Warning: the analysis of this song deals with disturbing subject matters.

What is Rihanna’s Umbrella song about? First times I’ve heard this song, I was confused. Is it about a woman’s unconditional friendship for her man? Is it a “sexy song”? At face value, it seems so. However, if you listen closely to Rihanna and Jay-Z’s words, you might notice that the lyrics do not make any sense. The vocabulary used in this song is not about a relationship between two lovers. The fact is, Umbrella is about a subject matter that is sinister, dark and disturbing: becoming possessed by evil.

What does “under my umbrella” mean?

In a nutshell, the song talks about a storm that’s about to take place and Rihanna offers her loved one protection under her umbrella. In this song, “You can stand under my umbrella” can have a sexual connotation but it mostly means “You can be under my protection”. When you are under something’s protection, this something has more power than you regarding your own security. You depend on it. It has control over you. IT possesses you. The song is not about love between woman and man, it’s about being protected. It is not an equal relationship. The one that protects basically owns the person that is protected.

Analyzing the song

The first thing that you need to know about the song’s lyrics is that Rihanna sings the whole song but she actually takes on two roles. During the first half of the song, she plays the role of an evil entity that is trying to seduce and possess Rihanna. For the purpose of this analysis, we’ll call this entity the Devil. The second role she plays is herself. So the song is basically a dialog between the Devil and Rihanna. The video of the song makes this very clear and we’ll explain how later.

What is possession?

Possession, in relationship to non-human entities, deals with the phenomena wherein a non-human entity controls the human being through various methods. In possession, the human being cannot think for themselves. Instead, their thoughts are given to them by their possessor. We’ll see how the Devil tries and succeeds at possessing Rihanna in this song. There is a reason why the album is called “Good Girl Gone Bad”.

Jay-Z’s verse

So the song starts off with a verse of rapper Jay-Z. He plays the role of someone that has already been possessed and already “under the umbrella” of the Devil. Here’s his verse:

No clouds in my stones

Let it rain, I hydroplane in the bank

Coming down with the Dow Jones

When the clouds come we gone, we Rocafella

We fly higher than weather

And G5’s are better, You know me,

an anticipation, for precipitation. Stacked chips for the rainy day

Jay, Rain Man is back with little Ms. Sunshine

Rihanna where you at?

Explanation



“No clouds in my stones

Let it rain, I hydroplane in the bank

Coming down with the Dow Jones”

So the “storm” is in fact related to the economy and the financial world. “Coming down with the Dow Jones” reflects this situation. The Dow Jones is the main indicator of the health of the stock market. If it plummets, we can talk about a market crash. You’ll notice that the whole song has a pessimistic outlook concerning the future. Jay-Z is saying “Let it rain”, he doesn’t care about the financial crisis, he “hydroplanes in the bank”. In other words, while the bank is being flooded by this storm and people are drowning in it, he’s above the water and surviving the crisis.

When the clouds come we gone, we Rocafella

In other words, when the financial crisis will occur, we won’t be here to suffer through it. “Rocafella” is the name of Jay-Z’s record label. It also refers to John D. Rockefeller and his family, the biggest industrialists in American History and huge actors in the formation of the social-economic world we’re currently living in. Many historians claim the Rockefellers have engineered the crash of 1929 to be able to obtain a stronghold on America’s banking system. Congressman Charles A. Lindberg Sr. accurately proclaimed in 1930:“From now on depressions will be scientifically created.”

We fly higher than weather

And G5’s are better, You know me,

“We fly higher than the weather” means that Jay-Z cannot be affected by the financial crisis because he is above the problem. He enjoys a protection that makes him invulnerable to the storm. The fact that he says “WE fly higher than the weather” implies that a select few can have the same kind of privileges he has. G5 is a kind of private jet so he will live in luxury even when the crisis strikes the rest of the world.

an anticipation, for precipitation. Stacked chips for the rainy day

Jay-Z says here that he was expecting this major crisis (the precipitation) and so he has prepared financially to face it. Seems like he had prior knowledge of the events that would occur in the future. Is he talking about the recession that is happening now?



Jay, Rain Man is back with little Ms. Sunshine

Rihanna where you at?

Jay aka “Rain Man”. He has been possessed by the Devil, contrarily to Rihanna, who he calls “little Ms. Sunshine”. Rihanna is the good girl. Jay-Z is already bad and he is asking Rihanna to join him.

So Jay-Z lyrics have NOTHING to do with love, friendship or any type of relationship. His lyrics are saying that he is part of the “chosen”, the elite, the secret group that cannot be harmed by the trials and tribulations of the “small people”. Even if there’s a major crisis, he’s associated with the very people that make those crises happen, so he won’t be affected. This group, however, bows down and worships evil. If Rihanna wants to be part of them, she has to do the same.



Rihanna’s lyrics

You have my heart

And we’ll never be worlds apart

May be in magazines

But you’ll still be my star

Baby cause in the dark

You can’t see shiny cars

And that’s when you need me there

With you I’ll always share

Rihanna sings this part, but it is actually the Devil talking to Rihanna. He is “sweet-talking” her so she can accept the idea of the Devil entering her body. Here’s how we can translate the lyrics.

I love you

Even if I’m not from your world, I’ll never be far from you

You may be famous and in magazines

But you’ll always be MY star, nobody else’s

Because when you won’t be successful anymore

When you won’t be able to buy shiny cars and material things

That’s when you’ll need my protection

With you I’ll always share my riches

So the Devil is offering Rihanna a lifetime of riches and luxury, even when she’ll lose her popularity and stop generating money from her singing career. Tempting, isn’t it?

