Lil Nas X’s “C7osure” Lyrics Meaning
The first thing one may notice about Lil Nas X’s “C7osure” is that its alphanumerical title is actually a respelling of the world “closure”. And such is the subject matter of this track – the artist, Lil Nas X, seeking closure. In other words, there are matters in his life which he wishes to definitively put behind him as he ventures into a new future. And the difficulty he finds in doing so is based on both internal and external factors.
Internally he is making an effort to muster up enough courage so that, when his life is nearing its finale, he can look back with no ‘regrets’, as in he did ‘what he had to do’. On an interpersonal level, he deduces that “let(ting) go”, as in being his true self, will be met with chagrin by the person(s) he is addressing. Or as the subtitle suggests, Nas X is prone to doing what this other person ‘likes’ as opposed to following his own heart.
So the singer finds himself in a struggle, with self-expression and contentment on one side and apprehension as well as the desire to please people on the other. And at the end of the day he concludes that he must express himself, i.e. find “closure” in his life – either that or live as an ‘actor’. By living as an “actor”, he would have to pretend to be someone he is not and in the process stunt his own ‘growth’. And that is what “C7osure” represents – a definitive moment in the life of Lil Nas where he is “unfolding”, to the world, some life-changing “news”.
Facts about “C7osure”
Columbia Records released “C7osure” on 21 June 2019 as the final (and seventh) song on the playlist of Lil Nas X’s noted debut EP 7. This EP also contains such hits as the following:
- “Old Town Road“
- “Panini”
- “Rodeo“
Initially other songs on the project were receiving more attention. However, Lil Nas X seemingly came out as gay, via Twitter, on 30 June 2019. And he pointed to this track in particular – thus thrusting it into the spotlight – as proof that he tried to put the world on to this fact before actually coming out. He went on to advise fans to “listen closely to C7osure”.
He also pointed to a certain aspect of the cover art of “7” as another way he “thought (he) made it obvious” that he was gay.
It has been noticed that 30 June was the final day of 2019’s LGBT Pride Month, a celebration of homosexuality. And many have speculated that Nas X chose this date to come out in recognition of this occasion. However, what has actually been cited as the event which “inspired him to tell the world his truth” was “the love he felt” after performing with Miley Cyrus and her dad (and Nas X’s “Old Town Road” collaborator), Billy Ray Cyrus in England earlier that day in front of a crowd of almost 200,000 people. And as TMZ reported, he made the aforementioned tweets after exiting the stage due to the apparently long-standing frustration he was feeling as the result being “closeted”, as in keeping his homosexuality a secret.
Allen Ritter alongside fellow music producer Boi-1da produced “C7osure”. They also assisted Lil Nas X in writing its lyrics.
Lil Nas X initially teased the release of “C7osure”, via Instagram, on 7 June 2019.
