Music
Olivia Rodrigo’s Angstiest Lyrics, From “Brutal” To “Get Him Back”
Because we all have to blow off steam sometimes.
As an indirect descendent of Avril Lavigne, a student of Alanis Morissette, and the spiritual successor to Lorde, Olivia Rodrigo has quite a reserve of angsty songs in her discography. After all, she’s been channeling her feelings into No. 1 hits since she was 17.
But you don’t need to be a teen to appreciate her raw, messy lyricism, and to prove it, we’ve compiled a list of Rodrigo’s angstiest lyrics. Bear in mind: The term is often used as a catchall for teenage emotion, but for the purpose of this list, we’ve taken a more nuanced reading to include anxiety, apprehension, anger, and distress. Basically, if it doubles as an insult you could’ve (and maybe should’ve) hurled at your high-school boyfriend, a tear-jerking diary entry, or a cutting remark that would’ve done serious damage in a screaming match with your parents circa 10th grade, it’s represented here.
And I’m so tired that I might / Quit my job, start a new life / And they’d be all be so disappointed / ‘Cus who am I if not exploited? / And I’m so sick of 17 / Where’s my f*cking teenage dream? If someone tells me one more time “Enjoy your youth” I’m gonna cry — “Brutal”
Pretty much every line in this song was in contention, but nothing screams “adolescent despair” quite like lamenting about your age, threatening to cry, and pulling the exploitation card.
They say these are the golden years / But I wish I could disappear — “Brutal”
Another bastion of teen-dom: the desire to disappear.
God, I wish that you had thought this through / Before I went and fell in love with you — “Traitor”
While most of us were rebelling against our parents at 17, Rodrigo was putting pen to paper, immortalizing the euphoric highs and awkward lows of young love in the breakup bible known as Sour. This passage from Olivia 1:3 will live on the tongues of forlorn lovers for generations.
Remember when you swore to God I was the only / Person who ever got you? / Well, screw that, and screw you / You will never have to hurt the way you know that I do — “Good 4 U”
Yelling can be a cathartic release, so we can only imagine how good it must feel to scream this at your deadbeat boyfriend over the phone before blocking him forever.
And do you tell her she’s the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen? An eternal love bullsh*t you know you’ll never mean — “Happier”
Ah yes, the old “innocent question turned scathing judgement of your character” bait-and-switch. A feisty-teen special.
I’m so sick of myself / I’d rather be, rather be / Anyone, anyone else — “Jealousy, Jealousy”
You don’t know what true angst is until you’ve spent hours, weeks, or even years dreaming of a completely different life.
You said it was true love / But wouldn’t that be hard? You can’t love anyone ‘cause that would mean you had a heart — “Vampire”
No one knows how to cut you down quite like a young girl, and this line hits harder than a stake to the heart (vampire analogy intended).
Wanna kiss his face / With an uppercut / I wanna meet his mom / Just to tell her her son sucks — “Get Him Back!”
Who among us can’t relate to being so motivated by lust and revenge that we’ve fantasized about telling off our ex’s mother? It’s a universal experience, age notwithstanding.
It takes strength to forgive, but I don’t feel strong — “The Grudge”
You know a lyric is good when it reads like a line from a 2000s rom-com.
There’s nothin’ left for me to sing / I screamed, I cried, I did the whole thing / And I loved you mad, but it doesn’t matter anymore — “Stranger”
Pro tip: When a girl says “It doesn’t matter,” do not take her word at face value — especially when she’s just been screaming and crying.
