What does ewedihalehu mean?
Ewedihalehu/ Yene konjo, ewedihalehu/ Yene fikir, fikir, fikir, fikir/ Yene fikir, fikir, fikir, fikir. This means: I love you very much/ My beautiful, I love you very much/ My love, love, love, love/ My love, love, love, love. in Amharic (a language native to Ethiopia (he is of Ethiopian decent)).
If you have listened to the radio or been in a public restaurant in the past five months, chances are you have been unable to escape The Weeknd’s hit song “The Hills.” Its huge success is reason alone for me to assume that you have heard of this song before; it remained on the number one spot for the Top 100 R&B/ Hip hop songs for five consecutive weeks. I (a huge fan of the Weeknd) discuss a live rendition of “The Hills” performance because of the artist’s codeswitch (from English into Amharic) in the outro of his song, which only appears in the live performance; in the original song, a woman’s voice ends the song. Thus, I ask and attempt to answer: What is the function of this codeswitch?
Since many scholars debate its definition, I will first identify what a codeswitch is. Codeswitching is when a single speaker alternates between two languages (inter lingual) or dialects (intra lingual) in a single speech act (Babalola & Taiwo, 2009). For the purpose of this blog, I will focus on The Weeknd’s inter lingual codeswitch from English into Amharic (his native tongue and the language of his Ethiopian born migrant parents) during his live performance documented below:
I only call you when it’s half past five The only time that I’ll be by your side I only love it when you touch me, not feel me When I’m fucked up, that’s the real me When I’m fucked up, that’s the real me, yeah I only fuck you when it’s half past five The only time I’d ever call you mine I only love it when you touch me, not feel me When I’m fucked up, that’s the real me When I’m fucked up, that’s the real me, babe
[Outro]
Ewedishalehu (I love you very much) Yene konjo, ewedishalehu (My beauty, I love you very much) Yene fikir, fikir, fikir, fikir (My love, love, love, love) Yene fikir, fikir, fikir, fikir (My love, love, love, love)
I treat codeswitching as a skill which requires a great deal of bilingual ability (Poplack, 1980) and one which serves a particular purpose known by the agent (Myers-Scotton, 1993). Based upon a perusal of scholarly research which discusses codeswitching in hip-hop songs, I offer some plausible reasons for The Weeknd’s codeswitch.
To express his ethnic identity. In their study of codeswitching in Nigerian hip hop songs, Babalola & Taiwo (2009) found that signifying ethnic identity was a function of codeswitching by Nigerian hip-hop artists. In an interview, The Weeknd says: “But the feeling in my music and voice is very Ethiopian and very African.” Thus, his codeswitch can be seen as a nod to his Ethiopian roots through his native language.
To grab attention. Sarker, Winer, & Sarker (2005) in their examination of codeswitching in Montreal hip-hop music come to the conclusion that codeswitching is a way for hip-hop artists to grab attention. In an interview, The Weeknd supports this theory by saying: “Now I’m grabbing the ear of most of the world.” Thus, his decision to sing in Amharic allows him to surprise his American audience and delight his fan base in Africa.
To juxtapose two contrasting themes. Davies & Bentahila (2006) in their exploration of Rai music in Algeria and Morocco conclude that codeswitching serves as a way for artists to emphasis similarities or oppositions. In The Weeknd’s case, the part which appears in Amharic is a declaration of love which contrasts from the lust laced English lyrics (see above). The aesthetic value he places in Amharic is reflected in another interview: “It is such beautiful music.” Thus it comes as no surprise that the song’s most tender moment is expressed in the language he deems beautiful.
To explore his potential as an artist. In their study Babalola & Taiwo (2009) note how codeswitching serves as “stylistic innovation” in the song lyrics of Nigerian hip hop artists (p. 4). In an interview The Weeknd reveals: “I owe it to myself to show the world how versatile I can be…Why can’t I try something that challenges me as an artist?” Thus, it can be understood that his codeswitch is a way for him to experiment with the language skills at his disposal and explore his potential as an artist who can utilize his bilingual competence.
