“Six Feet Under” takes us back to the humble roots of the now-global superstar Billie Eilish. It was the second single released by Billie on her SoundCloud account when no one took notice of her until her first release “ocean eyes” took off.
“Six Feet Under” was originally uploaded to Billie Eilish’s SoundCloud profile on June 23, 2016. It was later released as a standalone single on November 17, 2016. The song was written and produced by Billie’s brother FINNEAS. The male vocals embedded in the track are that of FINNEAS as well.
The phrase ‘six feet under’ is used to describe something that is dead and buried six feet underneath the ground. Lyrically, the song “Six Feet Under” talks about Billie’s past relationships that are dead and buried. Billie was only 15-years-old when she recorded this song, so she must have had a few run-ins with some relationships that went south.
In an interview, Billie Eilish talked about the inspiration behind “Six Feet Under”;
I’m young and I’ve been through stuff, and I’m sure I haven’t been through the amount of stuff as someone older than me. But, you know, everyone goes through it, and I think a lot of people don’t really have a way of getting out their feelings. What’s so great about being an artist is that I can just take all of the anger and all of the longing and despair, and I can just write it down and sing it. My brother goes through a lot of the same things I do, even though we’re four years apart, we still have like the same kind of mindset. I feel like a lot of songs right now–the lyrics are just so boring. It’s about the same thing. You can say that in a different way that’ll make it way more interesting and way deeper, more meaningful. So I always try to write in a way that I never heard before.
Listen to “Six Feet Under” by Billie Eilish
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Billie Eilish “Six Feet Under” Lyrics Review and Song Meaning
Throughout the song, Billie Eilish sings about the pain of separation from someone she used to love, maybe she still does! She cannot help but feel lost as her walls crumble down in uncertainty, fear, and disappointment.
Help, I lost myself again
But I remember you
Don’t come back
He runs in Billie’s mind all the time. She aches to go back to what was. But she also knows that burnt bridges cannot be mended easily. Something broken will never return to its original state — so is her heart.
Our love is six feet under
In the chorus of the song, Billie Eilish comes to the harsh reality that her relationship is six feet under AKA dead. Things that are dead don’t come back to life. But our hearts don’t follow logic and humans thrive with hope. So does Billie…
If our grave was watered by the rain
Would roses bloom?
A grave symbolizes death and blossoming roses symbolize life. Watering something is symbolic of nurturing. Billie wonders if some sort of nurturing could bring their love back to life. She might very well know the answer to this.
Breakups are when you realize the dire need for a memory-erasing gadget. It becomes too much for her to tolerate all the memories that flood in at times. Mind you, Billie is only 15-years-old at the time. Too young to know what love is and too young to stomach breakups.
And all of these clouds
Crying us back to life
The metaphors in “Six Feet Under” are on point! In the bridge of the song, FINNEAS writes that the clouds try to cry and bring their love back to life. He is talking about rainy clouds raining down. Whilst, rain paints a picture of gloom and hopelessness, water is the main catalyst for life. So, after rain comes the hope of new life. But Billie’s ex does not budge. He is cold as ice and rain pouring down on ice only creates more ice.
Billie’s moody vocals and FINNEAS’ exquisite writing come together in “Six Feet Under” for the perfect harmony of post-breakup heartache.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.