NDA

“NDA” marks a new sonic sound for Eilish, with it’s dark alternative-pop with hints of trance and electronic pop, the track was written by Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell, along with Finneas producing the track.

Released on the 9th July 2021, “NDA” talks about the struggles of fame and the lack of privacy that comes with such a high level of success – especially in the romantic sense. “NDA” stands for “non-disclosure agreement”, which is a legal contract between two parties that outlines confidential material. The song makes references to a stalker in Eilish’s life: “Had to save my money for security / Got a stalker walkin’ up and down the street / Says he’s Satan and he’d like to meet”. This lyrics refer to an individual by the name of the John Matthews Earle, who Eilish filed a civil harassment restraining order against him in February 2021. Speaking to Apple Music’s DJ Zane Lowe about the track, Eilish revealed the song’s creation and the time frame in which the song was created, as well as the inspiration for the self-directed music video:

“I’m so happy that it’s seeing the light of day. It came from that [does sound] We had that, we only had that. Finneas made that, just that. We were just messing around, and he just made that, and we were like, ‘Oh!’ And it just was that … and it was way slower and pitched down. It was really slow, this crazy… And we would just listen to it, and we would just walk around the room feeling it. And it was such a feeler. Oh my God, I kept picturing visuals for it. And I kept picturing legs, and girls and shapes, and darkness, and this cool. And I was just like, ‘We have to make something to this, because this is a waste otherwise.’ We literally made that whole song in two days or something, a day, I don’t know. But it was a fun, satisfying-ass process. It was very, very fulfilling.”

Eilish also spoke to New Music Daily about the song’s unexpected sound:

“I really wanted it to be unexpected almost. Honestly, it’s so funny because I write with structure in my about verses and pre-choruses and choruses and then verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, chorus, end. And that’s kind of how I learned to write music and same with my brother. This song really, I don’t even know what is what and that is cool to me. You know that, whatever you’d call it, chorus, “You couldn’t save me, but you can’t let me go.” That’s my favorite thing ever. I love that part and I feel like I’ve never done that before.”

The music video was released alongside the single on the 9th July 2021. Directed by Eilish herself, the video shows Eilish walking alone on in a desert at night while over 20 stunt drivers drive around Eilish while she sings and carries on her walk. In only 12 days, the video had received over 20.4 million views with over 1.2 million likes.

Read the lyrics to “NDA” to here.