Lil Nas X’s “Sun Goes Down” Lyrics Meaning

The title of this song (“Sun Goes Down”) is a metaphor. And what it alludes to, as utilized, is the concept of suicide. And no, this is not to imply that Nas X is currently contemplating taking his own life. But based on the storyline behind the song, there was a moment in time when he was. And this was due to various realities which affected his younger, childhood existence.

For instance he was a victim of bullying at the hands of friends. And we do know that yes, being treated in such a matter can in fact lead kids as young as 10 years old, as Nas depicts himself at the beginning of the song’s singular verse, to thoughts suicide. Or in the very least they suffer from minimized self-esteem. And accordingly being victimized in such a manner further manifested itself psychologically via Lil questioning his looks. For example, he though that the size of his lips or his skin color may have been intrinsically unattractive, thus being the actual source of his torment.

Closeted Gay

Furthermore, he was in fact a closeted gay youth. This is a subject he has dealt with in past acknowledgements since becoming a famous rapper as an adult – how in earlier years he kept his homosexual urgings pent up. And apparently back in those days, he perceived such gay thoughts as sins – for lack of a better word. 

Or this is the feeling he is conveying considering that he “prayed God would take” such away from him. But the overall idea being put forth is that having to keep all of this on the inside proved stressful to a young Nas X. 

However, at the time he did admittedly find relief in the music of another rapper, Nicki Minaj, basically admitting that he was one her Barbz, i.e. diehard fans, in the process. Or as further explained Nicki, despite being a ‘stranger’, ‘made him feel so loved’.

So in the aftermath of all those harrowing ordeals, the vocalist is happy that at the end of the day he decided to take “that leap of faith” and reveal to the world who he truly is, gayness and all. And he’s also celebrating that making such moves “worked out” in his favor. 

Moreover, X implies that he has now taking it upon himself to use his stardom and influence to act as a gay icon, i.e. someone who wants to mitigate the pain others may be feeling similarly to what has been described above.

What “Sun Goes Down” is all about

So premise-wise, the concept upon which this track is based is that the vocalist at hand, during a particular stage in his life, was suffering from suicidal thoughts. And the conclusion isn’t so much that he has been able to overcome such a self-defeating disposition as it is him actually rejoicing in the fact that he has been able to do so. 

And underneath it all is this sentiment of the superstar musician sympathizing with those who may themselves be dealing with bullying, closeted gayness or other realities which can prove seriously detrimental to one’s self-esteem.

Music Video

Lil Nas X served as the co-director of this track’s music video, with the other being an outfit called Psycho Films. And as inspired by the lyrics, the visuals are based on a theme of the rapper “traveling back in time to his teenage years”.

Release Date of “Sun Goes Down”

This is a song which Lil Nas X first teased on 3 May 2021, revealed its name (and cover art) on 13 May. He eventually got around to releasing it a couple of weeks later on 21 May 2021. And he performed it the for the first time the following day, 22 May, on an episode of Saturday Night Live (which he is co-headlining alongside another recent musical phenomenon, Olivia Rodrigo).

This song, being a product of Columbia Records, is from Lil Nas X’s first full-length album, which is entitled Montero. Two other singles were released from this project prior to “Sun Goes Down”. They are:

• “Holiday”
• “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)”

Backlash

“Sun Goes Down” dealt with a bit of, shall we say unexpected backlash when some of the aforementioned Barbz took offense to Lil Nas X namedropping Nicki Minaj. What it seems they’re most concerned about is the possibility that he may be using her name to indirectly set up a future collaboration with Minaj or to evoke sympathy in general. 

Nas responded by elucidating that for a solid ‘six years of his life were dedicated to Nicki’ – an assertion he reportedly backed up with some hard evidence.  Or put differently, it’s not “fake love” for her that he’s displaying. 

And as for Minaj herself, she has yet to respond to the controversy (though in that regard it should be noted that we’re writing this post just a day after the track’s release). But either way due to the backlash the vocalist has received, he has vowed to “no longer mention her”.

Credits

This song was co-written and co-produced by a pair of musicians known as Take a Daytrip (David Biral and Denzel Baptiste), who have proven to be regular collaborators of Nas X. Roy Lenzo and Omer Fedi also served both roles on the track. And whereas Lil Nas did not lend to the song’s production, he is of course one of its authors.

According to Nas X, this track was actually recorded back in 2020.