Ya’aburnee is actually a term used in Arabic, which means “you bury me.” It’s often used to tell another that they hope to die first, as living without the other person would be too much to bear. The language also has a feminine version, “ta’aburnee,” which means the same thing.
While many of Halsey’s fans have thought the song to be a beautiful closer to their album, some of their Arab listeners have mixed feelings about their using the term for a song title.
Many have pointed out that while the song is bringing a significant and heartfelt Arabic term to a mainstream album, Halsey is not personally of Arab descent.
“OK so I know it’s pretty sweet Halsey named [their] song ya’aburnee and I’m all for seeing Arabic everywhere, but as someone whose language has always been seen as a threat by the west, I’d really like to see it not be used as a token by non-Arab authors just bc it’s ‘cool’ now,” one Twitter user said.