Explanation of "Flashing Lights"

Kanye West's ‘Flashing Lights’ is about a superstar who is caught cheating with another woman while traveling on business. He tries to apologize to his girlfriend by telling her how much he cares about her, but is unsuccessful.

The video shows us just how unsuccessful the superstar was as we see his girlfriend killing him in the trunk of her car.

Kanye begins the song by saying: “She don’t believe in shooting stars.”

This shows that the woman does not care if her man is a superstar or not, and that nothing will excuse his actions.

He goes on to say, “but she believes in shoes and cars.”

Her ‘belief’ in shoes and cars is shown by her stripping down and burning her clothing, but never taking off her shoes. Also, rather than turning some of the gasoline she possessed on the car, and burning her boyfriend alive inside, she chose to kill in the trunk and keep her car intact.

Later in the song, Kanye spits: “I get a call like where are you Yeezy Try to hit you with a ‘Oeur de Whopee’ Till I get flashed by the paparazzi Damn, these *****’s got me,”

The ‘superstar’ receives an ‘I miss you’ call from his girlfriend only for her to later see paparazzi photos of him and an unknown woman canoodled together.

Even though he is still away on business, Kanye shows us that the boyfriend of the story feels bad for what he has done, and wants her to know that as well; hoping they can rekindle when he returns, and pick up where they left off (”I know it’s been a while, sweetheart, we hard-ly talk, I was doing my thing. I know I was
foul bay-bay, a-bay late-ly you been all on my brain”).

“If somebody would’ve told me a year ago it’d go, get this difficult. Feeling like Katrina
with no FEMA Like Martin with no Gina. Like a flight with no visa”

These lyrics show just how ineffective the superstar’s apology was. In regards to the video, the ‘difficult’ feeling is literally the uncomfortable position he is in while positioned in the trunk of her car-a place he would have never guessed he would be in a year ago.

Furthermore, in the chorus, Dwele sings “But I never thought that you would take it this far. What do I know?”

The boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend, of this story did not know that the love of his life would go as far as to actually kill him for a mistake he has made. But then again, what does he know.

And lastly, the final thing he saw before he was killed by his partner was the fire she started some feet away from the car, which are the flashing lights that are also being reference to in the chorus.