Them Changes

"Them Changes" is a profound exploration of heartbreak and emotional devastation, using vivid and violent imagery to convey the depth of the singer's pain. The song's central narrative revolves around the literal and metaphorical loss of one's heart after a brutal betrayal. The opening line, "Nobody move, there's blood on the floor / And I can't find my heart," immediately frames the emotional turmoil as a crime scene, equating the end of a relationship to a violent act. This metaphor extends throughout the song, with the singer describing a "black hole in my chest" and being a "heartless, broken mess," signifying a complete sense of emptiness and loss of identity. The lyrics express a deep sense of confusion and regret, questioning why he would give his heart to someone who would just "throw it in the trash." Thundercat himself explained that the song came from a raw place of personal experience, specifically a breakup compounded by heavy drinking, which adds a layer of authenticity to its raw emotionality. The track is a lament for a lost love, capturing the feeling of being utterly shattered and struggling to make sense of the emotional chaos left in the wake of betrayal.

The song begins with a stark and dramatic declaration, setting a scene of chaos and profound loss. The narrator commands everyone to freeze, announcing that there is blood on the floor and, most critically, that he cannot find his heart. This opening establishes a powerful metaphor for a devastating emotional wound, likely from a romantic betrayal. The physical imagery of a crime scene is used to represent the internal turmoil and the feeling that something vital has been violently taken from him. He questions where his heart could have gone, wondering if he left it out in the cold, exposed and uncared for. He directly addresses the person responsible, pleading for the return of his heart, emphasizing that it does not belong to them.

The narrator then sinks into a state of disillusioned reflection. He sits, fully aware that the foundation of the relationship was not real or sincere. This realization brings a painful question to the forefront: why did he ever give his heart to this person, only to see them treat it with such disrespect, as if it were trash? He poignantly observes that it must have been when he lost his mind that his heart also went missing, linking the act of falling in love with a loss of reason. The pain is so intense that he feels physically empty, describing a "black hole" in his chest where his heart used to be. He sees himself as a "heartless, broken mess," completely undone by the experience.

As the music creates a space for contemplation, the lyrics convey a sense of desperate searching and pleading. The narrator continues to grapple with the pain, his thoughts circling back to the betrayal. The emotional core of the song is this feeling of being hollowed out, of having a fundamental part of oneself stolen. The recurring theme is the search for this lost part of himself and the struggle to comprehend how someone he trusted could inflict such a wound. The music itself, with its complex and groovy yet melancholic feel, mirrors this duality of a lively exterior masking deep inner suffering. The narrative doesn't resolve with the return of his heart; instead, it fades out on the lingering pain and the haunting reality of being left as a broken, heartless wreck.

"Them Changes" was created by Stephen Bruner, known as Thundercat, and was first released as a single on June 18, 2015, from his EP The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam. It was later included on his acclaimed 2017 album, Drunk. The song's creation began with its iconic drum beat, which is a sample from The Isley Brothers' 1977 classic, "Footsteps in the Dark". Thundercat has stated that the song started with that heavy, recognizable drum sample, which he felt compelled to build upon despite its use in other famous tracks like Ice Cube's "It Was A Good Day". The track was co-produced by his longtime collaborator Steven Ellison, aka Flying Lotus, at his studio. Flying Lotus played a crucial role in shaping the song, pushing Thundercat to sing more and adding synth textures and programming. The song also prominently features the saxophone work of Kamasi Washington, a childhood friend of Bruner's. It was Lotus's idea to have Washington play on the track, adding a soulful counterpoint to Thundercat's vocals. The lyrical content was born from a very personal place, with Thundercat admitting in a Song Exploder interview, "I just, I broke up with my girlfriend, and I drank a lot." This raw emotion fueled the song's narrative of heartbreak and loss.