To express how he feels about his reality: Babalola & Taiwo (2009) write that codeswitching serves as a way for artists to express how they feel about their world. Similarly, Lin (2013) states that codeswitching is a means by which artists can use whatever linguistic skills they have to best convey their feelings and ideas. In an interview, Abel reveals: “All of my music is honest. When I write, I write about my surroundings. Sometimes it’s light and sometimes it gets dark. With this album (Beauty Behind the Madness), I’ve learned to balance them out and evolve my sound.” In this manner, codeswitching is also a reflection of his linguistic reality.
In sum, it appears that The Weeknd’s codeswitching serves a particular function in the context of his live performance; this conforms to a trend at large when it comes to hip-hop artists and codeswitching in general: to express social cultural realities and experiment with linguistic abilities. Thus, The Weeknd simply adds to the repertoire by experimenting in a genre that is most conducive to this type of word play; in the words of Babalola and Taiwo (2009) hip-hop has “few rules, promotes originality, and artists can sing about almost anything especially how they feel about their world” (p. 5). In the future, I look forward to seeing if more codeswitching will occur in his music, and if it will serve similar purposes.
References:
Babalola, E. & Taiwo, R. (2009). Code switching in contemporary Nigerian Hip Hop music. Journal of African Studies, 1, 1-26.
Benthalia, A. & Davies, E. B. (2006). Code switching and the Globalisation of Popular music: the case of north African rai and rap. Multilingual Journal of Cross Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, 25.
Lin, A. (2013). Hip-Hop Heteroglossia as Practice, Pleasure, and Public Pedagogy: Translanguaging in the lyrical poetics of “24 Herbs” in Hong Kong. Educational Linguistics, 20, 119-136.
Myers- Scotton, C. (1993). Duelling Languages: Grammatical Structure in Codeswitching. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Poplack, S. (1980). Sometimes I’ll start a sentence in Spanish y termino en español: toward a typology of code-switching. In L. Wei (Ed.), The Bilingualism Reader (pp. 221-258). London: Routledge.
Sarkar, M., Winer, L. & Sarkar, K. (2005). Multilingual code-switching in Montreal Hip-Hop: Mayhem meets method, or, ‘Tout moune qui talk trash kiss mon black ass du nord’. In J. Cohen, K. McAlister, K. Rolstad & J. MacSwan (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism (pp. 2057-2074). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
This means:
in Amharic (a language native to Ethiopia (he is of Ethiopian decent)).
This doesn't seem to fit with the song, which means this:
How does this relate to the song?
Music video here:
https://youtu.be/yzTuBuRdAyA
It starts at around 3:35, it's kind of hard to hear.
"The Hills" is not only intense musically, mixing heavy soul and rap, but its lyrics are also worth delving into for a better understanding of where this now world-renowned artist comes from philosophically. Unfortunately, that place is not a happy one and listeners may respond in shock, pity, or empathy.
The song begins with The Weeknd rapping to a woman he’s having an affair with. He sings, “Your man on the road. He doin’ promo / You said, ‘Keep our business on the low-low.'” The woman’s husband is a traveling salesman or advertiser, and she wants Abel to be discreet, not letting her husband find out. By doing this, they create a façade which becomes a recurring motif in “The Hills.”
For his part, Abel is “just tryna get” the woman “out the friend zone / Cause you look even better than the photos.” While she wants the affair to be secret, he’s ready for it to be more open. If they’re still in the friend zone, then the relationship is mainly physical and not based on emotion, though The Weeknd seems to want it to be.
He comes looking for her house and requests that she “send[s] [him] the info.” She’s rich because he’s “[d]rivin’ through the gated residential” to get to her. Once she knew he was coming, she sent her “friends home” and though she’s going to “[k]eep on tryna hide it,” he knows her friends know.
Interestingly, in the music video, The Weeknd is singing while climbing out of a car crash with two other women (mentioned in the lyrics later) and going up to a large, rich house and walking in to find several women there, one obviously in charge of the home.
After Verse One, Abel launches into the Chorus to the accompaniment of a terrifying scream. He sings, “I only call you when it’s half past five / The only time that I’ll be by your side,” possible a reference to him coming over after work hours. Because he may not work traditional hours, this could simply be a reference to him taking his time.
