The Weeknd recently released a song, titled “Nothing is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” for the highly anticipated film “Avatar: The Way of Water.” The song serves as the main tune for the film and is shown at the end credits as well. Right before the release of the film it was announced that Weeknd would not only be in the soundtrack but that his song would be a big part of the film. 

The music video (an official lyric video) currently has 13 million views and 468,000 likes.  The premise of “Avatar: The Way of Water” is the continuation of the first film, “Avatar” almost a decade after its release. In “Avatar” where Jake Sully meets and falls in love with a woman, Neityri, in an alien world while on a mission to take over the world. The second film focuses on the life of Jake and Neityri as a couple and family with multiple children. 

The song’s title “Nothing is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” refers to the bond within the family to protect each other despite obstacles and challenges. As in the title of the song, they give each other strength and are powerful in numbers. 

The beginning of the song is extremely instrumental and vocal with  a choir and drums to set the scene before The Weeknd delivers his first verse. 

“I thought I could protect you/ From paying for my sins/ And I been walking this earth/ Long enough to know death’s a gift (Oh, girl),” he sings.

The beginning of the song is intense not only with the instrumentals and choir for a section of the beginning but also with the meaning of the first verse and the weight it holds.

The first verse refers to someone realizing that they could not protect their loved one as much as they might like to think they could,realizing they could not protect their loved one from their actions or “sins.” Then, the song quickly turns morbid as the singer states how death is a gift, thus referring to how they would prefer to hope for death,Which is, inferrably, a result of their sins and the effects of them. 

In the pre-chorus, The Weeknd describes how they will die defending their loved one. 

“Been living this life so patient/ Until I see you again, it’s war we’re facin’/ I know that if I die, my only choice is still defending/ No matter what they say/ My love for you is greater than their powers/ And their armies from above,” he sings.

In this section The Weeknd describes how despite facing death they will continue to fight for the person they love. Despite obstacles and people interfering, love is greater than  obstacles, and it will prevail above everything else. 

The song serves as a clear and descriptive reflection of how love feels for people. Within this song they feel like the speaker will do anything for those they love to make sure they’re safe, thus depicting how love makes people selfless.

The song was a great choice for the film as it reflects how both Jake and Neytiri will do anything to protect their family and each other because of the love they have for each other. 

With this perfect combination of The Weeknd’s music, film fans are hoping there will be other collaborations from The Weeknd and the film industry. While not having announced any future projects indicating that, The Weeknd is full of surprises and one could anticipate a repeat of this combination.

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