Greg WilliamsEminem’s new album Revival is out now, and it features “River,” the rapper’s collaboration with Ed Sheeran. Ed has called the collabo the highlight of his career, as Eminem has been one of his idols for years.
Ed sings the hook on the song, which goes, “I’ve been a liar, been a thief/Been a lover, been a cheat/All my sins need holy water/Feel it washing over me/Oh, little one, I don’t wanna admit to something/If all it’s gonna cause is pain/Truth in my lies right now are falling like the rain/So let the river run.”
The lyrics on the track are quite dark and unexpected. Eminem tells the story of a woman who, upset that her boyfriend cheated on her, tries to get back at him by cheating with the rapper. When the boyfriend finds out, he dumps her, and at the same time, Eminem loses interest in the girl. Unfortunately, she’s now carrying his baby, but he makes her terminate the pregnancy.
Em raps, “Detergent and bleach is burning the wound/’Cause now with her in the womb/We can’t bring her in this world, shoulda knew/To use protection ‘fore I bit into your forbidden fruit.”
Ed recently told Billboard that he recorded his part of “River” at his friend Russell Crowe’s house in Australia, after Eminem’s manager asked for ideas in March of 2016. He didn’t hear anything else about it until May of 2017, when he was told that the song was completed.
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