Darkness (song)

Darkness
publication	17th January 2020
length	5:37
Genre (s)	Hip-hop , horrorcore
Author (s)	M. Mathers , L. Resto , P. Simon , R. Montgomery
Producer (s)	Royce da 5'9 ″ , Eminem, Luis Resto
album	Music to Be Murdered By

Darkness ( English for " darkness ") is a song by the American rapper Eminem . The song and accompanying music video were released on January 17, 2020 with his eleventh studio album, Music to Be Murdered By .

content

The content of the song is initially supposedly told from Eminem's perspective. The whole song over the line "Hello, darkness, my old friend" ( English for "Hello, darkness, my old friend") is repeated. The line comes from the song The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel . In the first two verses, Eminem describes the nervousness before a concert and mixes this with his life and his career as a rapper. The fear of an empty concert spreads with him. Meanwhile, drug addiction, especially benzodiazepines, is also being discussed in some cases . There are often ambiguities . For example, Eminem compares alcohol and weapons in the first verse. The comparisons with weapons increase over time.

In the third verse it becomes clear that Eminem is narrating from the perspective of the mass murderer Stephen Paddock , who was responsible for the mass murder in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017, and not from his own. He breaks the window of his hotel room and shoots the crowd at a concert. He says that a motive can never be found and also mentions the note that many initially kept as a suicide note. Paddock then shoots himself. At the end of the song, various media reports about rampages are played.

Music video

The music video was released along with the album on January 17, 2020. At the end of the song, Eminem stands in front of a wall of TVs arranged in the shape of the United States . There are reports of rampages , especially rampaging in schools . Gradually, the reports will be replaced by the flag of the United States. The text “When will this end? When enough people care. "( English for" When will this end? If enough people care. ") Appears. It is called to vote in the elections to change the gun laws in the USA.

production

The song was produced by Royce da 5'9 ″ , Eminem and Luis Resto . Together with You Gon 'Learn , which is also included on Music to Be Murdered By , this is the first production by Royce da 5'9 ". Darkness contains an interpolation from the song The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel .

Chart successes

Chart overview

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK)	47 (2 weeks)	2
Austria (Ö3)	31 (1 week)	1
Switzerland (IFPI)	13 (2 weeks)	2
United Kingdom (OCC)	17th (4 weeks)	4th
United States (Billboard)	28 (2 weeks)	2

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lyrics with interpretations (English)
2. ↑ Music video and list of organizations , accessed January 25, 2020.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US