Eminem’s newest studio effort is here, and after surprising us with a single about his artistic struggles, the rapper teams up with pop sensation Ed Sheeran for another touching single under the name of “River.”

Music Video for “River” by Eminem

The song starts with Ed Sheeran taking the blame for all his sins while comparing the process to raindrops falling down and accumulating into a river. Eminem then continues the main idea in the first verse by telling a story about a broken relationship based on lies and revenge. The story begins with a woman noticing that her boyfriend comes home with distinctive marks, a sign that he is cheating on her with someone else.

At first, she tries to take control of the relationship by following his moves and even tracking his Internet conversations but eventually she fails to keep the commitment intact. In order to get revenge, the woman reaches out to Eminem, promising that she’ll make all his fantasies come true. Em’ knows about the situation but still, he accepts to be part of this complicated relationship in order to fill in his romantic void. Things evolve quickly as the rapper’s encounters with the woman add up from a one night stand to several ones.

A Huge Surprise!

Naturally, the woman’s boyfriend finds out about the whole thing and breaks up with her. Just so the situation gets worst, Eminem loses interest in her about the same time this happens, so now the woman feels used and deserted. She is frustrated, especially since the rapper decided to hit the studio to focus on music instead of confronting her to sort things out. The second verse ends with Eminem facing a massive surprise as he finds out that the woman is pregnant by him.

In verse three, the woman tells Eminem that she aborted their baby so he dives deep in this situation while thinking about what he did. He goes from contemplating the unborn child and if this was the best solution for everyone to judging his decision to be part of this love triangle. A decision that ultimately led to this unfortunate situation where everyone involved had to suffer. The song ends with Eminem wondering how the woman feels since she was the one that had to suffer the most. In the end, the rapper takes his part of the blame while living on with his involvement in this messy relationship.