The song's rhythmic foundation is the unmistakable, laid-back 4/4 drum break sampled from "Footsteps in the Dark" by The Isley Brothers. This beat has a heavy backbeat and a distinctive half-swing hi-hat pattern that establishes an immediate, hypnotic groove. Thundercat's bassline plays against this rhythm with a syncopated, melodic phrase that has become one of the most recognizable basslines in modern music. The lyrical rhythm flows conversationally over this complex instrumental bed. The rhyme scheme is relatively simple and direct, often following AABB or ABCB patterns within its verses (e.g., "floor"/"heart"/"cold"/"take"). This straightforwardness in the rhyme makes the surreal and violent imagery of the lyrics even more impactful. There is no traditional chorus; instead, the song's structure relies on the repetition of the main bass riff and the emotional arc of the verses, giving it a feeling closer to free verse built over a cyclical groove. The interplay between the steady drum groove, the fluid bassline, and the emotive vocal phrasing creates the song's signature feel of melancholic funk.

"Them Changes" is a masterclass in stylistic fusion, blending literary and musical techniques. Musically, its foundation is the iconic drum sample from The Isley Brothers' "Footsteps in the Dark," which provides a classic funk and soul backbone. Over this, Thundercat layers his virtuosic six-string bass playing, which serves as both a rhythm and lead instrument. He uses a Moogerfooger envelope filter pedal to create the signature "quacking" or "wah-wah" effect on the bass, giving it a thick, voice-like quality reminiscent of funk bassists like Bootsy Collins. The harmonic language is complex, moving through a jazz-inflected chord progression in E-flat minor that features non-diatonic chords, adding tension and color. Thundercat's vocal delivery is a high, fragile falsetto, sometimes layered with harmonies, which contrasts with the heaviness of the lyrical themes, recalling artists like Shuggie Otis. The track also features a jazz-like interlude with different harmony and a subtle, textural saxophone solo from Kamasi Washington, all held together by the production of Flying Lotus, who adds keyboards and programming.

"Them Changes" is widely regarded as Thundercat's signature song and a modern funk classic. Its influence stems from its unique blend of '70s funk, psychedelic soul, and jazz fusion, which stood out upon its release in 2015. The song's foundation, a sample of The Isley Brothers' "Footsteps in the Dark," connects it to a deep lineage of soul and hip-hop. The track gained significant popularity and has been featured in various media, including the TV shows Insecure and Bel-Air, introducing it to a wider audience. Its iconic bassline has become a benchmark for aspiring bass players and is frequently covered and analyzed online. In October 2022, a sped-up version of the song went viral on TikTok, leading to an official release of the remix and renewed chart presence, demonstrating its enduring appeal across different platforms and generations. The song solidified Thundercat's position as a visionary artist who, along with collaborators like Flying Lotus and Kamasi Washington, helped shape the sound of the modern Los Angeles music scene.

The dominant metaphor in "Them Changes" is the physical loss of the heart, which symbolizes extreme emotional trauma and heartbreak. The song opens by establishing a crime scene: "Nobody move, there's blood on the floor / And I can't find my heart!". This graphic imagery is not literal but serves to externalize the internal devastation the narrator feels. The "blood on the floor" represents the messy, painful aftermath of a relationship's end. The heart is personified as a physical object that has been stolen or lost, which the narrator desperately wants back because "it's not yours to take." This transforms the emotional pain of betrayal into a tangible theft. The feeling of emptiness is further intensified with the line, "Now I'm sitting here with a black hole in my chest / a heartless, broken mess," a powerful metaphor for the void left behind by the departed lover and the singer's own sense of being incomplete and damaged.

The most significant recurring motif in "Them Changes" is the iconic bassline that opens the song and repeats throughout the verses. This bass riff is not just an accompaniment but the central musical hook and melodic identity of the track. Lyrically, the opening declaration, "Nobody move, there's blood on the floor / And I can't find my heart," acts as a powerful recurring theme that establishes the song's core metaphor of heartbreak as a crime scene. This idea is revisited and expanded upon with the line "Now I'm sitting here with a black hole in my chest / a heartless, broken mess." These phrases anchor the narrative of devastating loss. Musically, besides the bassline, the chord progression itself is a repeating loop in the verses, providing a cyclical structure that reflects the singer's obsessive rumination on his pain. The soulful "oohs" and "aahs" in the breaks serve as wordless moans, another recurring element that conveys a pain too deep for words.