What Does Zayn's Solo Song "I Won't Mind" Mean?

One Direction fans got a big surprise when Zayn Mailk's solo song "I Won't Mind" was suddenly released. We've had less than a week to process his departure from 1D — which was due to wanting to live his life like a "normal 22-year-old" — and now all of a sudden he's making music again. His collaborator on the song, Naughty Boy, leaked the track, and after examining the "I Won't Mind" lyrics, it's hard to tell if Malik penned them himself or if it was written for him. Either way, the song could have many meanings and messages behind it, whether about his own life or someone else's sad story.

Since the main lyric is "I won't mind/You know you I know you'll never be mine," we can probably rule out Zayn's current fiancée, Perrie Edwards, as the subject matter. This could even just be about a relationship that isn't romantic — maybe he's singing about his love/hate relationship with fame. To get to the bottom of it, I've come up with three theories about the song's hidden meaning, from deep, sad stories to one big metaphor. Whatever it's about, now we just have to wait to see if Zayn's solo career launches like Justin Timberlake's or fizzles out like Joe Jonas'.

A Love Story With An Unhappy Ending

The song starts out with such a sweet message — "Don’t look around 'cause love is blind/And darling right now I can’t see you/I'm feeling proud so without a doubt/I can feel you" — but ultimately has him singing "you'll never be mine." It either ended in a breakup or in something more tragic.

Unrequited Love

Even though he wants her, she's unavailable — either friend-zoning him or in a relationship already. "And right from the start/You know I got you/Yeah you know I got you/I won’t mind, you know I know you/You’ll never be mine."

A Fight With Fame

Could this really be about Zayn telling Perrie how he wanted to leave the band and go solo, but he couldn't tell anyone else? Maybe he just needs to find his true self. "We messed around until we found the one thing/We said we could never ever live without/I'm not allowed to talk about it/But I gotta tell you/'Cause we are who we are/When no one’s watching."

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