He continues singing, “I only love it when you touch me, not feel me,” because he doesn’t want emotional closeness. He simply wants the relationship’s physical benefits. He then sings, “When I’m f****d up, that’s the real me / … / I only f**k you when it’s half past five / The only time I’d ever call you mine.” He claims his own guilt and calls his messed up life his real one, not a façade that he can put on at other times. He admits he’s made mistakes and that the real him is not really a nice person. However, he continues to perpetuate what he seems to think is one of his mistakes–a mistake he feels fatally drawn to.
In Verse Two, The Weeknd sings, “Imma let you know and keep it simple”: what he’s about to say is going to be serious. He’s preparing her for a telling-off. He doesn’t think their “relationship” will last: “Tryna keep it up don’t seem so simple.” According to the next line, before he met with her, he had already had sex with two other women, so he may not value this affair too highly.
And while others are “[a]lways tryna send [him] off to rehab, / Drugs started feelin’ like it’s decaf.” He’s done so many drugs that their effects on him are weakened. In the face of this situation, his reaction is to continue to “live life for the moment.” And though he believes this is working for him, he’s angry that everyone seems to want him to fall again–to “relapse.”
In the Bridge, he sings, “Hills have eyes,” a reference to Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes a movie about cannibal mutants watching humans from nearby hills and attacking them. Interestingly, the line could also be a reference to the Hollywood Hills that watch his rise to fame. Within the song’s imagery, the hills’ eyes belong to those who want to expose him or to have him fall back into not enjoying life the way he does now.
In the context of those watching him, The Weeknd wants to know who this girl is “to judge” him. He tells her to “hide [her] lies” and admits that he only has her “to trust.” He wants her to admit her guilt also and to enter back into a deeper relationship with him. He wants her not to be one of the sets of eyes watching him.
The Outro, according to Genius.com, is sung in Amharic, an Ethiopian language that was Abel Tesfaye’s first. The singer actually is Ethiopian and gives a nod to his birth country by singing “I love you very much” in Amharic.
In the end, “The Hills” by The Weeknd means something more than just being about a love affair. It’s about facades and judgment. People pretend to be who they aren’t and judge others for doing those same things. Abel is tired of it, and readily admits his own guilt and his exhaustion with being watched; he warns someone who is close to him (the adulterous woman) to keep their relationship from being marred by hypocrisy as well.
Recently, American culture has been overtaken by a plea for sincerity and happiness with who a person is. Culture used to label people like “Bronies” (adult men dressing as characters from My Little Pony) as weird, but now others would call this “positive self expression.” Pressuring people to diet is attacked by those who advocate “positive body image.” When Meghan Trainor sings about “skinny b******s,” we wonder if she’s “skinny shaming,” which has become an actual thing. People are encouraged to express their sexual preferences in new ways.
While much of this is positive, much current ideology seems to be centered around the idea of “being true to one’s self.” We want to know that we can be who we are and that no one can judge us for that. Interestingly, The Weeknd takes that ideology one step further and claims that the truest expression of himself (“When I’m f****d up, that’s the real me”) is messed up and not praiseworthy.
But instead of doing something that would seem natural to some and fixing his problems, he decides to continue to “live life for the moment” and wants everyone around him to stop trying to tear him down and point out his wrongdoings because many of them, symbolized by the woman, are just as guilty as he.
While most of us still have this hangover of this talented Singers music, Abel Tesfaye’s (The Weeknd) The Hills seemed to mirror the Canadian PBR&B’s drug Addiction and Romance, being rumored as a third party to Ariana Grande’s relationship with Big Sean which flaunts in the verses of the song.
While Big Sean was on the road promoting his Dark Sky Paradise album, the two were rumored sneaking up with a secret affair, making it low as the girl in the song preferred, now, whoever this girl is, she has issues with giving directions.
Abel is famous for the avid drug use that he is most often under its influence than not, So when He said Half-past five he was denoting the known line from Alan Jackson‘s Popular song “It’s five O’clock somewhere” that means getting drunk or high no matter what time of the day, which also comes to a fact that he keeps calling The Girl very often.
The first verse of the song is basically Abels’ girl who wanted their relationship kept a secret,
It is so bold that only when he is high he is sincere. Abel hates commitment. Any emotional baggage is a waste of time knowing he only recognizes his partner when he is literally having sex with them.
The second verse describes how pressed he is to go to rehab. His addiction has been a daily bread that it’s starting to become boredom, though he wants to live his life the way he wants, he believed that some people want to see him fall or relapse back to his old ways.
