Eastside

Album

Friends Keep Secrets

Label

Interscope Records

Genre

Dance-pop

Composer(s)

Benny Blanco;Ashley "Halsey" Frangipane;Nathan Perez;Khalid Robinson;Ed Sheeran

Entered Chart

Jul 28, 2018

Peak Date

Jan 19, 2019

Released

July 12, 2018

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Friends Keep Secrets

Best known for his production work for the likes of Katy Perry ("I Kissed a Girl"), Ke$ha ("TiK ToK"), Rihanna ("Diamonds") and Justin Bieber ("Love Yourself"), "Eastside" marks Benny Blanco debut song as an artist. Released on Blanco's own label Friends Keep Secrets in partnership with Interscope Records, the track features duet vocals by Halsey and Khalid. The song finds Halsey and Khalid reminiscing about a teenage relationship. He used to meet me on the Eastside In the city where the sun don't set And every day you know where we ride Through the backstreets in a blue Corvette Now that they are older and times are harder, the pair look back on their relationship with happy memories. So come away, starting today Start a new life, together in a different place We know that love is how all thes e ideas came to be So baby, run away with me The pair now have adult responsibilities and are stuck with "dead-end jobs and got bills to pay." If only they could run away together and start over. Benny Blanco, Khalid and Halsey received writing help from Ed Sheeran for the track. Benny Blanco started writing the demo of this song with Ed Sheeran when they were on tour in Philadelphia. A month or so later Blanco was with Halsey at his house. He recalled to Billboard: "I pulled up the demo. Before I knew it, it was done." Later, Blanco was listening back to a demo of "Eastside" with Halsey's vocals, thinking he'd always wanted to do a song with Khalid. It occurred to him the song would work as a duet. Khalid agreed to come on board but was in Denmark at the time so Blanco recorded him from there. Guitarist and songwriter Andrew Watt then came over to Blanco's LA studio and recorded the riff. Konstantine Lois and Shane Williams of the band American XO brought legal action against Benny Blanco, Halsey, Khalid and Ed Sheeran, claiming "Eastside" copied their 2015 song "Loveless." In a motion filed on February 28, 2023 in California federal court, attorneys for Lois and Williams disclosed the two had dropped the lawsuit. The plaintiffs explained to Billboard they lacked "the financial resources or insurance to continue the fight."

Uh
Yeah, yeah

When I was young, I fell in love
We used to hold hands, man, that was enough (yeah)
Then we grew up, started to touch
Used to kiss underneath the light on the back of the bus (yeah)
Oh no, your daddy didn't like me much
And he didn't believe me when I said you were the one
Oh, every day she found a way out of the window to sneak out late

She used to meet me on the Eastside
In the city where the sun don't set
And every day you know that we ride
Through the backstreets in a blue Corvette
Baby, you know I just wanna leave tonight
We can go anywhere we want
Drive down to the coast, jump in the seat
Just take my hand and come with me, yeah

We can do anything if we put our minds to it
Take your whole life then you put a line through it
My love is yours if you're willing to take it
Give me your heart 'cause I ain't gonna break it
So come away, starting today
Start a new life, together in a different place
We know that love is how all these ideas came to be
So baby, run away, away with me

Seventeen and we got a dream to have a family
A house and everything in between
And then, oh, suddenly we turned twenty-three
Now we got pressure for taking our life more seriously
We got our dead end jobs and got bills to pay
Our old friends are now our enemies
Now I, I'm thinking back to when I was young
Back to the day when I was falling in love

He used to meet me on the Eastside
In the city where the sun don't set
And every day you know where we ride
Through the backstreets in a blue Corvette
And baby, you know I just wanna leave tonight
We can go anywhere we want
Drive down to the coast, jump in the seat
Just take my hand and come with me
Singing

We can do anything if we put our minds to it
Take your whole life then you put a line through it
My love is yours if you're willing to take it
Give me your heart 'cause I ain't gonna break it
So come away, starting today
Start a new life, together in a different place
We know that love is how all these ideas came to be
So baby, run away with me

Run away, now
Run away, now
Run away, now
Run away, now
Run away, now
Run away, now

He used to meet me on the Eastside

She used to meet me on the Eastside

He used to meet me on the Eastside

She used to meet me on the Eastside
In the city where the sun don't set