Sad meaning behind one of Avicii’s most famous songs that was a ‘cry for help’ before tragic death

Warning: This article contains talks of suicide which some readers may find distressing

One of Avicii’s most beloved songs may have been a cry for help.

The death of the Swedish artist in April 2018 is something that many people still can’t bear to think about.

It all began in Muscat, Oman, when the DJ was continuing to struggle with his worldwide fame and anxiety.

Having been finding it difficult for years amid his booming career and incredibly busy work schedule, Avicii (real name Tim Bergling) became involved with medication and alcohol to help him.

However, it would lead to a sad dependency that harmed his health.

The 28-year-old was pegged as acting like a 'zombie' in his final days, as the artist continued to consume tablets, as per those who knew him.

However, nobody was to know that his life would end in such a tragic way, only he did.

He wrote a message hinting at his rebirth in his diary, saying: "The shedding of the soul is the last attachment, before it restarts!"

Nearly seven years on from his passing, a documentary about his life premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday (9 June), in which his family, loved ones, and friends told their memories of the late DJ.

One of his friends and collaborators, Aloe Blacc, spoke out about his friend, saying that he wished he had acted sooner and noted that there were warning signs he saw.

The pair collaborated on the 2013 hit 'Wake Me Up', which sits at two billion streams on Spotify.

Avicii died in 2018 (Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

That same year Avicii told People: “I’m tired, really tired.

“I’ve been at it since I was 17, 18 years old ... touring pretty much nonstop, 300 shows a year. It’s been very hectic ... I need a break.”

Another song called SOS was one of their biggest hits, and it may come as a surprise that it might have been a cry for help from the artist.

Blacc opened up about reading the lyrics after Avicii passed away and the record label asked him to sing on the track for it to be included in a posthumous album for the artist, called 'TIM'.

He explained that when it came to sing the words, he understood that it was actually a 'cry for help'.

“I got the lyrics from the record label and I looked at them and I thought, ‘How am I getting this S.O.S. as a song after Tim’s gone,'” he told Good Morning America in 2019.

He shared: “It felt like… all of us really wanted to have this message way before, so that we could have been there to support him.

“He had written in his notes that he wanted me to sing this song, but he never communicated that to me. He communicated other things via emails and text messages,” Blacc revealed.

While no cause of death was publicly confirmed by his relatives, his family implied that the Swedish musician had died by suicide.

His SOS song may have been a 'cry for help' (Michael Tran/FilmMagic)

The family’s letter, obtained by People, called Avicii a ‘fragile artistic soul’ and an ‘overachieving perfectionist’ who suffered from ‘extreme stress’.

“When he stopped touring, he wanted to find a balance in life to be happy and be able to do what he loved most — music,” the statement continued.

“He really struggled with thoughts about Meaning, Life, Happiness. He could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace.”

Some of the lines from the song read: "Can you hear me? SOS, help me put my mind to rest.

"Two times clean again, I'm actin' low, a pound of weed and a bag of blow...

"I get robbed of all my sleep, as my thoughts begin to bleed."

Blacc believes that if anyone had paid any attention to the lyrics, he could have received help.