“Lift Me Up” by Rihanna

Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” is part of the soundtrack to a certain superhero film and was designed specifically to be utilized as such. However, the lyrics were not composed to speak to the film’s plot.

Rather the intended star of the entire movie series, Chadwick Boseman, passed away between the issuance of the highly-successful first installment and its forthcoming sequel. So this piece is intended to serve as a tribute to said actor.

Moreover Tems, who is apparently the main writer of this song, also wanted to use the opportunity of “Lift Me Up” to serve as sort of a bereavement song in general.

That latter aspect would logically explain why the lyrics, euphemistically speaking, are so ambiguous.

That is to say that without the above-noted foreknowledge in mind, a listener would be hard-pressed to come to the conclusion that the addressee is supposed to be someone who passed away. Or all things considered that would be the most-logical way of interpreting what’s being put forth.

The addressee is a dead person, and expressions such as the following are ways in which, most simply interpreted, the vocalist is letting it be known that she has a continued emotional dependency on this soul that is no longer part of the mortal plane:

• “keep me in the warmth of your love”
• “when you depart, keep me safe”
• “lift me up, hold me down”

However, an alternate, albeit less likely way of interpreting it all is that maybe the addressee is a living person who is also mourning the deceased, as with the vocalist or is perhaps a close friend of the narrator.  And as such, the singer is requesting that he or she stay close in this time of bereavement.

Rihanna

Rihanna, as you likely already know, is one of the most successful musicians in history on a number of fronts. In fact her other endeavors, specifically in the fields of fashion/beauty, has enabled the songstress to remain perennially relevant. This is despite the fact that she’s been musically active only sparingly since her most-recent album, which is 2016’s “Anti”.

So as for “Lift Me Up”, this marks her first solo single since “Love on the Brain“, which is from the aforementioned album.

When was “Lift Me Up” released?

Rihanna officially released this song on 28 October 2022. She alerted the world to the forthcoming release of this song on 26 October, a couple of days before its issuance.

This outing is backed by Roc Nation, whom the songstress has been signed to since 2010. The song is also supported by a label she personally founded around that same time known as Westbury Road.

“Lift Me Up” apparently serves as the lead single from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From and Inspired By”. This project is the soundtrack to the second installment in Marvel’s Black Panther film series. The sequel’s full title is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Credits

In addition to Rihanna, the other credited writers of this song are as follows:

• Priscilla Renea
• Ryan Coogler
• Tems
• Ludwig Goransson

Out of that crew Tems, being a Nigerian, is the only one actually from Africa. FYI, Africa is the continent where Black Panther is fictionally set. In the aftermath of this song’s composition, she and Rihanna did share a little bit of love with each other over social media.

So far, Tems’ most notable tracks include:

• “Wait for U” (with Drake)
• “Essence” (with Wizkid)