Halsey has returned with her first new music in almost three years. The powerful ballad “The End” kicked off the rollout for her upcoming fifth studio album.
You can listen to the song on any streaming platform using this link.
The End Halsey Lyrics
Every couple of years now, a doctor says I’m sick
Pulls out a brand new bag of tricks
And then they lay it on me
And at first, it was my brain, then a skeleton in pain
And I don’t like to complain, but I’m saying sorry
When I met you, I thought I was damaged goods
Had a fucked up childhood
And there’s poison in my brain and in my blood
If you knew it was the end of the world
Could you love me like a child?
Could you hold me in the dark?
If you knew it was the end of the world
Would you like to stay a while?
Would you leave when it gets hard?
So I ran into the clinic and I asked to see the man
With his white coat and his stethoscope
Like a snake around his hand
And I told him I’m not bitter ’cause I finally found a lover
Who’s better for my liver, and now I’ll finally recover
When I met him, I thought I was damaged goods
From a real bad neighborhood
So we wrestled in the mud
And I told him he could stay right where he stood
But I don’t know if he should
‘Cause once my God destroys the flesh, then there’s the flood
If you knew it was the end of the world
Could you love me like a child?
Could you hold me in the dark?
If you knew it was the end of the world
Would you like to stay a while?
Maybe we could build an ark
We could sail on broken driftwood through the sopping wet terrain
And count the buildings and the bodies getting swallowed by the rain
And in the water, there’s the doctor who didn’t listen to my claim
What a shame, he’s circling a drain
When I met you, I said I would never die
But the joke was always mine ’cause I’m racing against time
And I know it’s not the end of the world, but could you pick me up at 8?
‘Cause my treatment starts today
Halsey The End Lyrics Meaning Explained
In the emotional lyrics, Halsey gets candid about her ongoing battles with various illnesses and health issues. “Every couple of years now the doctor says I’m sick / Pulls out a brand new bag of tricks and then they lay it on me,” she sings. “At first it was my brain / Then a skeleton in pain / And I don’t like to complain, but I’m saying sorry.”
The chorus finds Halsey pondering love and connection in the face of mortality: “If you knew it was the end of the world / Could you love me like a child? / Could you hold me in the dark? / If you knew it was the end of the world / Would you like to stay a while?”
Halsey has been open about her health struggles in the past, revealing diagnoses of endometriosis, autoimmune disorders like Sjogren’s syndrome, and other conditions. In 2022, she said her “body was rebelling” after giving birth to her child. “The End” confronts these issues head-on with raw vulnerability.
In a tweet announcing the song’s release, Halsey wrote “long story short, i’m Lucky to be alive. short story long, i wrote an album. it begins with The End.” She also made donations to the Lupus Research Alliance and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to raise awareness.
While not the official lead single, “The End” serves as an emotional first taste of Halsey’s highly-anticipated fifth LP, following her 2021 album If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power. The pared-back piano ballad shows a more subdued side of the singer after her recent pop era.
With heart-rending lyrics confronting mortality and illness, “The End” finds Halsey displaying incredible strength and candor about her personal struggles. It’s a moving way to kick off her next musical chapter.
