Answer by Tyler the Creator Lyrics Meaning – Unpacking the Emotional Voyage in Verse
Lyrics
I hope you pick up your phone
I’d like to talk to you
I hope you answer
I hope you answer
I hope you answer
I hope you answer
I hope you answer
‘Cause when I call
I hope you pick up your phone
I’d like to talk to you
I hope you answer
Hey dad, it’s me, um
Oh, I’m Tyler, I think I be your son
Sorry, I called you the wrong name, see, my brain’s splitting
Dad isn’t your name, see faggot’s a little more fitting
Mom was only twenty when you ain’t have any fucks to spare
You Nigerian fuck, now I’m stuck with this shitty facial hair
Also stuck with a beautiful home with a case stairs
So you not being near fucking fire-started my damn career
But fuck it, I got Clancy, he, gave me the chance to see
A world I wasn’t supposed to, I’m stoked that I didn’t know you
But, sucks you ain’t give a fuck and consider a sperm donor now
The fuck is an Okonma? I’m changing my shit to Haley
And I just ain’t being passive, nigga
You’re a fucking faggot, nigga
Got a show on Monday, guess who ain’t getting no passes, nigga
But if I ever had the chance to ask this nigga
And call him
I hope you answer
I hope you answer
I hope you answer
I hope you answer
I hope you answer
‘Cause when I call (when I call, baby)
I hope you pick up your phone (please pick up)
I’d like to talk to you
Suck my fucking dick and swallow this case of nuts
Ace hates your guts, I’m a selfish fuck
And I ain’t sharing green as if I’m facing blunts
Frank is out the closet, Hodgy’s an alcoholic
Syd might be bipolar, but fuck it, I couldn’t call it
Supposed to be gone until November but quickly came back in August
I left two months through September to clearly remember all this
I would like to tell my grandma, but she’s just nostalgic
I’ll call her number
But she won’t answer
I hope you answer
I hope you answer
I hope you answer
I hope you answer
‘Cause when I call (when I call, baby)
I hope you pick up your phone
(I’d like to talk to you)
I hope you answer
You claim to hate my fucking guts
But say I’m on an island in Thailand and I was wildin’
And, if I got stranded had to man up and hold my nuts
And hope that I could live off salt water and fucking coconuts
Phone ain’t got no service this 3G is fucking worthless
Day is getting dark like the area’s turning urban
You’ll be fucking nervous like me inside of a church is
But, I’ma get in contact regardless, and
I hope you answer
That last verse was about this girl
Tyler, the Creator’s ‘Answer’ strikes deep into the psyche of the abandoned and the raw edges of unsent messages. From his critically-acclaimed album ‘Wolf’, this track serves as a narrative powerhouse, sending ripples through the listener’s heart. It’s a poignant cry for closure, an unsparing confrontation of his absentee father that morphs into a meditation on communication breakdown across personal landscapes.
The lyrics of ‘Answer’ are a canvas that exhibits a split portrait of anger, longing, and cutting wit. Behind the often abrasive language lies an intricate tapestry of heartfelt emotions. As we delve into these lyrics, the disguised vulnerability of Tyler becomes apparent. Artistic aggression is interspersed with tender musings, revealing a complex dialogue between Tyler and the ghosts of his relationships.
The Scream into the Void: An Unanswered Call for Connection
The refrain ‘I hope you answer’ is a desperate call into the void, symbolizing the universal longing to connect with those who’ve left us bereft. Tyler’s repetition is a plea, a prayer – a hope against hope that this time, things might be different. The void he hollers into is more than silence; it’s the sound of a relationship that never was, the deafening quiet of paternal neglect that echoes through his life’s hallway.
Each iteration of the plea builds up a narrative of unspoken words and unhealed wounds. It conveys the angst of a strained relationship and the torment of relentless uncertainty. Tyler’s willingness to reach out, even against the swelling tide of past neglect, illuminates his yearning for closure – or at least acknowledgment.
Veiled Vulnerability Behind Aggressive Armor
The combativeness in Tyler’s tone squarely faces his absent father, masking a deeper vulnerability that can only be peeled back through introspection. Terms like ‘sperm donor’ and the berating language towards his father’s heritage reflect Tyler’s internal struggle with his identity, split between anger at his father’s absence and understanding of the successful life that absence inadvertently afforded him.
This aggression is a shield, a way to cope with the pain of abandonment. Tyler’s internal conflict is evident as he grapples with the paradox of his gratefulness for his independent achievements and his resentment towards the man who left him bereft of paternal guidance.
Navigating the Seas of Inner Turmoil and Confessional Revelation
Tyler’s songwriting transcends simple narrative, spilling into confessional poetry as he exposes his inner conflicts and insecurities. The lyrics weave through his personal life, touching on his contemporaries’ struggles, from Frank Ocean’s coming out to Hodgy’s battle with addiction. In voicing their stories, Tyler uses his platform to cast a wider net on the meaning of answering a call – whether it’s a cry for help or a declaration of one’s truth.
As if in conversation with both the living and the lost, Tyler calls out to different figures in his life, extending the theme of ‘answering’ beyond the paternal scope. This inclusion of his peers’ stories magnifies the idea that every person is silently wishing for their own version of an answer, a reply to their life’s distress signals.
The Hidden Meaning: An Ode to the Unresolved
Beneath the veneer of anger and tough language, ‘Answer’ is an ode to the unresolved tension residing in Tyler’s life. It presents a poignant exploration of the quest for resolution in any form – a text back, a call returned, a confrontation that offers some sort of ending. Tyler’s introspection and public demand for answer become a mirror to our own yearning for resolution in the strands of our lives that remain untied.
The song’s meaning deepens when one considers the generational patterns of abandonment and their lasting impact. Tyler’s reflections pit personal pain against the backdrop of inherited trauma and the cycle of voids passed down from one generation to the next.
Among the Most Memorable Lines: Bitter, Sweet, and Cutting
Tyler’s prose brims with memorable lines that cut to the quick. ‘You Nigerian fuck, now I’m stuck with this shitty facial hair’ delivers a visceral punch, combining racial and familial identity into a complicated mix of resentment and self-deprecation. It’s a line that demarcates Tyler’s ambivalent relationship to his inheritance – both the genes and the grievances he has been bequeathed.
Another line that sinks in deep is ‘I hope you answer, ’cause when I call, I hope you pick up your phone.’ This refrain encapsulates the song’s entire essence. The simplicity of the desire to be heard by a father, and by extension, by the world, resonates with anyone who has ever longed for acknowledgment in the vastness of human disconnection.
