Intermission: Flower
by Zayn

Album: Mind of Mine (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This 104-seconds-long folky song is sung by Zayn in Urdu. Over finger-picked acoustic guitar the half-Pakistani pop star croons lyrics in his father's native language.
  • The song was produced by Malay Ho, who is best known for his work on Frank Ocean's Channel Orange. Ho, who is half Asian himself, recalled to Entertainment Weekly: "He knows how to sing like that and he's always been able to do it, but he just never took it that seriously."

    Ho added that he was playing around with a guitar one day, when Zayn "just picked up the mic and tracked that whole thing basically live, in one take. I was just blown away. I didn't know he could sing like that."

    "Afterward," the producer continued, "he told me he was in a super spiritual place, and that the saying is something one of his family members had told him that had always stuck to him."
  • The Urdu lyrics translate into English as:

    Until the flower of this love has blossomed
    This heart won't be at peace.
    Give me your heart.
    Give me your heart.
    Give me your heart

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Joan Armatrading

Joan ArmatradingSongwriter Interviews

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."

Ramones

RamonesFact or Fiction

A band so baffling, even their names were contrived. Check your score in the Ramones version of Fact or Fiction.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TV

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TVSong Writing

Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.

Grammar In Lyrics

Grammar In LyricsMusic Quiz

Lyrics don't always follow the rules of grammar. Can you spot the ones that don't?