Chorus

When the sun shines, we’ll shine together

Told you I’ll be here forever

Said I’ll always be your friend

Took an oath I’ma stick it out till the end

Now it’s raining more than ever

But we’ll still have each other

You can stand under my umbrella

You can stand under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh eh)

Under my umbrella

(Ella ella eh eh eh)

Under my umbrella

(Ella ella eh eh eh)

Under my umbrella

(Ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)

Translation:

When you shine from your success, we both profit from it

I will always be part of you

I will always be on your side

I promised you I would protect you and I will do it as long as necessary

Now the financial crisis is afflicting the world

But I’m still here with you

You can be under my protection

You can be under my protection

What’s up with the Ella Ella eh’s? It sounds catchy, doesn’t it? The repetitive and hypnotic rhythm of this chant makes it very reminiscent of magical spells, conjurations or summons.

2nd Verse

These fancy things, will never come in between

You’re part of my entity, here for Infinity

When the war has took it’s part

When the world has dealt it’s cards

If the hand is hard, together we’ll mend your heart

Translation:

All of your material possessions will never separate me and you

You’re part of my entity, I own you, until the end of times

When the crisis has ravaged the world

When we’ll know the final outcome of the world

If you’re in trouble, me and you will stop the pain



“You’re part of my entity” is very relevant here because “entity” is not a word in the vocabulary used between loved ones. Nobody will say to his/her lover “You’re part of my entity”. An entity is not human.

An entity is something that has a distinct, separate existence, though it need not be a material existence.

-Wikipedia

“Here for Infinity” also gives a non-human feel to the lyrics, as if this power doesn’t live or die, it is immortal.

“When the war has took it’s part/ When the world has dealt it’s cards” is a particularly gloomy passage. It basically predicts a terrible event that will strike severely the entire world and that will rearrange the way it will function afterward. Once again, we refer to a huge crisis that is about to occur and the Devil is trying to convince Rihanna to let him protect her.

Bridge

You can run into my arms

It’s okay don’t be alarmed

Come into me

There’s no distance in between our love

So go on and let the rain pour

I’ll be all you need and more

Because

This part is actually a dialogue between the Devil and Rihanna. It is difficult to notice because there’s no difference in the tone of voice. The video, however, gives a visual clue of the dialogue by reversing the image when Rihanna answers the Devil.

So, the Devil is telling Rihanna

“You can run into my arms

It’s okay don’t be alarmed”

Translation:



“You can come and seek my protection

Don’t be scared of the crisis”



Rihanna answers “Come into me” as in “come inside of my body and possess me”



Both Rihanna and Devil say: “There’s no distance between our love”. The Devil is effectively now INSIDE of her, there’s no more distance between them.

And the Devil finishes by saying:

“So go on and let the rain pour

I’ll be all you need and more”

Translation:



Let the world get what it deserves, I’ll take care of you.

So now that you probably gained another perspective on the song’s lyrics, we can proceed to analyze the video, which carries HEAVY symbolism and confirms the theory of the Devil trying to possess Rihanna. The video also adds a layer of interpretation by depicting the process of possession as a rape.

Analyzing the video

At the beginning, we see Jay-Z with six black-clad women. As previously stated, Jay-Z is already possessed in the song. The six women represent Jay-Z’s thoughts being controlled.

We see Rihanna dressed in black and wearing a top-hat, a visual clue to represent the evil entity, which is masculine. The long, claw-like fingernails give a sense of a demonic, ungodly creature. When Rihanna starts singing, she moves in a sexually seductive way to reflect the Devil’s attempt to seduce Rihanna. He wants to possess her not only mentally but physically also.

The picture above is the explosion we see in the video right after the first verse. This explosion of chrome-colored liquid represents something truly disturbing: the rape of Rihanna by the Devil.

The frame above represents the rape of Rihanna. Dressed in white and thus embodying “the good girl with values”, Rihanna dances while performing defensive gestures. She is trying to protect herself from the chrome liquid, which represents the seminal fluid of the Devil. The liquid hits her a total of 6 times.

We then see Rihanna naked, covered in chrome-colored liquid. Rihanna has been raped by the Devil and covered with his s---n. She seems in pain and not herself. On the frame above we see her inside a triangle. This is VERY symbolic. For occultists, an upwards triangle represents the phallus, the p---s, male energy. Rihanna is inside the triangle. She is completely “owned” and under the spell of the Devil’s energy.



=

Look closely at the frame above. It appears very briefly at around 2:46 in the video. It is Rihanna on her knees, her head on the floor. It’s also something else: the face of the Devil! It has been made to look like “Baphomet” (see image), who is an intricate part of occult mysteries. You see the two eyes, snout and the antlers. This frame has been digitally manipulated to look like this because it is anatomically incorrect. No human can assume this position in real life. This image has been placed on purpose and only for a fraction of a second. Classic subliminal message.

So Rihanna has been abused and we saw the face of the Devil, so what’s next?





Rihanna has now become the “Bad Girl” dressed in black. She is surrounded by 6 black-clad men (like Jay-Z at the beginning), to represent her state of possession. She dances suggestively with a closed umbrella, which represents a phallus. The Devil has won, he has taken over Rihanna. And she is asking for more. At the end of the song, Rihanna asks her rapists to come into her again. Sick.

It’s raining

Ooh baby it’s raining

Baby come into me

Come into me

It’s raining

Oh baby it’s raining

The “ooh baby” makes it clear that we’re not talking about raindrops falling from the sky. It means she is wet and ready to welcome the Devil again inside her.

The analysis of Rihanna’s Umbrella was to prove the fact that the general public is blind to the hidden messages omnipresent in mass media. Kids from all over the world sing and dance to this song while registering unconsciously the hidden layers of symbolism.