Eternity

Eternity is a raw and deeply personal exploration of grief, specifically centering on the lasting trauma of losing parents at a young age. The song captures the distortion of time that occurs during mourning; while life moves forward, the griever feels stuck in a painful limbo where every moment without their loved one feels like an eternity.

The lyrics delve into the crisis of identity that follows a major loss. The line "Since I had to learn to be / Someone you don't know" highlights a tragic reality: the narrator has grown up and evolved in the absence of their parents, becoming a person they never got the chance to meet. This creates a disconnect not just between the living and the dead, but within the narrator's own sense of self.

The song also touches on the concept of survivor's guilt and the desperate desire for reunification. The imagery of "paradise" versus the "hell that I call home" juxtaposes the peace of the afterlife with the suffering of the living. Ultimately, the song is a testament to the enduring nature of love and the scar that loss leaves behind, portraying grief not as a fleeting emotion but as a permanent landscape one must walk through alone.

The narrative begins in a space of stillness and profound isolation, where the only audible sound is the ticking of a clock, emphasizing the slow, agonizing passage of time. The protagonist describes a state of sleeplessness and overwhelming sorrow, comparing their tears to a waterfall and their struggle to breathe to fighting against a violent riptide. There is a sense of disorientation regarding how much time has actually passed since their loss; the days blur together, but the absence of the loved one makes the separation feel infinite.

As the story unfolds, the narrator reflects on the transformation they have undergone in the wake of this loss. They confess to becoming a stranger to themselves, someone the departed loved one would no longer recognize because of how grief has altered them. There is a desperate, bargaining plea expressed in the desire to sacrifice anything to rejoin the lost soul in 'paradise.' The narrator questions why the loved one had to leave for a place—represented as 'the light'—that the living cannot yet follow, leaving the narrator to traverse the world in solitude.

The imagery shifts to the torment of memory and regret, with the narrator catching glimpses of a future that will never happen and dreams that dissolved into nothingness. Waking up is described viscerally as 'rubbing salt in the cut,' suggesting that consciousness brings fresh pain each day. The emotional landscape darkens further as the narrator describes their current existence as an 'endless night' and a 'starless sky,' explicitly calling their life without the loved one a 'hell.' The song concludes with the resignation of a 'long goodbye,' acknowledging the permanent divide between the living and the dead, while the feeling of eternal separation continues to weigh heavily.

"Eternity" was released on July 18, 2025, as a key single from Alex Warren's debut studio album, You'll Be Alright, Kid. The song serves as a poignant tribute to Warren's parents; his father passed away from cancer when Alex was just nine years old, and his mother died later due to alcohol-related issues. These traumatic events have been central themes in Warren's rise from a homeless teen to a successful content creator and musician.

The track was co-written by Alex Warren, Adam Yaron, Cal Shapiro, and Mags Duval, with Yaron also handling the production. In interviews leading up to the album's release, Warren revealed that the song was written to process the specific feeling of time stretching endlessly when you are missing someone. Despite its heavy themes, Warren noted a bittersweet irony in the public's reception: many listeners connected with the lines about "eternity" and "paradise" as expressions of undying love, with some even planning to use the track at weddings, similar to the phenomenon seen with Lewis Capaldi's "Someone You Loved."

The song generally follows a consistent rhyme scheme in the verses and chorus, often utilizing perfect rhymes (e.g., "know/go," "paradise/sacrifice") which provides a sense of melodic stability amidst the emotional chaos. The rhythm is slow and deliberate, likely set to a 4/4 meter but played with a rubato feel in the vocal delivery, allowing Warren to stretch phrases for emotional emphasis. The pacing drags slightly in the verses to mimic the feeling of "losing sleep" and time crawling, while the chorus picks up in intensity and flow, simulating the outpouring of bottled-up emotion.

Musical: The production, led by Adam Yaron, employs a minimalist approach to let the vocal performance take center stage. It typically begins with a stripped-back acoustic arrangement—likely acoustic guitar or piano—creating an intimate, confessional atmosphere. As the song progresses, it builds dynamically with the addition of subtle strings (cello, viola, violin) and a subdued backing choir, creating a cathartic swell that mirrors the wave-like nature of grief.

Literary: Warren uses hyperbole effectively ("feels like an eternity") to convey emotional truth rather than literal time. The use of antithesis is prominent, contrasting "paradise" with "hell," and "light" with "endless night." The narrative voice is direct and second-person ("You"), making the song an intimate conversation with the deceased rather than a general observation.

"Eternity" played a significant role in the success of Alex Warren's debut album, You'll Be Alright, Kid, which achieved high chart positions, including a Number 1 debut on the UK Albums Chart in July 2025. The song resonated deeply on social media platforms like TikTok, where users utilized the audio to share their own stories of loss and bereavement, creating a digital memorial space.

Culturally, the song cemented Warren's transition from a "hype house" influencer to a serious recording artist capable of tackling mature, heavy themes. It has been compared to the works of Lewis Capaldi and James Arthur for its raw emotional delivery. Interestingly, despite its tragic origin, the song's declarations of eternal connection led to its adoption as a wedding song by some fans, highlighting the complex way audiences interpret lyrics about "eternity."

The lyrics are rich with elemental and spatial metaphors that physicalize the abstract feeling of grief:

• The Ticking Clock: Represents the relentless, mocking passage of time that feels slow and heavy to the griever.
• Riptide and Waterfall: Water imagery is used to describe the overwhelming, drowning nature of sorrow. A "riptide" suggests a force that pulls one under despite their best efforts to swim (breathe).
• Light vs. Dark: The departed is described as chasing "the light" (heaven/peace), while the narrator is left in a "starless sky" and "endless night" (earthly suffering/depression).
• Salt in the Cut: A visceral metaphor for the daily re-traumatization of waking up and remembering the loss all over again.
• Hell vs. Paradise: The duality of the afterlife and the present life. "Paradise" is where the loved one resides, while the world without them is explicitly defined as "a hell that I call home."

"Feels like an eternity": This is the central hook of the song. Its repetition underscores the core theme: that separation distorts the perception of time. It acts as a lament that anchors the song.

"As I walk this world alone": This phrase repeats at the end of the chorus sections. It reinforces the physical and existential isolation of the narrator. The repetition serves to drive home the permanence of his solitary state.

"Someone you don't know": A haunting motif regarding identity. By repeating this, Warren emphasizes the tragedy of growing up without his parents, acknowledging that the man he is today is a stranger to the memories of the boy they left behind.