“Death Row” by Bebe Rexha
What the vocalist is saying is that if she were on “death row”, i.e. about to be executed, her final wish on this Earth would be to spend time with the addressee. And whereas we would presume that she doesn’t necessarily mean so literally, it is upon such a motif that the lyrics are based. So for instance, if the singer is in such a predicament and was afforded a last call, she would use it to reach out to her boo.
Also she expresses a desire to have him as her “last meal”, an allegory that can be interpreted in a number of ways. With the “last word(s)” uttered from her lips she would call out his last name – or something like that.
Honestly the lyrics of this song are potentially disturbing to some listeners, as the narrator is saying something to the addressee akin to she actually wanting him to witness her being executed. And again, we would take it that none of the songwriters have ever faced a death sentence and as such wouldn’t really know how they would react under such a situation. Or put differently, though sounding literal such wording is meant to prove a point.
Narrator is so in love
And that point, simply put, is the singer being thoroughly in love. In fact references to being ‘electrocuted’ and such aside, this is actually the most-overt love song we have come across thus far going down the playlist of “Better Mistakes”. And what it is all actually meant to allude to is something akin to the vocalist being in a vulnerable emotional state when it comes to her relationship with the addressee, her significant other. Indeed Rexha wrote it at a time when she was just beginning a new romance, being in the euphoric stage, as some would say.
As a matter fact, other tracks featured on Better Mistakes present the vocalist as someone who is not down with the notion of falling deeply in love like that. However due to said euphoria her more-romantic side has, against convention, taken over. That would be why she is expressing how “crazy” it is to be smitten in such a manner. But it is what it is. And as it stands now, the addressee is by far the most important thing in her life.
Facts about “Death Row”
The aforenoted “Better Mistakes”, being Bebe Rexha’s second standard album, was released on 7 May 2021. And this is the 10th song on its playlist.
Bebe achieved the writing of this tune alongside Justin Tranter, Richard Boardman and Pablo Bowman. The latter two are part of an overall collective known as The Six, is credited as being the producer of “Death Row”.
Meanwhile the label responsible for bringing this song to us would be Warner Records.
Bebe’s first album, Expectations (2018), was a RIAA-certified platinum success. And her biggest hit to date would be a collaboration with Florida Georgia Line entitled “Meant to Be” (2017), which was actually certified diamond by the aforementioned association.
We would presume that the “new… relationship” that Bebe Rexha was getting into which served as the sentimental basis of this track would be the one she sparked with filmographer Keyan Safyari in 2020.
