Here are the revealing lyrics in Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ that people speculate are about Jay Z cheating
Paul Schrodt
Apr. 26, 2016, 7:05 PM
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Beyoncé’s latest visual album, “Lemonade,” explores some new, frank territory for the singer.
Though her husband, Jay Z, has long been featured on her songs, including successful collaborations “Crazy in Love” and “Drunk in Love,” he’s never quite been the central subject like he seems to be in “Lemonade.”
The album — available on iTunes and Tidal — sounds like a collection of classic breakup songs, with Beyoncé listing her grievances about a man suspected to be Jay Z. But by the second half of the album, things get quite a bit more complicated.
Her rabid fans, of course, have been busy dissecting every word of “Lemonade” and trying to line it up with her and Jay Z’s personal life. It may be as much art as autobiography, but many have connected the apparent infidelity mentioned in the album and the infamous video footage of a fight breaking out between Beyoncé’s sister, Solange, and Jay Z in an elevator.
Here are the most revealing lyrics on “Lemonade” that seem to give a window into Beyoncé’s marriage with Jay Z:
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“You can taste the dishonesty / It’s all over your breath as you pass it off so cavalier”
“You can taste the dishonesty / It’s all over your breath as you pass it off so cavalier”
HBO
Beyoncé comes out of the gates strong. On her album opener “Pray You Catch Me” — which most listeners assume is about her husband, Jay Z — she says that she can detect the lies on his lips. She ends the song by asking, “What are you doing my love?”
“Can’t you see there’s no other man above you? / What a wicked way to treat the girl that loves you”
“Can’t you see there’s no other man above you? / What a wicked way to treat the girl that loves you”
HBO
Cowritten by Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, who once tweeted one of the lines (“Hold up, they don’t love you like I love you”), “Hold Up” rides a sunny reggae groove. But Beyoncé has harsh words for her man, telling him, “I smell your secret, and I’m not too perfect / To ever feel this worthless.” Going through his “call list,” she warns, “I’ma f— me up a b—-.”
In the video for “Hold Up” from the “Lemonade” film, Beyoncé walks down a street causing destruction everywhere.
“What’s worse, lookin’ jealous or crazy? / Jealous or crazy? / Or like being walked all over lately, walked all over lately / I’d rather be crazy”
“What’s worse, lookin’ jealous or crazy? / Jealous or crazy? / Or like being walked all over lately, walked all over lately / I’d rather be crazy”
HBO
The refrain in “Hold Up” gets right to the point: Beyoncé would rather appear jealous than hide her emotions and feel like she’s being used. She explored similar themes in “Jealous” from her 2013 self-titled album.
“Let’s imagine for a moment that you never made a name for yourself / Or mastered wealth, they had you labeled as a king / Never made it out the cage, still out there movin’ in them streets / Never had the baddest woman in the game up in your sheets / Would they be down to ride? / No, they used to hide from you, lie to you”
“Let’s imagine for a moment that you never made a name for yourself / Or mastered wealth, they had you labeled as a king / Never made it out the cage, still out there movin’ in them streets / Never had the baddest woman in the game up in your sheets / Would they be down to ride? / No, they used to hide from you, lie to you”
HBO
This is the most cutting lyric on the album, from “Hold Up,” suggesting that Jay Z has accumulated wealth and power that have made him attractive to women. But without those things, she says, other women wouldn’t pay him much mind.
But Beyoncé is still there for Jay Z: “Y’all know we were made for each other,” she sings, “so I find you and hold you down.”
“You ain’t married to no average b—- boy”
“You ain’t married to no average b—- boy”
HBO
Beyoncé doesn’t let up on the aggression in “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” which features a Led Zeppelin loop and was recorded with Jack White. “Keep your money, I got my own,” she says. The song argues that her man’s mistakes will only come back at him. “When you diss me, you diss yourself.”
“Uh, this is your final warning / You know I give you life / If you try this s— again / You gon lose your wife”
“Uh, this is your final warning / You know I give you life / If you try this s— again / You gon lose your wife”
HBO
Beyoncé delivers an ultimatum at the end of “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” saying that she’s ready to walk away.
The “Lemonade” film also includes home-video footage of the couple together.
