“Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” is Lil Nas X’s highly anticipated single following “Holiday.” However, he is still looking for his next breakthrough project after his chart-topping and 14x Diamond certified single “Old Town Road (Remix)” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. His 2021 single “Montero” might be what he is looking for.
In late 2020, Lil Nas X joked on social media that his “Old Town Road” money is running out and he needs to make new music. And he followed up with “Holiday,” which seemed to continue a story from “Old Town Road.” Although the song was a bop, it didn’t live up to the standards of its predecessor. All the songs will be part of Lil Nas X’s debut studio album, also titled ‘Montero.’
On “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” Lil Nas X breaks from the shadows of “Old Town Road” and delivers something special to his fans. The music video openly showcases his homosexuality, where he gets down with a half-serpent-half-man and the king of hell himself.
On Twitter, Lil Nas X gave his thoughts on this song;
dear 14 year old montero,
i wrote a song with our name in it. it’s about a guy i met last summer. i know we promised to never come out publicly, i know we promised never to be “that” type of gay person, i know we promised to die with the secret, but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist. you see this is very scary for me, people will be angry, they will say i’m pushing an agenda. but the truth is, i am. the agenda to make people stay the f*ck out of other people’s lives and stop dictating who they should be. sending you love from the future.
Watch “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” Video by Lil Nas X
Buy ‘Montero’ Album on Apple Music and Amazon
“Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
‘Montero’ is Lil Nas X’s real name.
So, now it makes sense why the rest of the song title reads “Call Me By Your Name.”
In the lyrics of the song, however, it is a love fest of drugs intertwined with a romantic story about a partner.
Verse 1
In the first verse of the song, Lil Nas X tells us how he went to his partner’s apartment on invitation one night and discovered that he was a weed and a cocaine addict. He was hiding that part of his lifestyle from the public and from his potential love interest, Lil Nas X. This ties in with the idea of Lil Nas X trying to hide his sexuality from the public because he did not want to be the stereotype to come out for the sake of it. However, according to his personal statement above, he did it considering how he would be encouraging many others to come out and live free.
Baby, you livin’ the life, but n*gga, you ain’t livin’ right
With weed and cocaine at his disposal, this person is living the life, but he is not living it right because he is hidden from the world.
Pre-chorus
Lil Nas X says his partner is living in the dark surrounded by his booze and drugs and a select group of friends. It is clever how being a closeted gay person and themes of drug addiction closely tie in with each other. Being in a dark place can be interpreted as his mind not being in the right place under the influence of drugs. It also can refer to being in the ‘dark ages’ or not open-minded to topics of homosexuality.
Lil Nas X also adds that a Biblical reference to the song as homosexuality is a topic that is vastly looked down upon in many religions including Christianity. He mentions Eve, the first woman, who supposedly ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden, with the first man, Adam, and became self-aware of their sexuality. And thus began humanity that started with the carnal sin of lust between a man and a woman, AKA straight sex. However, Nas X says if ‘Eve’ isn’t your style, give him a call. This is a direct reference to his homosexuality.
Verse 2
The second verse has more sexual references of Nas X with his partner as well as his euphoria from the success of the “Old Town Road” single. He mentions how the song spent 19 weeks on top of Billboard Hot 100, ad he felt like God’s grace was flowing all over him. And now he is addicted to success.
In the music video for “Montero,” we see Lil Nas X getting intimate with a half-human-half-snake in a garden. This is a reference to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, who tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve followed the serpent’s advice and were cursed by God himself. Did God not want humanity to start with heterosexual behavior? However, if Nas X was in the Garden of Eden instead of Eve, he suggests he would get down with the serpent. Also, in the music video, we see Lil Nas X almost make it to heaven. But his ‘sins’ catch up to him and drags him down to hell. He slides on a stripper pole down to hell where he meets the devil. But of course, Nas X dethrones the devil with some advanced booty twerks and takes the throne!
Let us hear what you think about this song and the music video in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.
Update:
“Montero” Controversy Over Satanic Shoes
Lil Nas X has been under fire since the release of the “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” music video over its Satanic contents. In the music video, we see Lil Nas X getting down with Satan himself and absolutely owning Satan with some killer twerks. Lil Nas X was also seen wearing the Nike Satanic Shoes–only 666 pairs of shoes ever made. And this has come under fire by some people questioning what kind of message is Lil Nas X sending to the society, especially children.
Lil Nas X has been busy on Twitter responding to many of such questions towards him.
Lil Nas X even directly contacted God himself on Twitter and apologized. So, we are all good now.