Posted by The Zone is the first collaboration between The Weeknd and Drake. Initially written in 2011, it became part of his triple album Trilogy. The song’s lyrics are enigmatic and refer to a personal situation The Weeknd was living in that period. There is a common interpretation of the track’s meaning, and this article will explain all the details.
You can find below the official video of the song, directed by The Weeknd himself.
The Zone: inside the lyrics and their meaning
The Zone was initially part of the mixtape Thursday. According to the common interpretation of the lyrics, in this record, The Weeknd introduces two women present in his life: there is a girl with whom he spends almost every day, not really loving her, and then there is Valerie, or his Lonely Star, a woman that he sees only on Thursdays (Valerie and Lonely Star are other songs in the same album). She’s the girl he loves, but she can only see him on that week’s day. She apparently won’t have an official relationship with him. She’s aware he spends the rest of the week with another woman. But The Weeknd always thinks about Valerie, even when he has sex with the other girl.
With this context in mind, we can better understand the meaning of the lyrics inside The Zone. In this song, The Weeknd talks with the girl he sees every day and tells her he needs to “get into his zone” to be there with her. He will be high (apparently, he used codeine in that period), which will help him in the time he spends with her. He will also close his eyes and think about Valerie, pretending he’s having sex with her.
Why you rushing me, baby?
It’s only us, alone
I don’t want to die tonight, baby
So lemme sip this slow
I’ll give you what you called for
Just let me get in my zone
I’ll be making love to her through you
So let me keep my eyes closed
Therefore, The Weeknd is asking for a moment to prepare mentally (get into the zone) for the time he’ll spend with his everyday girl. He knows he won’t be fully present in those moments and is okay with it. That’s what he sings in the song’s chorus:
And I won’t see a damn thing
I can’t feel a damn thing
But I’ma touch you right
I won’t see a damn thing
I can’t feel a damn thing
But I’ma touch you right (Oh yeah)
In the second verse, The Weeknd admits he’s with that girl because he needs it. But the rapper never mentions love when he talks to her: his emotions go to Valerie, his other girl:
And I’ma lean, ’til I fall, ooh yeah
And I don’t give a damn
I felt the ground before
I left it all behind, baby
I didn’t need no one
But I’m in need tonight baby
I’ve been alone for too long
Ohh, oh yeah
That’s, after all, the real meaning behind The Zone lyrics: I’m here, I’ll spend romantic time with you right now, but I won’t be mentally present. I’ll be in my zone. My mind will be under the effects of drugs, and my emotions will lean towards the girl I really love, Valerie.
The lyrics sung by Drake introduce another topic, the pole dancers and their broken hearts. He likes a girl who works as a pole dancer and shows appreciation in the song. But he just wants her body (her French lips, referring to French kissing, and her Spanish a–, referring to the stereotype about Spanish girls’ bodies). Therefore, this part of the song is not about emotions but pure physical desire. You can find the full lyrics below.
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The complete lyrics
I can’t feel a damn thing
But I’ma touch you right (Oh yeah)
(The Weeknd)
I’ma touch you right (Ooh yeah)
(Just let me sip this slow)
I’ma touch you right
(Let me get inside my zone)
I’ma touch you right (Oh yeah)
(Just let me)
Ohh ahh, ahh
Ooh yeah
And I’ma lean, ’til I fall, ooh yeah
And I don’t give a damn
I felt the ground before
I left it all behind, baby
I didn’t need no one
But I’m in need tonight baby
I’ve been alone for too long
Ohh, oh yeah
So, I won’t say a damn thing
I can’t feel a damn thing
But I’ma touch you right (Ooh, yeah)
Oh, I can’t see a damn thing
I can’t feel a damn thing
But I’ma touch you right (Ooh)
I’ma touch you right (Ohh yeah)
(Just let me sip this slow)
Ooh, I’ma touch you right
(Let me get inside my zone)
Ooh, I’ma touch you right
(Just let me)
Ohh ahh, ahh
Ooh, yeah
(Drake)
Whoa, all these broken hearts on that pole
Man, if pole dancing’s an art, you know how many f**kin’ artists I know?
Got some new bills in the mail, got some big favors I owe
Got some good things ahead of me when these bad b**hes let go
Well girl let’s go, walk your broken heart through that door
Sit your sexy a– on that couch
Wipe that lipstick off of your mouth
I take it slow
She in love with my crew
She said make enough so I can try some
I thought taking drugs just ain’t you, be you
Yeah girl, just be you
And I do this s**t for my hometown, it been going down, it ain’t new
That’s that north north, that up top
That OVO and that XO
Your girlfriend at our next show
But it’s all good, don’t stress though
First night f**k, never really planned it
Take a deep breath, no one need to panic
Lips so French, a– so Spanish
She don’t really like attention, I don’t know if she gon’ manage out here
But she got me all up in my zone
Said she like the view I got in this place, s**t I did all of that on my own
Aw yeah
