Six Feet Under

"Six Feet Under" explores the complex emotional landscape of a concluded relationship, using the metaphor of death and burial to articulate the finality of a breakup. The song's central theme is the lingering hope for reconciliation despite the knowledge that the relationship is over and was likely unhealthy. The title itself, a common idiom for being buried after death, establishes that the love affair is metaphorically dead. However, the narrator is haunted by its memory, unable to fully let go.

The lyrics express a deep internal conflict. The singer acknowledges the pain and the high probability of a disastrous outcome if they were to get back together ("Don't come back, it won't end well"), yet simultaneously wishes for the other person to initiate a reunion ("But I wish you'd tell me to"). This highlights a struggle between rational thought and emotional desire.

The core of the song's meaning lies in the recurring question: "If our grave was watered by the rain / Would roses bloom?" This powerful imagery poses the question of whether something beautiful and alive (roses) could emerge from something dead and buried (the relationship). It symbolizes a desperate hope for a miracle, a second chance, even when all signs point to it being impossible. The rain can be interpreted as tears, time, or some form of nourishment that could potentially revive the lost love.

The song also touches on themes of identity loss ("Help, I lost myself again") and the painful persistence of memory. Even in a state of personal confusion, the memory of the former partner remains vivid. The line "How can you die carelessly?" suggests a feeling of bewilderment at how the partner could move on so easily from something that felt so significant. Ultimately, "Six Feet Under" is a poignant and somber reflection on heartbreak, capturing the feeling of being trapped in the aftermath of a dead romance, clinging to a faint, almost fantastical, hope of its revival.

The narrative begins with a confession of feeling lost, a recurring state of disorientation from which the memory of a former lover is the only anchor. The narrator is caught in a paradox: she understands that reuniting would only lead to a painful conclusion, yet she yearns for her ex-partner to beckon her back, to defy the logical outcome. This inner conflict sets the stage for the central metaphor of the song.

The chorus introduces the powerful image of their love being "six feet under," a clear metaphor for a relationship that is dead and buried. Despite this finality, the narrator can't help but ponder a hypothetical scenario: what if their symbolic grave were nurtured by the rain? This rain represents a potential for revival, a source of life that could, against all odds, make roses bloom from the site of their dead love. The question of whether these roses could bloom again is a poignant expression of a hope that defies reality, a desire to see beauty and life emerge from what is definitively over.

In the second verse, the narrator grapples with the lingering sensory memories of the relationship. She speaks of retracing her lips and erasing their touch, actions that are too overwhelming for her to handle. The memory of her former partner dissipates like smoke, and she questions the carelessness with which their love was allowed to die. It suggests a sense of injustice or bewilderment at how something so significant could be discarded so easily. The chorus repeats, reinforcing the central theme of a buried love and the persistent, almost desperate, hope for its resurrection.

A bridge shifts the perspective slightly. There's a sense of an external force or memory at play, as "their sound" is being played, laying them down to rest. Clouds are personified as crying, attempting to bring the dead love back to life. However, this glimmer of external hope is immediately contrasted with the harsh reality of the ex-partner's emotional state: they are "cold as a knife." This sharp, cutting image solidifies the impossibility of reconciliation, as one party is clearly emotionally unavailable and distant. The song concludes with a final repetition of the chorus's core question, followed by the opening line, "Help, I lost myself again / But I remember you," bringing the listener back to the beginning of this emotional cycle of loss, memory, and faint hope. It emphasizes the cyclical nature of her grief and longing, a loop from which she cannot seem to escape.

"Six Feet Under" was written and produced entirely by Finneas O'Connell, Billie Eilish's brother. The track was recorded in their bedroom studio, a creative space that was central to their early work, including the viral hit "Ocean Eyes". The song was one of Eilish's earliest releases, following the unexpected success of "Ocean Eyes".

It was first published on SoundCloud on June 23, 2016, and received a commercial release for digital download and streaming the following day, June 24, 2016, through Drup Music. Later, it was re-released on November 17, 2016, under Darkroom and Interscope Records, after Eilish signed a record deal. At the time of the song's initial release, Billie Eilish was only 14 years old.

The mixing and mastering were handled by industry professionals Rob Kinelski and John Greenham, respectively. Eilish herself directed a homemade music video for the song, which was released on June 30, 2016. The video, edited by her mother Maggie Baird, features simple yet atmospheric visuals of smoke bombs in front of a fence.

In a quote, Eilish explained the song as a way to process emotions: "I can just take all of the anger and all of the longing and despair, and I can just write it down and sing it." This suggests the song was born from a need for catharsis, channeling feelings of heartbreak and loss into her art.

The rhyme and rhythm of "Six Feet Under" are integral to its melancholic and hypnotic quality.

Rhyme Scheme:

The song does not follow a strict, consistent rhyme scheme throughout, leaning more towards a free verse structure in its verses, which enhances the conversational and diary-like feel of the lyrics. However, it strategically uses rhyme to create emphasis and cohesion, particularly in the chorus and bridge.

• The chorus employs a simple rhyme: "wonder" and "under," which are near rhymes that ground the central idea.
• The bridge features a more structured rhyme with "tonight" and "life," followed by the internal near rhyme of "life" and "knife." This AABB-like pattern in the bridge gives it a slightly more musical and traditional feel before returning to the main chorus.

Rhythm and Meter:

The song's rhythm is characterized by a slow, deliberate pace, set at a moderate tempo of 68 BPM. This unhurried tempo allows Eilish's emotive vocals to be the central focus and gives the song a feeling of heavy-heartedness. The lyrical rhythm is fluid, often mirroring natural speech patterns, especially in the verses. In the chorus, the rhythm becomes more measured and melodic, making the central hook memorable. The interplay between the sparse, atmospheric beat and Eilish's gentle, almost spoken-word-like delivery in parts creates a sense of intimacy and introspection. There's a notable use of space and silence in the arrangement, which adds weight to each musical and lyrical phrase.

