If you tuned in to watch Lemonade on Saturday night, you probably have a lot of questions about Beyonce's HBO special, including: Is Lemonade based on Beyonce's parents? While some people think the special could be about her possible divorce from Jay-Z, others saw some parallels to the lives of Beyonce's parents, Tina and Mathew Knowles.
The hour-long special dealt with themes of cheating and lost love, something Beyonce knows about firsthand. Her father, Mathew Knowles reportedly had a son, Nixon, by his mistress, Alexsandra Wright, in 2010. Beyonce's parents divorced in 2011 due to a "discord or conflict of personalities."
In the first song of Lemonade, Beyonce directly references her father: "Where do you go when you go quiet," she says. "You remind me of my father / A magician / Able to be in two places at once." OK, so that line could certainly still be a jab at Jay-Z, but it definitely throws shade at Mathew Knowles.
Her father is also directly referenced in a track called "Daddy Issues."
He said take care of your motherWatch out for your sisterOh, and that's when he gave to me...With his gun and his head held highHe told me not to cryOh my daddy said shootWith his right hand on his rifleHe swore it on the BibleMy daddy said shootOh, my daddy said shootHe held me in his armsAnd he told me to be strongHe told me when he's gone here's what you doWhen trouble comes in timeAnd men like me comes aroundOh, my daddy said shootOh, my daddy said shoot
The line that particularly interests me is "And men like me comes around." Could that be a reference to Jay-Z cheating like her father cheated on Tina Knowles? If you're looking for more clues, you can listen to Lemonade on Tidal in full.
Viewers on Twitter certainly seem to think the visual album could be inspired, at least in part, by her father's infidelity:
