2. Wiz Khalifa – See You Again
• "See You Again" is a song recorded by American rapper Wiz Khalifa featuring American singer Charlie
Puth. The track was commissioned for the soundtrack of the 2015 action film Furious 7 as a tribute to the
late Paul Walker. The artists co-wrote the song with its co-producers, DJ Frank E and Andrew Cedar, with
additional production from Puth and mixing provided by Manny Marroquin. "See You Again" was released
on March 17, 2015, as the soundtrack's lead single in the United States. See You Again was written in
memory of Paul Walker, who died in a single-vehicle accident on November 30, 2013. Because the filming
of Furious 7 was underway, Paul's brothers offered to step in so the movie could be completed.
3. Lyrical Meaning – Chorus & 1st Verse
First of all I would like to analyse the chorus of the song as in my opinion it is the most effective
part of the song due to the hidden message it contains. Charlie Puth wrote the song especially for
Paul Walker to tribute him as of his sudden death which left a lot of scars on his close co-workers
like Vin Diesel and his family. The chorus begins with a very emotional sentence “It’s been a long day
without you, my friend” which to the audience represents the ache Paul Walker’s death has left in the
hearts of his fellow “Fast Family” members. With the chorus being targeted at the remembrance of Paul
Walker, the artist Charlie Puth has questioned himself “What would Vin Diesel’s last message to Paul
be. As a result of this he came up with the line “And I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again”
which has a hidden message of Vin Diesel looking forward to seeing Paul Walker in heaven, where he
would tell him all about what happened after his death. Following this, the chorus mentions “We’ve
come a long way from where we began” which reinforces the journey all of the on stage characters had
during the Fast and Furious series. The series have brought them together as a “Fast Family” by which
they became very close to each other in personal life off stage. Overall I believe that the chorus of
the song is what grabs the listeners attention due to its direct focus on Paul Walker himself and his
fellow friends. Hi’s death had had a large effect on the whole crew by which the song was considered
as a tribute to him. As a result the chorus seems to be a very good introduction to the song as it
sets a specific mindset in the readers head as it is quite slow paced and emotional.
The first part of the first verse by Wiz Khalifa which we can see on the right portrays Vin Diesels
second thoughts about his no long lost friend. It starts of with “Damn, who knew” this use of informal
language makes the verse seem as if its targeted at us; making it seem as if we’re having a
conversation with Vin himself. “All the planes we flew, good things we been through” In my opinion
this underlines the time Paul Walker and Vin Diesel spent together, by them travelling to various
locations during filming of the famous Fast & Furious series or during their off stage relationship.
In the second part of the chorus we can see Wiz Khalifa’s mindset converting, as now the lyrics has
become more melancholical, as if he was trying to portray Vin Diesel’s second thoughts. The lyrics
refers to Vin Diesel remembering how they used to live together however he has now realised that their
journey has finished. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker life’s were thrilling with fast cars and money
however they both know all good things come to an end. With their life's changing both on and off
camera, especially Paul Walkers death things would never be the same.
4. Lyrical Meaning – Refrain & 2nd Verse
Referring to the famous movie quote by Vin Diesel who says “I don’t have friends. I got family” I
believe that this was the biggest influence for this refrain. The refrain talks about how important
family is in our lives, especially the ‘Fast Family’ which no helps Paul Walkers family to stay
strong, supporting them. The last two lines of the refrain reflect Vin Diesels and Paul Walkers
experience which they went through together such as their first children being born and the support
they had for each other. However this has come to an end with their last movie being produced together, which
could be considered as their “last ride”. This interlinks with Andrew Goodwin’s theory of “Intertexutal
Reference”. This is because at the ending of F&F 7 we can see that Vin Diesel and Paul Walker drive away into
the distance with both of them driving in separate directions, reflecting Paul’s death and him being in a
“better place”.
The second verse which is performed by Wiz Khalifa is seen from Paul Walkers’s perspective. Paul began
working on the Fast and Furious series when he was only 28 years old and spent 14 years with the same
crew. At first they were complete strangers to each other but with each movie they produced together
their relationship improved. They became friends, and slowly improving their friendship which then
arose into a true bond; they became a family. Throughout the years they have gotten used to each other
to a point that they treated each other as their siblings, creating a ‘Fast Family’. With Paul’s
death, his ‘Fast Family’ will never forget what he did for them and for the community by creating a
charity organisation. The love which people had for him, his personality and actions he has taken
during his life have caused him to never be forgotten, which is reinforced in the lyrics by saying
“The love will never get lost”.
The second part of Wiz Khalifa’s verse continues to allude Pauls and Vin’s friendship, but
also their relationship towards the rest of Fast & Furious crew. The word “brotherhood”
gives the audience an idea of how the crew has come together, especially men which treat
each other as brothers. As a result of this we gain a very positive connotation of how
optimistic they were towards each other. Their “bond” has been kept very strong throughout
the years until the figurative finish line, in the form of Paul Walkers death.
