Black Friday

"Black Friday" is a self-deprecating ballad about Tom Odell's insecurities and his desire to be perfect like his girlfriend's friend. He loves his girl but keeps second-guessing his place in their relationship.

It's Black Friday, we're in a black taxi You take my hand and hold it gently on the middle seat It's all in my head, it's all in my mind I'm so selfish, you're so kind It's all in my head, baby, I can't breathe I look in the mirror, what is happening to me? Odell describes a moment of intense self-doubt in the "Black Friday" chorus. The taxi represents the safety of his girlfriend's presence, but he is still struggling to cope with his own insecurities. The color black is a metaphor for his mindset. Odell feels like he is suffocating in his own mind, and he can't understand why he is so hard on himself.

Tom Odell co-wrote the somber acoustic ballad in 2022, just a day before the actual Black Friday, alongside Laurie Blundell and Max Clilverd. Though it was his birthday, Odell wasn't in a festive mood. Feeling emotionally drained, the song emerged as an introspective reckoning with the weight he was carrying at the time. London-based pianist and composer Laurie Blundell co-wrote most of the tracks on Odell's 2021 Monsters and 2022 Best Day of My Life albums. Max Clilverd is a session musician and songwriter who works regularly with Odell.