Lilly Buist / Editor in chief
Olivia Rodrigo’s newest single and opening track to her June album, “drop dead,” released at midnight on April 17. This single was surprisingly positive in comparison to the title of her album, “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.”
After listening to the song a few times and watching the music video, I thoroughly believe the mood of this song is a false pretense for the actual personality of the rest of her album. My prediction is that this song describes an idealistic version of love, but the rest of the album will describe feelings of dissatisfaction in relationships.
First of all, Rodrigo does not interact with anyone during the entire music video. As it opens, she dances at a party, and everyone seems to be dancing around her, interacting with others and unbothered by the fact that she is also there. Later, she is seen running through the Palace of Versailles at night by herself.
Although Rodrigo is by herself, the video feels ethereal. In fact, it feels as though if she were to interact with anyone else, this concept of perfection would disappear. Although Rodrigo sings about love in this song, it seems as though she writes from the perspective of someone not yet in a relationship who is imagining it idealistically.
Early on in the music video, Rodrigo speaks directly into the camera, saying that she “hope(s) you never finish” a drink in order to continue talking to her. However, she isn’t actually with anyone, from what the viewer can tell.
Later, Rodrigo includes lyrics like, “‘Cause I always had a vision of us standing like this,” and “But kiss me, and I might drop dead.” The last three lines mentioned share one characteristic: the words “hope,” “vision,” and “might” discuss potential, not reality.
These three lyrics, with particular emphasis on, “But kiss me and I might drop dead,” suggest that Rodrigo does not actually know what being in a relationship with this person would be like.
In fact, by using the term “drop dead,” Rodrigo emphasizes the instability of her feelings. While this is coded in an upbeat tone and a metaphor used in everyday life, if this relationship were brought to reality, it could kill her.
In this song, Rodrigo may have a fear of getting into a relationship because it’s not all she imagined it to be. Therefore, she continues to use her imagination to escape reality.
Furthermore, Rodrigo may also be alluding to the loneliness of success.
Because “drop dead” is the title track and the first released song of the album, this song will likely reach the most people. Therefore, this song represents the way Rodrigo and this album is perceived.
Rodrigo is, of course, a very successful artist. Additionally, she is perceived as an individual who has it all: youth, wealth, and a popular circle. She seems like she’s in love with her life and the people in it.
However, the most successful people are often the most lonely, and Rodrigo has likely experienced this at one point or another. This is represented by the fact that Rodrigo is completely on her own in France, known as one of the most romantic places in the world.
Although she is seen by the public as “having it all,” this music video reveals a feeling of loneliness in a place where one would think it would be impossible to be lonely. At the end of the day, she’s by herself in a castle with nothing but her own thoughts. This creates a feeling of dissatisfaction with her human relationships, as well as personal emptiness.
In summary, Rodrigo (or the character Rodrigo is portraying) is in love with someone quietly, or from a distance. Because she has an extreme sense of loneliness that she hasn’t addressed yet, she lives in her imagination of what a relationship with this person would be like.
I predict that the rest of her album will cover feelings of dissatisfaction with relationships because of fame, avoidance of her own feelings, and attempting to find something real in her life as an artist. Therefore, to those who will eventually listen to her full album and not just the title track, she will eventually seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.
So, although it doesn’t sound like it on the first listen, this song is actually just as sad as I anticipated. I look forward to the rest of the album, and I hope there is just as much in her new songs to digest as this one.
