Big Sleep (feat. Giorgio Moroder)

The song 'Big Sleep' by The Weeknd, featuring Giorgio Moroder, delves into a lyrical exploration of a universal and inevitable theme: the acceptance of mortality. In the verse 'Well, you used up your borrowed light / And you wasted your borrowed time', we are confronted with the ephemerality of existence. Light and time, described as 'borrowed', reinforce the idea that nothing truly belongs to us and that each moment is a fleeting gift. The choice of words suggests that, despite the opportunities presented, there was a failure to fully seize life, leading to the inevitable 'big sleep', a poetic allusion to the final sleep of death.

The expression 'big sleep' is repeated to emphasize the resignation before the end, which is accepted almost without resistance, as indicated in 'Well, you barely put up a fight / Ready for the forever night'. Here, the lyrical self seems to surrender to the eternal night, a metaphor for death that embraces everyone, regardless of their struggles or desires.

However, there is a touching counterpoint of hope in the lines 'Now I lay me down to sleep / Pray the Lord my soul to keep', which are a direct reference to the children's prayer 'Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep'. This prayer seeks divine protection during the night, asking for angels to watch over the sleep until awakened by the light, symbolizing the hope of rebirth or resurrection after the darkness.

The passage 'Angels watch me through the night / Wake me up with light' offers a comforting contrast to the idea of 'big sleep', suggesting that despite the temporary darkness of death, there is a light that will eventually awaken the spirit. This transition from deep melancholy to hopeful acceptance reflects a cycle of death and renewal, which can be seen in both a physical and spiritual context.

Ultimately, the song 'Big Sleep' invites us to reflect on our own mortality and the way we choose to live our 'borrowed' days. It encourages us to seek meaning and redemption, even as we face the inexorable advance of time and the eventual end of all things.