Spoilers for The White Lotus below.
After the dramatic ending of the White Lotus season 3 finale, the last song that plays in the episode hits an unexpected joyful note. As Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) and her son Zion cruise away in a speed boat, the mournful music switches to the upbeat opening bars of Billy Preston’s “Nothing From Nothing.”
We know that in The White Lotus, symbolism is everywhere. So what did that final song that played over the end credits mean?
“Nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’ / You gotta have somethin’ if you wanna be with me,’” the song’s opening lines rang out. The lyrics of the song seem to tell the story of a man telling his partner that they need to bring something to the relationship. And that something seems to be money. “Don’t you remember I told ya / I’m a soldier in the war on poverty, yeah,” Preston later sings.
Of course, the relationship between money and happiness is a constant theme of The White Lotus. But what does the song mean as it plays over Belinda’s joyful face? It depends on whether you’re thrilled for Belinda, worried she betrayed Tanya, or concerned that she followed in Tanya’s footsteps. Is her decision to accept $5 million from Greg a fair distribution of wealth, or is she just repeating a dangerous pattern? It depends on your viewpoint.
“Nothing From Nothing” plays with the idea that love isn’t all you need—some cash couldn’t hurt too. Those without money are probably understand that best; so you can imagine that song giving Belinda some pause. Refusing to be in service of the rich for all of her life, she took her opportunity to demand more than nothing this time.
According to Stereogum, Preston and his co-writer drew inspiration from Shakespeare’s King Lear, fitting for a show that ended on such a dramatic and tragic note. “Nothing will come of nothing,” the outlet reported. “(Lear says that after one of his daughters says that she can’t put her affection for her father into words. Lear is letting her know that that’s not going to be good enough.)”
Read the lyrics to “Nothing From Nothing” below if you want to delve deeper.
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin' if you wanna be with me
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin' if you wanna be with me
I'm not tryna be your hero
'Cause that zero is too cold for me, brrr
I'm not tryin' to be your highness
'Cause that minus is too low to see, yeah
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
And I'm not stuffin', believe you me
Don't you remember I told ya
I'm a soldier in the war on poverty, yeah, yes, I am
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin' if you wanna be with me, oh baby
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin' if you wanna be with me, that's right, ha yea
Gotta have somethin' if you wanna be with me
You gotta bring me somethin' girl, if you wanna be with me
