Aifa Sahmal Juhaq B4/03

A song analisis

1. See You Again

Wiz Khalifa
It's been a long day without you, my friend
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
We've come a long way from where we began
Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
When I see you again
Damn, who knew?
All the planes we flew, good things we been through
That I'd be standing right here talking to you
'Bout another path, I know we loved to hit the road and laugh
But something told me that it wouldn't last
Had to switch up, look at things different, see the bigger picture
Those were the days, hard work forever pays
Now I see you in a better place (see you in a better place)
Uh
How can we not talk about family when family's all that we got?
Everything I went through, you were standing there by my side
And now you gon' be with me for the last ride
It's been a long day without you, my friend
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again (I'll see you again)
We've come a long way (yeah, we came a long way)
From where we began (you know we started)
Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again (I'll tell you)
When I see you again
First, you both go out your way and the vibe is feeling strong
And what's small turned to a friendship, a friendship turned to a bond
And that bond will never be broken, the love will never get lost
(The love will never get lost)
And when brotherhood come first, then the line will never be crossed
Established it on our own when that line had to be drawn
And that line is what we reached, so remember me when I'm gone
(Remember me when I'm gone)
How can we not talk about family when family's all that we got?
Everything I went through you were standing there by my side
And now you gon' be with me for the last ride
So let the light guide your way, yeah
Hold every memory as you go
And every road you take
Will always lead you home, home
It's been a long day without you, my friend
And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
We've come a long way from where we began
Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again
When I see you again
When I see you again (yeah, uh)
See you again (yeah, yeah, yeah)
When I see you again

2. "It's been a long day without you, my friend / And I'll tell you all about it when I see
you again." The songwriter looks forward to being reunited with his friend (even
though he doesn't explain how). Charlie sings, "We've come a long way from where
we began / Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again." The narrator and Paul
Walker have been friends for a long time and had many successes together. Those
successes continue for the still-alive narrator who looks forward to catching up with
Walker.

When it's Wiz Khalifa's turn to rap, he focuses more on the good old times shared by those
who loved Paul walker. (Interestingly, no records show up that indicate Khalifa or Puth knew
Walker.) He sings, "Damn, who knew? / All the planes we flew / Good things we've been
through / That I'll be standing right here talking to you / 'Bout another path." The song's
narrator misses Walker and wishes that he could have him back. He asks himself how anyone
could have predicted that even though he and Paul did so much together that one day he'd be
remembering Paul's death. The image suggests the narrator is standing by Walker's grave,
talking to himself.

The "[other] path" that Khalifa mentions is different from all their paths together; those paths
were on earth and were adventures they had while still alive, but now Walker has gone
elsewhere that Khalifa's narrator can't follow him to.

Bringing back the traveling imagery, Khalifa sings, “I know we loved to hit the road and
laugh”–possibly a reference to the Furious movies, since Paul Walker did so much driving in
them.

The narrator sings, “But something told me that it wouldn’t last / Had to switch up / Look at
things different, see the bigger picture.” Khalifa is explaining that even though things used to
seem to be so good, they couldn’t stay that way forever. Life isn’t just about successes–
sometimes death happens and can bring things to a sudden halt.

Khalifa continues singing, “Those were the days / Hard work forever pays / Now I see you in
a better place.” While their time together was wonderful and the hard work they put in
together will be remembered, Khalifa’s narrator likes to think of Walker as being in an even
better place. No matter how good their time was together, he wants Paul Walker to be even
happier now.

Before reverting to Puth for the chorus, Khalifa sings his family-focused pre-chorus: “How
can we not talk about family when family’s all that we got?” He calls Walker family though
neither is Khalifa family to him nor are most of the people the song is for. But what does
make Walker family for the narrator is that Walker was “standing there by side” for
“[e]verything I went through.”
To finish his pre-chorus, Khalifa sings, “And now you gon’ be with me for the last ride.” The
memory of Paul Walker will stay with the narrator until he dies, reminding him of the good
times and supposedly encouraging him onward.

After Puth sings the chorus, Khalifa comes back for a bridge. This time it’s about friendship
and brotherhood and how those things are created. He sings, “First you both go out your way
/ And the vibe is feeling strong.” For a friendship to begin, people need to step out of what
they would normally do for themselves and help someone else. Khalifa sings that you can
then feel the friendship growing.

He continues, “And what’s small turn to a friendship / A friendship turn to a bond.” The
friendship (supposedly one that the narrator forged with Paul Walker) continues to evolve
and becomes a bond (or something that ties things together and often can’t be broken). This
lines up with the next line: “And that bond will never be broken / The love will never get
lost.” Their friendship will never die.

Khalifa touches on the concept of brotherhood when he sings, “And when the brotherhood
come first / Then the line will never be crossed.” There are boundaries in every relationship
that people can abuse, but if friendship matters to people, they are less likely to hurt each
other. When it comes to Paul Walker and his friends, those friendships “[e]stablished it on
[their] own / When that line had to be drawn.” They cared about the relationship enough to
watch out for each other.

The bridge finishes with “And that line is what we reach / So remember me when I’m gone.”
As a Genius.com user suggests, this last “line” could be a reference to the finish lines from
the Furious movies that Walker and his friends reach many times. They accomplished
something great together–they won their races–and now they’re bond is forged tighter for
having had to struggle together.

Charlie Puth finishes the song with an emotionally powerful “re-intro” that leads back into
the chorus: “So let the light guide your way, yeah / Hold every memory as you go / And
every road you take, will always lead you home, home.” Puth seems to be singing from the
usual narrator’s voice as he wishes Walker well on his next great journey–the journey after
death. He wants him to remember the good times and find a new home. The guiding light will
help him to arrive there safely.

3. because that song reminds me of one of my favorite files

4. every meeting will inevitably end in goodbye