“After the Storm” by Kali Uchis (feat. Tyler, The Creator, Bootsy Collins)— Lyrics for English Students
The fun side of learning English
Life has a way of throwing shade on us. I don’t mean a lack of sunshine, I’m talking full-out disrespect! Even though our situations can get tough, the sun always comes to shine, and we end up smiling again. That’s mostly what this song is about. (That, and a bit of relationship miscommunication)
“After the Storm” is a 2018 song by Kali Uchis from her album, Isolation. It also features a verse by Tyler, The Creator and some background chatter by Bootsy Collins. All artists are from the United States and from big urban areas, so their English accents reflect that. Bootsy is also from an older generation, and his style of talking is a bit “old-school,” which is great. Another note about Kali is that she has roots in Colombia and apparently lived there at different times. Her Spanish / Latin American identity doesn’t come out too much in this song, but it could be expected in many of her other songs.
Okay. Who’s ready to practice their English and learn some new things? You are, that’s right! Please, enjoy the video and the article.
‘After the Storm’ Lyrics & Explanations
Ah, whatever goes around eventually comes back to you
- Expressions: Same as the adage, “What goes around comes around.”
So you gotta be careful, baby
- Casual Speech: “So you’ve got to / you have to be careful, baby …”
And look both ways before you cross my mind
- Expressions: A popular phrase in certain kinds of music nowadays. “Be careful before you come into my mind” is the idea. To “cross one’s mind” is to be on their mind, or they are thinking about that topic.
Ooh-ooh …
Did you ever wonder?
Yeah, do you ever wonder what he
Might be going through on his own, and
The demons that he’s facing alone, I (Sometimes it hurts, baby)
- Expressions / Figurative Speech: “Facing demons” is when a person encounters a personal struggle or internal challenge. The idea is of a fight to beat those challenges.
Hate that sometimes I can’t go home and
It just ain’t the same on the phone, no
- Informal Speech: “And it just isn’t the same …”
But everybody’s gotta go on, don’t they?
- Phrasal Verbs: To “go on” is to continue and push through one’s challenges. To move forward.
Yes, we do, baby
So if you need a hero (if you need a hero)
Just look in the mirror (just look in the mirror)
No one’s gonna save you now
- Informal Speech: “No one is going to save you now …”
So you better save yourself
- Expressions: When someone commands to another, “You better …” this means they are suggesting what the person should do. It is usually a very strong suggestion, similar to “You need to …”
And everybody’s hurting
Everybody’s going through it
- Expressions: To “go through it” is to experience general hard times. Example; “Man, I’ve been going through it lately.”
But you just can’t give up now
- Phrasal Verbs: I think you know this one. To “give up” is to quit something.
‘Cause you’ve gotta save yourself
Yeah, gotta hang on, baby
- Phrasal Verbs: To “hang on” in this case means to keep living and hoping for a better future. In other words, not giving up or quitting.
The sun’ll come out, nothing good ever comes easy
I know times are rough
But winners don’t quit, so don’t you give up
The sun’ll come out
But we’ve been struggling endlessly
Someday we’ll find the love
‘Cause after the storm’s when the flowers bloom
Kali, what you mean? I take it offensive
- Grammar: “Kali, what do you mean? I take it offensively / I take offense to it …”
‘Cause I’m the hottest flower boy that popped up on the scene
- Slang: “Hot” in this case can mean attractive or to have lots of success at the current moment. The “scene” refers to some kind of venue or field of practice that can be physical (crime scene, movie scene) or intangible (the music scene, the academic scene). The scene can also be a general location or awareness. For example, “He is new on the scene” is the same as “He’s new here / in this area of public attention.”
- Other References: “Flower boy” is probably a reference to one of Tyler’s albums called Flower Boy.
- Phrasal Verbs: To “pop up” is to appear or to come into attention.
Feeling better, better than ever
‘Cause your umbrella, -brella (-brel-la)
- Musical References: A reference to the Rihanna song, “Umbrella.” Also, he feels safe under her protection.
Sun is beaming on me like headlights beaming on Bambi
- Movie References: Reference to the animated movie, Bambi, about the deer.
- Expressions: “A deer in headlights” is also a popular term for someone who is scared, with the idea of a deer frozen in fear ahead of a car. In this way, the lyric shows both success and fear.
Now let’s pretend the street is the room and you are a Camry
- Cars: Reference to the car model, Toyota Camry.
‘Cause you drive me candy
- Expressions: A play on the usual phrase, “drive me crazy,” where “drive” can be to lead someone into an emotional state or also to drive a vehicle.
- Slang: “Candy” refers to car paint, sometimes called “candy paint” when it’s bright and colorful.
The Tito to my Randy
- Other References: Tito and Randy are two of the Jackson Five brothers that performed together for years. It’s sort of a romantic way to say a phrase. “He is the light to my stage.” “The milk to my cereal.” “The blue to my sky.” It means that one person completes the other.
Now let’s produce some thrillers
- Musical References: “Thrillers” are, of course, in reference to the Michael Jackson megahit, “Thriller.” He’s also implying that they make lots of success together, but also that they have some dangerous fun. A thriller, in general, is a movie or book genre that provokes fear and anxiety in the audience, similar to the horror genre with less gore. They are supposed to be more thought-provoking than horror.
My chocolate wit’ yo’ vanilla, uh
- Expressions: Tyler is darker skinned (like chocolate) while Kali has light skin (like vanilla).
- Informal Speech: “My chocolate with your vanilla …”
The sun’ll come out
Nothing good ever comes easy
I know times are rough
But winners don’t quit, so don’t you give up
The sun’ll come out
But we’ve been struggling endlessly
Someday we’ll find the love
‘Cause after the storm …
I know it’s hard
But did you even really try?
Maybe you could understand
When all you had to do was ask
And just open your mind
When everything is passing by
And all you had to do was try
Yeah, all you had to do was try
Try, try, try, try, try
And all you had to do was try
Try, try, try, try
What does this song remind you of in your own life?
What were some new words or expressions you learned here?
Are there other Kali Uchis songs you want to see analyzed? Share with us!
