you.
The "visual piece", as The Weeknd is calling it, consists of six sections, each of which previews a song from Starboy. Two of them you would have probably recognized without my help: "Party Monster" and "I Feel It Coming" are both out in the world getting played. However, the other three are as-yet-unreleased tracks that The Weeknd is giving us fans our first glimpse of here. Probably because he paid such close attention when he worked with Beyoncé on Lemonade , The Weeknd has woven these little snippets together with an overarching plot that makes me very excited for the album to come out in full.
Here are all the lyrics that he's giving a sneak peak of in Mania, and you can watch the full, 12-minute film at the bottom of the page.
Part 1
The reasons I can't have youAre so easy to fixI didn't really plan toBut I'mma do it for thisThe reasons I can't have youIsn't so complicatedBaby if you let me, I won't hesitate
All I know is thisAll I know, all I know, all I knowAll I know, all I know, all I knowWhat I knowAll I know is this
Part 2
I ran out of tears when I was 18So nobody made me but the main streets'Cause too many people think they made meWell, if they really made me then replace meHomeless to Forbes List, these n*ggas bring no stressI feel like Moses, I feel like I'm chosenAnd if you ain't my n*gga then your girl single to meI don't give a damn if a n*gga said he knew meGrew up with no father so nobody ever son meMy flow too sick, Kevin Costner couldn't touch meI know you wish that nobody ever love meI feel useless when I'm never making moneyWell, this the life we always fantasizeRich, for problem through a Queen street n*ggas eyesEvery time you see me pulling up in Aventator'sJust know we been grinding on them sidewalks
Sidewalks in my lifeThey don't ever lieSidewalks in my lifeThey show me all the signsThey don't let me down
Part 3
Everybody here wants youMy love, my loveAnd I know that you want him tooMy love, my loveI ask you what your heart desiresMy love, my loveYou tell me I'm the only oneMy love, my love
It's a lie, a lieI catch you every timeIn your lust, your lustEvery time you close your eyesI hear the secrets that you keepWhen you talk in your sleepI hear the secrets that you keep, keep, keepWhen you're talk, talking, talkingI hear the secrets that you keepWhen you talk in your sleepI hear the secrets that you keep, keep, keepWhen you're talk, talking, talking
Part 4
I'm finding ways to articulateThe feeling I'm going throughI just can't say I don't love you'Cause I love you, yeahIt's hard for me to communicate the thoughts that I holdBut tonight I'm gon' let you knowLet me tell the truthBaby let me tell the truth, yeah
You know what I'm thinkingSee it in your eyesYou hate that you want meHate it when you cryYou're scared to be lonelyEspecially in the nightI'm scared that I'll miss youHappens every timeI don't want this feelingI can't afford loveI try to find reason to pull us apartIt ain't working 'cause you're perfectAnd I know that you're worth itI can't walk away
And it's at this point in the video that "Party Monster" and "I Feel It Coming" kick in.
I don't know about you, but I'm more hyped than ever for Starboy, so it seems to me like Mania did exactly what The Weeknd intended it to do. Let's meet back here on Nov. 25 to obsess over this album.
Image: TheWeekndVEVO/YouTube
