The Weeknd begins his 2015 album, Beauty Behind the Madness, with advice from his own mother on how his life was going to destroy him over time.
In this intro, we find Abel opening up about mistakes and claiming them as such, rather than in the storytelling aspect he has utilized during his career.
Lyrics of Real Life
Tell 'em this boy was meant for loving
Tell 'em this heart doesn't stay to one
I'll be the same, never changed for nothing
It's all I know, never learned much more
Mama called me destructive, oh yeah
Said it ruined me one day, yeah
'Cause every woman that loved me, oh yeah
Seemed to push them away
That's real life (real life), oh woah oh
Real life (real life), ooh
Mama talking that real life (real life), oh woah oh
That real life (real life)
Real life, real life (yeah), real life
I know you don't really understand it
I'm not allowed to regret my choice
I heard that love is a risk worth taking
I learned to know never been that boy
Mama called me destructive, oh yeah
Said it ruined me one day, yeah
'Cause every woman that loved me, oh yeah
Seemed to push them away
That's real life (real life), oh woah oh
Real life (real life), ooh
Mama talking that real life (real life), oh woah oh
That real life (real life)
Real life, real life, real life
Heaven only lets a few in (Heaven only lets a few in)
It's too late for me to choose it (it's too late for me to choose it)
Don't waste precious tears on me
I'm not worth the misery
I'm better off when I'm alone
That's real life, oh woah oh
Real life (real life), ooh
Mama talking that real life, oh woah oh
That real life
Real life, real life, real life (ooh)
That's real life, oh oh oh
Real life, ooh
Mama talking that real life (ooh, mama), oh woah oh
Yeah, yeah, real life (real life)
Real life, real life, real life