Meaning of “Malibu Nights” by LANY
“Malibu Nights” is a track by the American indie pop band named LANY. Lyrically, “Malibu Nights” centers on the themes of heartbreak, loneliness and sadness. From the lyrics, the narrator (Paul Klein) has had his heart severely broken and can’t seem to heal from the accompanying agony.
He longs for company. However, that never comes. He hopes for his phone to ring so he can talk with someone, but the phone remains quiet. He concludes the song’s first verse by talking about how he drinks himself to sleep and deals with his sadness all by himself.
In the song’s chorus, he cries desperately for help because his sadness and loneliness are rapidly consuming him. He talks of how he’s taking too much alcohol and how his body is rapidly giving up.
“Can I hold on for another night?
What do I do with all this time?”
He wraps up the chorus with the sad questions above. From these questions, it’s clear his sadness has become so intense he doubts if he can survive the night all by himself and live to see a brand new day.
In the second verse, he laments some more about his woes. According to him, his sadness becomes more unbearable at nights. And even though he’s praying, it appears he’s prayers aren’t enough. Towards the end of the verse, he comes to a conclusion that he’s done with love.
“I’m done, I don’t believe in love”
The line above tells us that the root cause of the narrator’s problem is love. He was probably dumped by his lover or just loved someone who didn’t love him in return.
In the song’s refrain, the narrator reveals he tries to heal his mind by driving aimlessly at night on the streets of Malibu.
“I drive, chasing Malibu nights”
This is where for the first time we finally get to know that the narrator lives in the beach city of Malibu in Los Angeles.
Are the song’s lyrics autobiographical?
Yes, they are. This song and several others on the album (Malibu Nights) were inspired by the demise of a romantic relationship that Klein was involved in.
Facts about “Malibu Nights”
- Paul Klein penned “Malibu Nights” with Canadian musician and songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. The pair also produced the track together.
- Klein is the only member of LANY to receive writing and production credits on this track.
- “Malibu Nights” was released on October 5, 2018. It is the ninth and final track from the band’s second studio album Malibu Nights.
- With a total length of four minutes and forty six seconds, this is the longest track on the album.
- The title of the song appears approximately three times in the entire lyrics.
- American singer Miley Cyrus also has a song with a similar title as this. Hers is titled just “Malibu“.
What does LANY refer to?
LANY represents “Los Angeles New York”. It’s noteworthy that the band hails from Los Angeles. As of the time of the making and release of this song, the band consisted of three artists. They are lead vocalist Paul Klein, drummer Jake Goss and keyboardist/guitarist Les Priest.
Before this song, have Tobias and LANY ever worked together?
No. The song marks the first time Tobias Jesso Jr. and LANY are working together. Throughout his career, Tobias has written and produced songs for a many a prominent artist. Some of them include Sia, Niall Horan, Adele and John Legend.