“Suck on my b—-, pause, I had enough / I ain’t thinking ’bout you”
“Suck on my b—-, pause, I had enough / I ain’t thinking ’bout you”
HBO
Another seemingly clear reference to Jay Z, this lyric on “Sorry” turns his verse on Kanye West’s “So Appalled” back on himself. Beyoncé is using his own insults to let him know that she should give him pause.
“Looking at my watch, he shoulda been home / Today I regret the night I put that ring on”
“Looking at my watch, he shoulda been home / Today I regret the night I put that ring on”
HBO
Beyoncé makes not-so-veiled references to possible infidelity on “Sorry,” saying that her man always has “excuses.”
She also makes allusions to a breakup, which leads one to wonder how autobiographical the album really is, since she and Jay Z are still publicly together. “I left a note in the hallway / By the time you read it, I’ll be far away / I’m far away,” she sings.
“He only want me when I’m not there / He better call Becky with the good hair”
“He only want me when I’m not there / He better call Becky with the good hair”
HBO
The lyric heard ’round the internet, about who a man suspected to be Jay Z is spending his time with, has been the most dissected on the album. Amateur sleuths have come up with theories about who “Becky with the good hair” is.
Fans immediately picked out designer Rachel Roy, who denies that she’s the person referenced, though she first posted a message on Instagram that seemed to be a response to the song.
People are also speculating the “Becky” could be singer Rita Ora, who has been linked to Jay Z. This has resulted in a lot of Beyoncé fan backlash against the women, which Roy called a form of “cyberbullying.”
Apparently, the fact that neither woman is named Becky doesn’t matter to fans.
“My daddy warned me about men like you / He said baby girl he’s playing you”
“My daddy warned me about men like you / He said baby girl he’s playing you”
HBO
“Daddy Lessons” is the closest Beyoncé has come to making a country song, and the violent lesson in the title is directed at a man in her life. The father of the song told Beyoncé that when “men like me come around,” she should “shoot.”
“Ten times out of nine, I know you’re lying / But nine times outta ten, I know you’re trying / So I’m trying to be fair”
“Ten times out of nine, I know you’re lying / But nine times outta ten, I know you’re trying / So I’m trying to be fair”
HBO
In the latter part of the album, Beyoncé’s tone softens, and she seems to want to make amends. “Lemonade” comes off like a breakup album, one of the oldest models there is, but with a twist. “You and me could move a mountain,” she tells a man in the chorus of “Love Drought,” reaffirming their love.
“We built sand castles that washed away / I made you cry when I walked away / And although I promised that I couldn’t stay, baby / Every promise don’t work out that way, oh, babe”
“We built sand castles that washed away / I made you cry when I walked away / And although I promised that I couldn’t stay, baby / Every promise don’t work out that way, oh, babe”
HBO
Beyoncé alludes to a breakup that didn’t fully happen on “Sandcastles,” whose video features Jay Z. She says, “What is it about you that I can’t erase, baby?” Though the fighting is still fresh in her mind, she’s willing to resolve it: “Show me your scars and I won’t walk away.”
“I love you more than this job, please don’t work for me”
“I love you more than this job, please don’t work for me”
HBO
Beyoncé suggests that career ambition is getting in the way of her relationship, but she’s willing to put that aside if it can save the love. The song “Forward” repeats the word like a mantra, for herself and everyone else who wants progress.
“Freedom! Freedom! Where are you? / ‘Cause I need freedom too!”
“Freedom! Freedom! Where are you? / ‘Cause I need freedom too!”
HBO
“Freedom,” Beyoncé’s collaboration with rapper Kendrick Lamar, plays to much larger ideas about black unity and the fight against oppression and racism, though you could read into it as a relationship that’s holding her down.
“I had my ups and downs, but I always found the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade.”
“I had my ups and downs, but I always found the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade.”
HBO
At the end of “Freedom,” Beyoncé includes this clip of Jay Z’s grandmother, Hattie White, giving a speech about forgiveness. The quote could serve to heal the relationship wounds explored throughout the album.
“Give you some time to prove that I can trust you again”
“Give you some time to prove that I can trust you again”
HBO
On “All Night,” Beyoncé is letting herself drift back into the “true love” she remembers. “My love’s too pure to watch it chip away,” she concludes.
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