Warning! Contains major spoilers for True Detective season 4.
True Detective: Night Country‘s Billie Eilish theme song seems to give away several story clues. Directed by Issa López, True Detective season 4’s episode 1 wastes no time and jumps straight into action by revealing the eerie moments before a group of scientists suddenly vanished from their Alaskan research facility. It then introduces detectives Navarro and Danvers, who gradually realize that the disappearance of the scientists might have something to do with another murder case they worked on in the past.
As True Detective: Night Country‘s storyline progresses, it becomes evident that season 4 borrows several elements from its predecessors. At the same time, it also etches a unique identity for itself by immersing viewers in a distinct setting and hinting at the metaphysical underpinnings in its overarching narrative. However, long before the show walks viewers through its captivating character beats and murder mysteries, it drops clues to several story details by featuring Billie Eilish’s “Bury A Friend” as its opening theme.
True Detective: What Happened To The Researchers In Night Country?
True Detective season 4’s episode 1 leaves viewers with two nagging questions: what might have happened to the researchers and who murdered them?
True Detective: Night Country’s Theme Song: Full Lyrics & Video
Billie…
What do you want from me?
Why don’t you run from me?
What are you wondering?
What do you know?
Why aren’t you scared of me?
Why do you care for me?
When we all fall asleep, where do we go?
Come here…
Say it, spit it out, what is it exactly?
You’re payin’?
Is the amount cleanin’ you out
Am I satisfactory?
Today, I’m thinkin’ about
The things that are deadly
The way I’m drinkin’ you down
Like I wanna drown, like I wanna end me
Step on the glass, staple your tongue (Ahh)
Bury a friend, try to wake up (Ahh-ha)
Cannibal class, killin’ the son (Ahh)
Bury a friend, I wanna end me
I wanna end me
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna end me
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna–
What do you want from me?
Why don’t you run from me?
What are you wondering?
What do you know?
Why aren’t you scared of me?
Why do you care for me?
When we all fall asleep, where do we go?
Listen…
Keep you in the dark, what had you expected?
Me to make you my art
And make you a star and get you connected?
I’ll meet you in the park
I’ll be calm and collected
But we knew right from the start
That you’d fall apart ’cause I’m too expensive
Your talk’ll be somethin’ that shouldn’t be said out loud
Honestly, I thought that I would be dead by now (Wow)
Callin’ security, keepin’ my head held down
Bury the hatchet or bury your friend right now
For the debt I owe, gotta sell my soul
‘Cause I can’t say no, no, I can’t say no
Then my limbs all froze and my eyes won’t close
And I can’t say no, I can’t say no
Careful…
Step on the glass, staple your tongue (Ahh-ha)
Bury a friend, try to wake up (Ahh-ha)
Cannibal class, killin’ the son (Ahh)
Bury a friend, I wanna end me
I wanna end me
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna end me
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna–
What do you want from me?
Why don’t you run from me?
What are you wondering?
What do you know?
Why aren’t you scared of me?
Why do you care for me?
When we all fall asleep, where do we go?
True Detective Using Billie Eilish’s “Bury A Friend” Hints At Night Country’s Monster
Billie Eilish once talked about the meaning of “Bury A Friend” and explained (via Pop Song Professor) that it unfolds from the perspective of “the monster under my bed.” She added that she could be the monster under her bed and someone else’s. Her vision of her song seems to be in tandem with how True Detective portrays humans. The show highlights how humans are not only their own worst enemies (or the monsters under their own beds) but also responsible for harming the people around them (by becoming monsters under their beds). Rust Cohle talks about something similar in True Detective season 1 by quoting that “human consciousness is a tragic misstep in evolution.“
True Detective season 4’s hardened detective protagonists, Danvers and Navarro, share a similar worldview. A line in the song also says, “Staple your tongue,” which could be a direct reference to how Annie K’s tongue was dismembered when she was murdered. Another line says, “Bury a friend,” which aligns with True Detective: Night Country episode 1’s ending scene where the Alaskan researchers are found buried in ice. In True Detective season 4’s opening arc, Rose says something along the lines of “What do you want?” to Travis when he suddenly appears before her eyes, which is the opening sentence of Billie Eilish’s “Bury A Friend.”
What Happened To Annie In True Detective: Night Country?
Although True Detective season 4’s episode 1 does not reveal everything about Annie’s mysterious death, it hints at what might have happened to her.
True Detective’s New Theme Song Connects To Major Night Country Themes
The line “When we all fall asleep? where do we go?” from the song seems to question the nature of reality and human perception, which is a prevalent theme in True Detective‘s seasons 1 and 4. Unlike season 1, which had subtle supernatural story elements, True Detective: Night Country takes things a little further by introducing several metaphysical aspects. There is also a scene in season 4’s episode 1 where Danvers wakes up from a nightmare after her dreams seep into her reality.
The song’s title alone suggests that it can also be perceived as the loss of self after losing a loved one. While season 1 highlighted how a part of Rust died when he lost his daughter, True Detective: Night Country hints at something similar by giving a glimpse of how Danvers lost someone in a car accident. Navarro, too, in some ways, grieves Annie Masu’s death because it seemingly reminds her of her late mother. Considering the abstract nature of Billie Eilish’s “Bury Your Friend,” several other thematic parallels can be drawn between the song’s lyrics and True Detective: Night Country.
True Detective
In this anthology series, each season follows a different detective or set of detectives as they forced to confront some horrific truths about their town and themselves. No matter the setting and characters, each detective must unravel lies and clues to solve the chilling mysteries around them.
- Release Date
- January 12, 2014
- Cast
- Matthew McConaughey , Woody Harrelson , Colin Farrell , Rachel McAdams , Taylor Kitsch , Mahershala Ali , Carmen Ejogo , Michelle Monaghan , Michael Potts , Ray Fisher , Jodie Foster
- Genres
- Anthology , Mystery
- Seasons
- 3
- Story By
- NIC PIZZOLATTO
- Writers
- Nic Pizzolatto
- Network
- HBO Max
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu , HBO Max
- Directors
- Cary Fukunaga
- Showrunner
- Nic Pizzolatto
