by George Spencer· Published January 11, 2022· Updated January 11, 2022

“Less Than Zero” is a song that requires a bit of imaginative interpretation to decipher. Of course someone referring to himself as “less than zero”, as the vocalist does on this track, is basically another way of saying that he feels really bad about himself. 

');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; })();

Usually, a person possessing such a disposition has something to do with either making a very big mistake and/or being addicted to a less-than-idle modus operandi. And in this case, it is most pointedly the latter which the vocalist is dealing with. 

So where imagination is required is in figuring out exactly what that the singer is so ashamed of, as he only refers to it as his “darkest truth of all”.

The quick and easy conclusion, especially taking some of The Weeknd’s past works into consideration, would be that he’s referring to something like an inability to stop cheating. Put simply, he is a sex addict, if you will. But the lyrics don’t necessarily read that simple. 

For example, the second verse, when he mentions potentially ‘dying in the addressee’s arms’, can rather be taken as an allusion to drug addiction. It can also be allusion to an activity that is more directly potentially fatal. 

The Chorus

Meanwhile, the chorus reads as if the issue may be more of an internal, psychological one that the vocalist is dealing with. But then going back to the second verse, when he expresses ‘meeting the addressee in the middle’, that once again insinuates that he did something which requires her forgiveness.

');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; })();

All in All

At the end of the day, the wording of this piece may be relatively convoluted. However, ultimately we are once again compelled, conclusively, to lean towards the notion that the vocalist cheated on his sweetheart. 

And going back to the title of the song, he is beating up on himself due to an apparent inability to stop doing so. He apparently tried stopping this in the past but failed woefully.

“Less Than Zero”

“Less Than Zero” is the penultimate track on the standard playlist of “Dawn FM”.

“Dawn FM” is The Weeknd album which XO Records and Republic Records made public on 7 January 2022. 

The Weeknd is given both writing and production credit for this song, as are the following writers:

• Oscar Holter
• Max Martin

And Oneohtrix Point Never, who was heavily involved in the composition of the album, also served as a co-producer.