In the first few lines he attempts to justify his distance with the people around him, saying that they’re never honest with them, he can’t break the law with them (in this song, breaking the law represents a form of trust for Frank), he doesn’t have time for everyone, etc etc. The lyrics in the first verse seem to discuss Frank’s relationship with the world around him and, more specifically, the relationship he had with someone (presumably pre-cocaine addiction). The music shows his confidence sucked away by cocaine, the very thing that had provided him the strength he had been seeking in the first verse. The snare in The Comedown is a whisper, his voice that of a weak, defeated man. The guitar chorus that leads into the comedown seems to represent an attempt to bring himself back he can feel the storm coming. The music turns somber and slow, the cocaine high is over, now Frank is having a crash. The Comedown, though, is the complete opposite.
The first verse, the High, seems to be a coke-high Frank angrily attacking his issues, ripping into them and the people who have caused them. “Nights” is one of the only songs in the entire album that contains any percussion, and the way the bass booms at the beginning of certain measures adds an anger to the music.
The music in the background slinks along angrily, almost as if they’re robbers in the middle of the night (which would make sense in the context of the lyrics). The High, which is the first verse and everything before the beat switch approximately halfway through the song, is aggressive and urgent. “Nights” is split into two separate parts, the first we’ll call The High and the second we’ll call The Comedown.
Before diving into the lyrics and the story behind them, we should look at the format and execution of the music itself. During this time in Houston, Frank wound up with a harrowing cocaine addiction, a disease that tremendously affected both his mental state and his music. The song tells a story that takes place right after the events of Hurricane Katrina, a tragedy that displaced Frank Ocean (born as Christopher Edwin Breaux) from New Orleans, his hometown, to Houston. You’ve got “Nights”, the song this article is about, which is, arguably, the masterpiece and thesis statement of the entire album. You’ve got “White Ferrari”, a moment of nostalgia on the album, where Frank recalls a car ride with his first love when he was 16. You’ve got “Nikes”, the high pitched intro of the album, a bitter observation on the materialism of everyday life. Each song serves a different purpose, pushing the album forwards in its own, unique way. When I listen to the album in its entirety, I feel as if I’ve been transported to another universe I’m floating, serenaded by a nostalgic, confused Frank Ocean. The album is psychedelic, almost transcendent in the way it sounds and the way it feels. When I listen to Frank Ocean’s “Blonde”, I tend to space out.