Rockin'

Album: Starboy (2016)
Charted: 26 44
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Songfacts®:

  • Here, The Weeknd details a no-strings-attached relationship that's based around casual sex. The singer doesn't require long-standing commitment from the girl, just plenty of "rockin'".

    You don't have to spend your life with me
    You don't have to waste your energy
    We can just be rockin', yeah


    "Rock and rolling" was originally a term frequently used in the black communities of the US for "having sexual intercourse." The Weeknd's ode to carefree sex is probably called "Rockin'" as it would never get airplay with a title that made its meaning clearer.
  • The workout jam has a ravey, Chicago house sound. Early on in the six-month process of creating Starboy, The Weeknd wanted to make an entire album with late '80s dance music. He told Billboard magazine: "That was the initial idea for 'Rockin',' which is one of the first ones I finished for the album."
  • The song is a collaboration with Max Martin. The Weeknd previously worked with the Swedish hit-making producer on the Beauty Behind The Madness tracks, "Can't Feel My Face," "In the Night" and "Shameless" plus his collaboration with Ariana Grande, "Love Me Harder."

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