What Is The Meaning Behind Beyonc's "7/11?" Look to This College Drinking Game

June 04, 2024

Listening to Beyoncé: Platinum Edition sometimes feels like a puzzle. Gone are the days when deciphering a song was as easy as singing the repeating chorus of "Love On Top," because Bey has gotten complicated. Beyoncé's new song "7/11" is hands down one of my favorite songs she has produced in a long time, the music video is even better. But what the fresh hell is "7/11" about? Even members of the Beyhive are scratching their heads over this one. Well, after a little research and listening to the song on repeat for about an hour — OK, three hours... rough job — I have come with a solid theory to the meaning behind Beyoncé's newest hit "7/11".

Looking at the lyrics of "7/11," little hints are given throughout the song. The beginning of the song begins in a pretty obscure lyrical place:

Shoulders sideways, smack it, smack it in the airLegs movin' side to side, smack it in the airLegs movin' side to side, smack you in the airShoulders sideways, smack it, smack it in the airSmack it, smack it in the airLegs movin' side to side, smack it, smack it in the air

It isn't until later in the song that we get the following lyrics:

I know I'm thinkin' bout that alcoholMan it feel like rollin' dice, man it feel like rollin' diceSeven eleven, seven eleven, seven twice, man seven twiceMan it feel like rollin' dice, man this feel like rollin' dice

And that's when it clicked. After reading about almost every single reference to "7/11," I can confidently say — as confident as one can be while deciphering Bey lyrics — that "7/11" is about the drinking game 7/11 Doubles. Here me out.

In the drinking game 7/11 Doubles, a drink (beer, mixed drink, whatever you like) is placed in the middle of a table, and the first player throws a pair of dice. If that person rolls a 7, 11, or double (like two 5s) then they get to choose a player to drink. If they don't roll one of the above combinations, they pass the dice to the left (to the left, to the left... sorry, I had to).

Once a player rolls one of the lucky combos, they choose a drinker. The drinker must finish the drink in the middle of the table before another roller rolls a 7, 11, or double. Obviously you want to play this game responsibly.

The entire "7/11" song feels like one big party. The entire video for the song also feels like one big party. There are quite a few references to drinking in the song, and even more references to dancing and moving that body, which obviously would come with playing a game like 7/11 Doubles. So I'm gonna call this song as Bey and her Beyhive having a good old time partying.

Now, if I am way off, and I very well could be, Beyoncé doesn't scream "drinking game," there is another direction we could go in deciphering the song. The big one being a reference to the 7-11 stores. As Bustle writer Alyse Whitney mentioned, 7-11 is mentioned in "Drunk In Love," which could mean that the reference is to the 7-11 hours. Most 7-11s are open 24/7, which could work with the lyrics in "Drunk In Love," “No complaints from my body, so fluorescent under these lights/Boy, I’m drinking/Park it in my lot 7-11/I’m rubbing on it, rub-rubbing/If you scared, call that reverend.”

But honestly, if Beyoncé is singing about the convenience store, there is no reason she couldn't be referencing a college drinking game.

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