Not You (feat. Emma Steinbakken)

Alan Walker's song "Not You (feat. Emma Steinbakken)" delves into the emotional turmoil of grappling with the memories of a past love while facing the reality of moving on. The lyrics, sung by Emma Steinbakken, paint a picture of someone who is lost in the sanctuary of their own mind, creating stories to escape the loneliness of their current situation. The mention of pretending to be someone else suggests a desire to dissociate from the pain of being alone, highlighting the struggle to cope with the absence of a significant other.

The song progresses to reveal the presence of a new person in the protagonist's life, someone who is different from the one they lost. Despite this new person's significance, the repeated line 'But he's not you' serves as a haunting refrain, emphasizing the irreplaceable nature of the past love. The protagonist acknowledges that the new person might need them and even make them proud, but the emotional attachment to the one who is gone remains a barrier to fully embracing this new relationship.

The imagery of a photo book with unfulfilled promises and the metaphor of wintertime representing the coldness of a world without the loved one, further illustrate the depth of the protagonist's longing and regret. The song captures the bittersweet journey of moving forward while being tethered to the past, a universal experience of love and loss that many listeners can relate to.