The True Meaning Behind Halsey's 'The End' Lyrics Explained

4 June 2024, 16:45 | Updated: 4 June 2024, 18:00

By Sam Prance

What are Halsey's 'The End' lyrics about? Here's what she's said about the song and the illnesses she suffers from.

Halsey is officially back with the first taste of their highly-anticipated fifth album. What are her 'The End' lyrics about though?

Ever since Halsey parted ways with Capitol Records in 2023, fans have been eager to see what they would do next. Shortly afterwards, Halsey signed to Columbia Records and in the time since, she's been teasing the recording process of her next album on social media. They've also hinted in several videos that they will be "talking their s---" on this record.

Now, the first taste of Halsey's upcoming project is here and fans are crying over the meaning behind her 'The End' lyrics.

• Read more: Halsey Calls Out G-Eazy For Cheating In Savage 'Die 4 Me' Lyrics

Halsey - The End (Official Lyric Video)

Ahead of the release of 'The End', Halsey took to Twitter to explain why she decided to release 'The End' first. She said: "I’m releasing the first song off my 5th album tomorrow 6/04 at 9am pt / 12 et. Before the first single comes, I wanted to share this. It means a lot to me and I love it. Let’s try something different this time and start at “The End”."

In 'The End', Halsey opens up about their illnesses and their fears over how they affect their 3love life. They sing: 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.

In the chorus, Halsey sings: 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.

Alongside the release of the song, Halsey shared videos of her in hospital and recovery saying: "I'm not gonna be sick and I'm gonna look super hot. I'm gonna have lots of energy and I'm just gonna get to do my 20s in my 30s."

Halsey also tagged the Lupus Research Alliance and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the post and captioned it: "long story short, i’m Lucky to be alive. short story long, i wrote an album."

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A post shared by halsey (@iamhalsey)

In 2022, Halsey posted an Instagram story about her illnesses saying: "My health has changed a lot since I got pregnant and gave birth. I started getting really sick, I've been kind of sick most of my adult life." They also revealed that they had been "hospitalised for anaphylaxis a few times".

Explaining further, Halsey said: "I'm still looking for the root cause of some of these things. It could potentially be another type of auto-immune disease, and I've known about auto-immune issues for most of my life, especially having endometriosis."

In the past, Halsey has opened up about having Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, Sjogren's syndrome, mast cell activation syndrome and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

Halsey - 'The End' lyrics

VERSE 1
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

PRE-CHORUS
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

CHORUS
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?

VERSE 2
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

PRE-CHORUS
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

CHORUS
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

BRIDGE
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

OUTRO
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?

Read more Halsey news here:

• Halsey Claps Back At People Saying They Look "Too Thin" And "Unhealthy"
• Swarm Criticised For "Mocking" Halsey With Viral Paris Jackson Scene
• Halsey Says They Use Breast Milk As Part Of Their Skincare Routine
• Halsey Says Their Abortion "Saved" Their Life In Powerful Essay
• Halsey And Boyfriend Alev Aydin Have Split After 3 Years

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