ZAYN - BeFoUr

“BeFoUr” is the third promotional single from Zayn’s first solo album “Mind Of Mine”. It was released on March 17-2016. The song was previewed in a behind-the-scenes video for his Fader cover story in November 2015 (this cover story was actually his first introduction as a solo artist).

“BeFoUr” examines Zayn’s life before leaving One Direction and was written in a studio in a Las Vegas hotel immediately after his departure from the band. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Zayn talked about the inspiration behind the song which came during a Big Sean concert this same night “We were sitting backstage in a VIP area and I was just telling him [Malay], ‘It’s crazy being here in Vegas. I’ve literally been all over the world with One Direction. I’ve done this before, but not like this. Not by myself, not this way, not here with the intention of working on my own music.”

"I've done this before

Not like this

I don't drink to get drunk

I feel all the right funk

If there's something I want

I'll take all the right wrongs

Now, I'm gonna stay in my zone

I'm tired of picking that bone

And I can't be bothered to fight it no more, no

Numb on a roof

Set it on fire

Just to give me proof

I'm living on a wire

Numb on a roof

Set it on fire

Just to give me proof

I'm living on a wire

So say what you wanna say, what you wanna

So say what you wanna say, what you gotta say, now

So say what you wanna say, what you want

Shame is you won't say that to my face

I've done this before

Not like this, not like this

Time for me to move up

So many hours have gone

Heart beats the pump of my blood No strings for you to pull on

You've got your tongue in your cheek

So pardon if I don't speak

Can't tune my chords into your song now

Numb on a roof

Set it on fire

Just to give me proof

I'm living on a wire So say what you wanna say, what you wanna

So say what you wanna say, what you gotta say, now

So say what you wanna say

So say what you wanna say, what you want

Shame is you won't say that to my face

I've done this before

Not like this, not like this

Flashing lights

So say what you wanna say, what you wanna

So say what you wanna say, what you gotta say, now

So say what you wanna say, what you want

Shame is you won't say that to my face

So say what you wanna say, what you wanna

So say what you wanna say, what you gotta say, now

So say what you wanna say, what you want

Shame is you won't say that to my face

I've done this before

Not like this, not like this

I've done this before

Not like this, not like this."

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1yjrikPgranwjVMbVDsRcF

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/music-video/befour/id1096736184

The song title, “BeFoUr”, is obviously a pun. On the track, Zayn repeats several times the line “I’ve done this before”, addressing his career and incredible success with his former band One Direction.

When Zayn left One Direction, there were only 4 members left. Thanks to the title, the lyrics can be also interpreted as “I’ve done this, be four”, then referencing directly at the boy band.

Ironically enough, the last One Direction’s album Zayn appears on is titled “Four” (because it was their fourth LP).

__________________Behind The Lyrics_____________________

"I've done this before
Not like this"

While he’s sold millions of records around the world, it’s never been “like this”; that is, completely under his control, in his own style, and being the music he really wants to make.

This pun also seems to be the point of origin for the song’s title — everything he did “before” was with the four other boys in One Direction.

"I don't drink to get drunk
I feel all the right funk"

Zayn doesn’t drink alcohol to get fucked up, but instead to enjoy himself and get his head in the right zone. The “funk” he describes is the sweet spot of being buzzed, where he can think creatively without being too impaired by the alcohol.

"If there's something I want
I'll take all the right wrongs"

Whenever Zayn is faced with the temptation of things he wants, he seems to make all of the wrong choices. Paradoxically, however, these supposed “wrong” choices are “right” for him — this may refer to his departure from One Direction, or his breakup with Perrie Edwards. For better or for worse, all of the decisions he’s made have led him to this point.

"Now, I'm gonna stay in my zone
I'm tired of picking that bone
And I can't be bothered to fight it no more, no"

Zayn’s tired of debating the same thing over and over again and will instead opt to “stay in his lane” when taking care of his business. 

In his Complex Magazine cover profile, Zayn discussed the relentless attention to his actions, particularly his romantic life: "I’m learning to deal with it. It’s just one of those things now, in the background. I just leave it as a bit of a noise in the background."

He elaborated on his complacency in an interview with NME:
"You can be in the eye of it if you choose to be. Or you can let it overwhelm you. See, I’ve kept a little bit of my sanity. I understand how the media works. Journos gotta earn their money. Paps have got to earn their money.
I’m learning to deal with it. It’s just one of those things now, in the background. I just leave it as a bit of a noise in the background."

"Numb on a roof

Set it on fire

Just to give me proof

I'm living on a wire

Numb on a roof

Set it on fire

Just to give me proof

I'm living on a wire"

Zayn is wired (as in “Like I Would”), but also walking the metaphorical tightrope wire of solo fame. Everything’s different now that he’s on his own, and he’s got to navigate this road and live with his own choices.

Even given his success in his previous endeavours, Zayn felt “numb” and paralyzed as a member of One Direction. He turned to the scorched-earth approach he took in leaving his band and fiance.

Most interestingly, however, this lyric was teased before Zayn even left One Direction.

"Heart beats the pump of my blood No strings for you to pull on
You've got your tongue in your cheek
So pardon if I don't speak"

Zayn is done being a puppet for the media to control and take pleasure out of doing so. He has apologised for not talking but he’s done being strung around; he’s ready to be on his own and independent, which is what his solo career allows him to do.

This could easily be an allusion to his time in One Direction and how controlling his management team was towards the image they wanted each member of the band to perceive. Zayn was always portrayed as the mysterious bad boy when in reality he has a shy, funny and deep persona, which doesn’t correlate to the fake image they wanted him to be.

When you’re in such a high demanding boyband like he was, everything needs to be kept on tight knit in order to avoid dramas and scandals. Such controlling demeanor provokes unhappiness, depression, lack of enthusiasm to perform, all symptoms he experienced in the last months of being in 1D.

"Can't tune my chords into your song now"

This line is meant both literally and metaphorically. In the literal sense, Zayn’s talking about his need to make different music than One Direction; music that he feels genuinely represents himself. Zayn’s album is R&B whereas 1D’s recent albums have strayed towards the pop/rock side of the spectrum. Zayn revealed during his 2015 interview with Fader:

"If I would sing a hook or a verse slightly R&B, or slightly myself, it would always be recorded 50 times until there was a straight version that was pop, generic as fuck, so they could use that version. Whenever I would suggest something, it was like it didn’t fit us. There was just a general conception that the management already had of what they want for the band, and I just wasn’t convinced with what we were selling. I wasn’t 100 percent behind the music. It wasn’t me."

More importantly Zayn’s saying that he won’t pretend to be someone he isn’t any longer; he can’t continue keep up the facade. Most likely he feels that he was forced into acting a certain way and felt restricted by One Direction’s public image. During his Fader interview, Zayn also revealed that:

"There was a lot of situations that were almost created to make me be portrayed as the mysterious or quiet one. I guess that’s just something that people buy into, and it helps them sell things. It’s a product that’s already designed, and it sells."