Nights, by Frank Ocean—A song for lost souls

A stylized drawing of Frank Ocean.

A series of synthetic chimes introduces the melody. They match up to an asynchronous beat that contains at once a soft soothing cadence and a sense of unease.

Fitting for a song that floats a wistful wish to change amidst a meandering life.

“That every night shit, every day shit.”

Frank Ocean’s Nights is a song in three acts:

1. The first, introduced by the asynchronous melody
2. The second, divided from the first by a chaotic electric guitar riff
3. The third, a callback to the first with a more rushed and urgent beat

I think the reason Nights resonates with me, aside from just its musical genius, is the way each act weaves its own story around the theme of unease. The first one builds tension by invoking feelings of loneliness and drug-fueled escape.

“Although you got beaucoup family,
you don’t even got nobody bein’ honest with you.”

It’s all too familiar — being surrounded by people, but still feeling an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Frank is at once connected and adrift, floating through life, “round his city ‘round the clock.”

“Breath till I evaporated,
my whole body see through.”