Frank Ocean’s “White Ferrari” Lyrics Meaning

Some analysts have really gotten deeply philosophical in terms of interpreting Frank Ocean’s “White Ferrari”. That’s sorta understandable, given that as the song progresses and especially from the end of the third verse and throughout the fourth, the lyrics start to become more esoteric, for lack of a better term. But you’d be correct if you were to put forth bluntly that what we’re actually dealing with here is more simply a love song.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Frank Ocean's White Ferrari at Lyrics.org.

Lyrics of “White Ferrari”

The lyrics revolve around the vocalist’s romantic relationship with the addressee. And the reason why they become more complicated later in the song is because so it is with the featured romance. And yes, we know that Frank Ocean is supposed to be gay. But in this analysis we will refer to the addressee, his romantic interest, using female pronouns for the sake of readability. And there is also evidence that this narrative predates Frank’s coming out, if you will.

So the role that the “white Ferrari” plays in this all is it being the car which the vocalist uses to pick up his sweetheart and drive her here and there, on their romantic adventures. Or viewed otherwise, they spend more time together in this car than anywhere else. 

Moreover this is apparently a youth relationship, with Frank implying that it is a teenage love. Furthermore they seem to do a lot of traveling via this vehicle, which is the type of modus operandi that the singer seems to prefer. 

Also, it is very much possible that Frank didn’t actually own a white Ferrari in his youth. Thus, it has also been ascertained that the vehicle being identified as so likely has some type of symbolic significance, i.e. the white symbolizing purity (in love) and the Ferrari something like the strong passion of youth.

The Conflict

But there is an issue. The issue or rather conflict in question eventually arises is that the addressee is more dispositioned towards settling down, while Frank evidently is not. And the reason this disagreement proceeds to take on a metaphysical dimension, so to speak, is because the vocalist goes on to interpret it in such a manner. For instance, the addressee’s “dream of walls” sounds like his metaphorical way of recognizing that she wants the two of them to acquire a mutual, physical home. But he perceives such a stationary lifestyle as being akin to imprisonment.

So the song concludes along those lines of this being some type of pressing disagreement in this relationship. But it is never revealed how the matter is ultimately resolved. Indeed, the thesis sentiment of this piece, most simply put, is that the vocalist is in love with the addressee. But all things considered, logic would probably dictate that these young lovers do eventually go their separate ways, even though at the present such a thought is clearly not in the singer’s mind.

Frank Ocean's "White Ferrari" Lyrics

When was “White Ferrari” released?

This track was made public on 20 August 2016 as part of Frank Ocean’s critically-acclaimed album “Blonde”. And this was achieved via the efforts of Boys Don’t Cry, which is a label Ocean established himself.

The first teasing of this song transpired in 2015.

Credits

Kanye West serves as a backup vocalist on this track. He is also credited as a co-writer, as are Frank Ocean, Malay and a collective known as The Influence. 

Interestingly, also listed amongst the official authors of “White Ferrari” is Lennon-McCartney, i.e. John Lennon (1940-1980) and Paul McCartney of The Beatles’ fame. This is due to the fact that Frank’s track interpolates a line from the 1966 Beatles’ song “Here, There and Everywhere”. 

The producers of “White Ferrari” are:

  • Frank Ocean
  • Jon Brion
  • Om’Mas Keith
Frank Ocean's "White Ferrari"

Frank Ocean’s “Blonde” Album

“Blonde” is an album by multi-award winning American rapper, singer and songwriter, Frank Ocean. It was officially released on the 20th of August, 2016 as his 2nd studio album.

“Blonde” features renowned acts on the music scene including Grammy nominated gospel sensation, Kim Burrell, multiple Grammy Award winner, Beyoncé and rapper André 3000.

The album was produced through collaborative effort between Ocean and a team of renowned record producers including the following:  

  • Buddy Ross
  • Francis Starlite
  • James Blake
  • Jon Brion
  • Joe Thornalley
  • Malay Ho
  • Michael Uzowuru
  • Om’Mas Keith
  • Pharrell Williams
  • Rostam Batmanglij

“Blonde” was a commercial success. In the US, it recorded sales of almost 300,000 copies within its first week alone. According to American business magazine, Forbes, the album raked in profits close to a million Dollars after its first week of release.

It received positive reviews from a string of publications as well as music critics. Reputable publications like The Guardian, Complex Networks, Spin and Metacritic among others, ranked the album at enviable positions on their lists of top albums of the year. “Blonde” also ranked high on the following lists:

Despite the album’s impressive global performance, Ocean opted not to submit it for one of music’s biggest honors, the Grammy Awards. He felt the Grammys was of nostalgic importance and was not representing enough of people from where he comes from.

“Blonde” made it to the apex of a number of charts globally including the following:

  • US’s Billboard 200
  • The OCC in the UK
  • RMNZ in New Zealand
  • Denmark’s Hitlisten

The RIAA in the United States as well their counterpart in the UK, the BPI ranked the album, platinum.  

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