The fourth single from The Marshall Mathers LP 2 is "The Monster" by Eminem. It's also the fourth time Eminem and Rihanna have worked together.
Eminem considers his Shady alter-ego a monster in this dark and melancholy ballad. The monster may potentially be fame, which has taken so much from him, or it could be his mind and the demons that afflict it.
Bebe Rexha and Jon Bellion co-wrote this hook, which went on to win Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 2015 Grammys.
[Intro: Rihanna]
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You're tryin' to save me, stop holdin' your breath
And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy
[Verse 1: Eminem]
I wanted the fame but not the cover of Newsweek
Oh well, guess beggars can't be choosey
Wanted to receive attention for my music
Wanted to be left alone in public, excuse me
For wantin' my cake, and eat it too, and wantin' it both ways
Fame made me a balloon 'cause my ego inflated
When I blew, see, but it was confusing
'Cause all I wanted to do's be the Bruce Lee of loose leaf
Abused ink, used it as a tool when I blew steam
Whoo! Hit the lottery, ooh-wee!
But with what I gave up to get it was bittersweet
It was like winnin' a used mink
Ironic 'cause I think I'm gettin' so huge I need a shrink
I'm beginnin' to lose sleep: one sheep, two sheep
Goin' coo-coo and kooky as Kool Keith
But I'm actually weirder than you think, 'cause I'm—
[Chorus: Rihanna]
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You're tryin' to save me, stop holdin' your breath
And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy
Well, that's nothin'
[Post-Chorus: Rihanna, Bebe Rexha]
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
Well, that's nothin'
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
[Verse 2: Eminem]
Now, I ain't much of a poet
But I know somebody once told me to seize the moment
And don't squander it 'cause you never know when it all
Could be over tomorrow, so I keep conjurin'
Sometimes I wonder where these thoughts spawn from
Yeah, ponderin'll do you wonders
No wonder you're losin' your mind, the way it wanders
Yodel-odel-ay-hee-hoo! I think it went wanderin' off down yonder
And stumbled onto Jeff VanVonderen
'Cause I need an interventionist
To intervene between me and this monster
And save me from myself and all this conflict
'Cause the very thing that I love's killin' me and I can't conquer it
My OCD's conkin' me in the head, keep knockin'
Nobody's home, I'm sleepwalkin'
I'm just relayin' what the voice in my head's sayin'
Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just friends with the—
[Chorus: Rihanna]
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You're tryin' to save me, stop holdin' your breath
And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy
Well, that's nothin'
[Post-Chorus: Rihanna, Bebe Rexha]
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
Well, that's nothin'
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
[Verse 3: Eminem]
Call me crazy, but I have this vision, one day that
I'll walk amongst you a regular civilian
But until then, drums get killed and
I'm comin' straight at MCs, blood gets spilled and
I'll take you back to the days that I'd get on a Dre track
Give every kid who got played that pumped-up feelin'
And shit to say back to the kids who played him
I ain't here to save the fuckin' children
But if one kid out of a hundred million
Who are goin' through a struggle, feels it and relates, that's great
It's payback, Russell Wilson fallin' way back
In the draft, turn nothin' into somethin', still can make that
Straw into gold, chump, I will spin—Rumpelstiltskin in a haystack
Maybe I need a straightjacket
Face facts: I am nuts for real, but I'm okay with that
It's nothin', I'm still friends with the
[Chorus: Rihanna, Eminem, Both]
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed
Get along with the voices inside of my head
You're tryin' to save me, stop holdin' your breath
And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed
(Get along with) Get along with the voices inside of my head
(You're tryin' to) You're tryin' to save me, stop holdin' your breath
(And you think) And you think I'm crazy, yeah, you think I'm crazy
Well, that's nothin'
[Post-Chorus: Rihanna, Bebe Rexha]
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
Well, that's nothin'
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
(Yoo-ooh, ooh-ooh)
Featuring:Rihanna
Produced By:Aalias & Frequency
Written By:Eminem, Rihanna, Maki Athanasiou, Frequency, Aalias, Jon Bellion & Bebe Rexha
Additional Keyboards:Luis Resto