"Six Feet Under" employs a range of stylistic techniques to create its haunting and melancholic atmosphere.

Musical Techniques:

• Vocal Delivery: Eilish's vocal performance is a key feature, often described as "ethereal," "forlorn," and "whispery." Her delivery is delicate and controlled, conveying vulnerability and deep sadness.
• Instrumentation and Arrangement: The track is an atmospheric pop ballad with sparse instrumentation. It features a prominent piano melody, layered with subtle synths and a morose, hip-hop-inspired backing track in certain sections. This creates a dreamy and immersive soundscape, with comparisons made to artists like Lana Del Rey, Låpsley, and Birdy.
• Tempo and Key: The song has a moderate tempo of 68 beats per minute and is set in the key of B minor, which contributes to its somber and melancholic mood. The chord progression primarily uses B minor, A, G, and E minor, creating a simple but effective harmonic foundation for the sorrowful melody.

Literary Techniques:

• Metaphor and Symbolism: The song is built on the central metaphor of a buried relationship, as detailed in the Symbolism section.
• Simile: The lyrics use similes such as "Blow away like smoke in air" and "you're cold as a knife" to create vivid, relatable imagery for abstract feelings of loss and emotional distance.
• Rhetorical Questions: The recurring question "Would roses bloom?" is rhetorical, emphasizing the narrator's desperate hope rather than seeking a literal answer. The question "How can you die carelessly?" expresses bewilderment and pain.
• Personification: The line "all of these clouds crying us back to life" personifies nature, making it reflect the singer's internal emotional state of sorrow and desire for revival.
• Repetition: The repetition of the chorus and the final return to the opening line, "Help, I lost myself again," creates a cyclical structure, mirroring the feeling of being trapped in a loop of grief and memory.

Although not one of her chart-topping global hits, "Six Feet Under" was a crucial step in establishing Billie Eilish's signature sound and artistic persona following her viral debut with "Ocean Eyes." Released when she was just 14, the song helped solidify her image as a young artist with a mature, dark, and introspective style, drawing early comparisons to artists like Lana Del Rey and Lorde.

The song achieved commercial success, receiving platinum certifications in several countries, including Canada, Australia, Brazil, and New Zealand, and a gold certification in the United States. This demonstrated her growing commercial viability beyond a one-hit-wonder viral moment.

"Six Feet Under" has also had a notable presence in popular culture. It was famously used in a promotional trailer for the ninth season of the popular TV series American Horror Story: 1984. Its atmospheric and mournful tone has made it a fitting choice for emotionally charged scenes in various other television shows and fan-made video edits. There is also a potential, though unconfirmed, lyrical nod to Sia's song "Breathe Me," which was famously used in the finale of the HBO series Six Feet Under, adding another layer of cultural connection.

In January 2017, an EP with four remixes of the song was released, further extending its reach into different musical scenes. The track remains a fan favorite and an important piece of her early discography, showcasing the foundational elements of the haunting, genre-defying sound that would later make her a global superstar.

The song is built around a central, extended metaphor of a dead relationship being literally buried.

• Six Feet Under: This phrase is the primary metaphor, equating the end of a romance with death and burial. It signifies a definitive and irreversible end, a love that has been laid to rest.
• The Grave: The "grave" symbolizes the final resting place of the relationship. When the narrator wonders if it was "watered by the rain," she is questioning if external factors or even her own sorrow could nurture the dead love back to life.
• Roses Blooming: The potential for roses to bloom from this grave is a powerful symbol of hope and rebirth. Roses, often associated with love and romance, represent the possibility of the relationship being revived and becoming beautiful again, a stark contrast to its current dead state.
• Smoke in Air: The line "Blow away like smoke in air" is a simile used to describe the disappearance of the partner or the love itself. It implies an ephemeral, intangible quality and a sense of being unable to grasp or hold onto what is gone.
• Cold as a Knife: This simile describes the emotional state of the ex-partner. It conveys a sense of sharp, painful, and definitive coldness, reinforcing the unlikelihood of a warm reconciliation and highlighting the emotional distance between them.
• Crying Clouds: The personification of clouds "crying us back to life" suggests a world imbued with the narrator's sorrow. The rain, or tears from the sky, represents a desperate, almost cosmic wish to revive the relationship, even as the partner remains emotionally unresponsive.

Several key phrases and motifs recur throughout "Six Feet Under," anchoring the song's emotional and thematic core.

• "Help, I lost myself again / But I remember you": This couplet opens and closes the song, creating a cyclical structure. It establishes the central conflict of losing one's own identity in the fog of a breakup, while the memory of the other person remains a sharp, defining point of reference. Its repetition suggests that the narrator is stuck in this loop of grief and memory.
• "Our love is six feet under": This is the most powerful recurring phrase and the song's title. It acts as a constant, grim reminder of the relationship's finality. Its repetition in the chorus drills home the central metaphor of a dead and buried love, serving as the undeniable fact that the narrator's hopes must contend with.
• "I can't help but wonder / If our grave was watered by the rain / Would roses bloom?": This question is the emotional heart of the song and is repeated in each chorus. It represents the recurring motif of hope against hopelessness. It’s the central fantasy of the song: the possibility of life and beauty emerging from death and decay. The repetition highlights the obsessive nature of this fragile hope.
• The imagery of roses and graves: The motifs of the grave and roses are central to the song's symbolism. The grave is a constant reminder of the end, while the hypothetical roses represent a desperate wish for renewal and a return to the love that once was.