911 / Mr. Lonely

⟵ I Ain't Got Time! • 911 / Mr. Lonely • Droppin' Seeds ⟶

911 / Mr. Lonely is the tenth track from Tyler, the Creator's fifth studio album Flower Boy (2017). Keeping with tradition, it is a two-part track with the first part being a song about longing for someone to call T, while the second part is an intense track about being lonely. The first half of the song features vocals from Steve Lacy, Anna of the North, and Frank Ocean, while the second half has uncredited vocals from A$AP Rocky, ScHoolboy Q, and Lionel. The chorus for "911" is also an interpolation of "Outstanding" by The Gap Band.

The song went through many changes prior to release, with Tyler confirming that the final version is actually the "twenty-fifth." He sings some additional lyrics at the beginning of the song at some concerts.

"911 / Mr. Lonely" was released with "Who Dat Boy" as the lead singles for the album. "911" is briefly played at the end of the music video for the latter.

Background and lyrics

Tyler said in the Flower Boy interview with Jerrod Carmichael that "911" and "Mr. Lonely" were originally two different tracks that came to blend together. The released version of the track is the "twenty-fifth" version of it, with all the preceding versions containing different lyrics, beats, and melodies.

He described the two songs as originally being more "jazzy" and "triumphant" in nature, with some lyrics from "Mr. Lonely" being moved to "911," and the same being done the other way around. The first version of "911" was him looping the track "Just Me and You" by Tony Toni Tone and singing over it, as shown on his @scumfuckflowerboy account. Later on, Tyler took the instrumental from the 2016 GOLF WANG fashion show that he did and worked it into "911." This is around the same time that he moved lyrics from "Mr. Lonely" onto "911." This included the third verse, which originally had a more uplifting delivery that also had these lyrics:

Five car garage

Full tank of gas

Car for every day of the week

And it goes really fast

But it means nothing, nothing, nothing

Without you shotgun

As for the bridge of "911," Tyler described it as the bridge that he has always wanted to make. Frank Ocean came by and made a bunch of "phone noises" that ended up working for the track. Similarly, he has said that the instrumental under The Gap Band interpolation that Steve Lacy sung exemplifies his love for chords.

Tyler compared "Mr. Lonely" to the saying of "putting medicine in apple sauce." He wanted to create one of his loneliest tracks but mask it in a track that everyone could dance to. He has also called it "the saddest song [he has] ever wrote." He added that the song has some of the "prettiest chords on the album," but they're hidden behind some hard drums.

Live versions

Tyler performs an elongated version of the track at some concerts. For example, at the 2018 Camp Flog Gnaw festival, he opened with additional lyrics for "911" (shown below) and involved the crowd more in the build to "Mr. Lonely." Sometimes the instrumental to "911" is extended as well. A fan recreation of the additional lyrics and extended instrumental to "911" is shown above with the CFG performance of the two tracks.

Hey, how you doin', my name is lonely, it's nice to meet you, my dear

You look familiar, I think I seen you somewhere around here, but I don't know

You live behind the lids of my eyes, right next to my tears

So just in case the sun wakes me up again, you can reach me right here at--

Music video

The last forty-five seconds of the music video for "Who Dat Boy" features multiple clones of Tyler grooving to the intro and first chorus of "911." The setting is a tennis court surrounded by colorful, pink trees. The Tyler clones also wear pieces from T's own line of clothes, Golf Wang.

Credits

• Performed by Frank Ocean, Steve Lacy, Tyler, the Creator
• Written by Frank Ocean, Raymond Calhoun, See Sub-songs, Tyler Okonma
• Produced by Tyler, the Creator
• Additional vocals by Anna of the North, A$AP Rocky, ScHoolboy Q, L-Boy
• Contains elements of "Outstanding" by The Gap Band's Roy Calhoun