The Weeknd’s “Scared to Live” is just one of many Top 40 hits from his latest album, After Hours. While it features an interpolation of Elton John’s 1970 hit, “Your Song,” it turns out the inspiration was unintentional.
“It’s an interpolation—I didn’t realize it was until I made it and I was like ‘Oh sh*t!’ So he’s credited, obviously,” the XO singer explained in an interview with Variety. “Before I played it for him, I was like ‘F*ck, I hope he likes it!’ But he was freakin’, he was like, ‘Mate you’re the one! You’re gonna be doing this for a long time!’”
“Abel has his own unique artistic voice—that’s the hallmark of a genuinely great, long-term artist,” Elton John told Variety. “I’m utterly thrilled that the DNA for ‘Your Song’ has found its way into ‘Scared to Live.’ It’s the greatest compliment a songwriter can ever receive.”
In a recent interview with Beats 1’s Zane Lowe, John revealed how The Weeknd broke the news about the interpolation.
“I saw him at an Oscar party after the Oscars and he’s always been such a sweet and lovely humble man. And he told me then, he said, ‘I got a surprise for you on this record,’” the iconic English singer remembered. “And I went, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ And the surprise is that he’s borrowed a bit of ‘Your Song.’ ‘I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind,’ for the ‘Scared to Live’ track.”
On the pre-chorus of “Scared To Live,” The Weeknd sings:
I hope you know that, I hope you know that
I’ve been praying that you find yourself
I hope you know that, I hope you know that
We fell apart, right from the start
The “I hope you know that” section interpolates the chorus from “Your Song” when John sings:
I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind
That I put down in words
“Your Song” was released in 1970 as the second single from John’s self-titled album, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was inducted into Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 and has been covered by artists like Lady Gaga, Ellie Goulding, and Rod Stewart.
Check out the full Variety interview here, and read all the lyrics to The Weeknd’s “Scared to Live” on Genius now.
