is a misnomer: there really are few cheerful tracks to be noticed.
As an alternative, the 19-year-old singer reflects heavily on her own trauma as a young woman whose career suddenly blown up, bringing her — and all of her youthful growing pains — into the spotlight. “I went through some crazy shit, also it really affected me and made me not desire to go near anyone ever,” she
in June. She began feeling better while in her Any time We All Fall Asleep tour soon after a tough breakup, which is referenced in tracks like “I Didn’t Change My Number” and “Happier Than Ever,” and seeking therapy. In dealing with this, her mom gave her some educated words.
“When you’re happier than ever, that doesn’t mean you’re the happiest that anyone’s ever been. It means you’re happier than you were before," Eilish recalled to the magazine, detailing the nuance to her album title.
Though the album is in large part Eilish's reckoning with her celebrity, she manages to create it relatable by exploring universal feelings of heartbreak and isolation. She also tackles essential systemic issues, skewering the rampant abuse by powerful gentlemen in “Your Power” and taking on the objectifiable male gaze in “Male Fantasy.” In this way, Eilish brings her listeners along for the ride, while also delivering her signature serene, synthy sounds. Below, we break down each song of
“Getting Older”
Listen to it any time you’re feeling: like reflecting on life
Key lyric: “I’m gettin' older, I think I'm agin' well / I wish someone had notified me I'd be doin' this by myself”
Eilish opens the album with synthetic elements, reflecting how much she has grown while in her life and becoming well known as a teenager. She has a lot of reasons to be thankful and grateful, nevertheless it could be bittersweet any time it comes to facing online troll and constant scrutiny: “But it's different as soon as once a stranger's habitually waitin' at your door / Which is ironic 'cause the strangers seem to want me more / Than anyone before.” Billie brings a trustworthy take to her experience in the music industry, even any time it is painful.
“I Didn’t Change My Number”
Listen to it once you’re feeling: in need of distance from an ex
Key lyric: “I only changed who I reply to”
In this soulful R&B track, Eilish doesn’t aspire to speak to an ex anymore, refusing to reply to their texts. “You got a lot of fuckin’ nerve,” she sings, though she has no sympathy left. Eilish holds some guilt for not listening to her childhood companions that this love interest was bad news. The song concludes with distorted synths, which seem to signal the relationship breaking apart.
“Billie Bossa Nova”
Listen to it once you’re feeling: flirty yet cautious
Key lyric: “I'm not sentimental / Yet there's somethin' 'bout the way you look tonight”
Eilish uses bossa nova sounds to craft a romantic atmosphere. She pines to be alone with a lover while also attempting to keep a low profile from the press: “Some information's not for sharing / Use different names at hotel check-ins.” Even while it’s just the two of those, Eilish worries her boo might tell the world about their relationship.
“My Future”
Listen to it any time you’re feeling: ambitious
Key lyric: “I'm in love / With my future”
Eilish reflects on her life in a song that swells with electronics, though it transitions to a funkier groove once the hopeful second verse hits. “My Future” specifics her journey of self-discovery and reaching for greater heights: “And I, I'm in love / Although not with anybody else / Just wanna get to know myself.” However she admits she has romantic feelings for someone, she is aware it could be a distraction from her journey.
“Oxytocin”
Listen to it any time you’re feeling: naughty
Key lyric: “'Cause I like to do things God doesn't approve of if she saw us”
The techno track’s title refers to the hormone that plays a role in causing love, lust, orgasms, and attachment. Eilish is really feeling naughty tonight: “I wanna do bad things to you / I wanna make you yell / I wanna do bad things to you / Don't wanna treat you well.” If you’re at the club with your spouse and feeling overwhelmed with desire, this is the ideal song to get your grind on.
“Goldwing”
Listen to it as soon as you’re feeling: vulnerable
Key lyric: “Go residence, don't tell”
Eilish starts with a chant: "He hath come to the bosom of his beloved / Smiling on him, she beareth him to highest heav'n.” The intro lyrics are obtained from a 1907 Gustav Holst translation of choral hymns from a sacred Hindu text. The religious writing is leveraged for a discussion about how ladies are exploited in the industry. Billie, as a gold-winged messenger, tries to warn and help weak ladies from harm. “You better keep your head down,” she sings. “They're gonna tell you what you wanna hear / Then they're gonna disappear.”
“Lost Cause”
Listen to it as soon as you’re feeling: disappointed by your crush
Key lyric: “You weren't even there that day / I was waitin' on you / I wonder in case you were aware that day / Was the last straw for me and I knew”
Eilish is dismayed that her love interest is inconsiderate of her. At first, she thought they were just shy. “But maybe you just had nothing on your mind / Maybe you were thinkin' 'bout yourself all of the time,” Billie sings. It's also a little bit of a tell-off, implying this person is a careless deadbeat: “I know you think you're such an outlaw / Although you got no job.” In the end, she is aware this relationship is a lost cause.
“Halley’s Comet”
Listen to it any time you’re feeling: tired of being in love
Key lyric: “I don't want it / And I don't aspire to want you”
The song starts as a piano ballad for Eilish to confess she cannot stop thinking about someone she’s fallen in love with. “I've been loved before, although now in this moment / I feel increasingly like I was madе for you,” she sings because the track includes light synths and also a thumping backbeat. She’s torn, and towards the end of the song, the final verse distorts her voice to capture her complex thoughts: “I'm sitting in my brother's room / Haven't slept in a week, or two, or two / think I may havе fallen in love / What am I to do?”
“Not My Responsibility”
Listen to it once you’re feeling: over the body-shaming
Key lyric: “Is my value only on your perception?”
in case you followed Eilish’s Where Do We Go? World Tour, this could seem familiar. The audio is from a short film that was distributed in March 2020 throughout her show in Orlando as an interlude. It is Eilish’s response to the backlash and body-shaming she has obtained while in her career. “We make assumptions about people based on their size / We determine who they are / We determine what they're worth,” she sings.
“Overheated”
Listen to it any time you’re feeling: overwhelmed by social media
Key lyric: “I'm overheated, can't be defeated / Can't be deleted, can't un-relievе it”
Eilish discusses how social media has felt overpowering throughout her rise to fame. Everything she posts is scrutinized (“I began talkin', they began laughin’”). Any time as soon as she goes outdoors, she is gazed upon (“I began watchin' them photographin’ / I don't really know how it happened”). Even if she deletes something, it’s still on the world wide web forever because someone somewhere has seen and kept it on record. “Is it news? News to who? / That I really looked just like the rest of you,” she sings.
“Everybody Dies”
Listen to it once you’re feeling: afraid of being alone
Key lyric: “I don't wanna cry, sometimes I do / Nevertheless not about you / It's just a lot to think about”
Eilish reflects on the thought of death and why everything comes to an end with dark synths that flawlessly fit the atmosphere. Normally, people fear dying because you lose somebody you love in the process. Some days, you could feel abandoned. She even wonders about any time it’s her time: “Everybody dies / And any time will I?”
“Your Power”
Listen to it as soon as you’re feeling: like standing up to someone powerful
Key lyric: “I thought that I was special / You made me feel / Like it was my fault, you were the devil”
In an acoustic guitar ballad, Eilish brings awareness to the trauma of abuse and power imbalances in a relationship: “Try not to abuse your power / I know we didn't pick to change / you could may not wanna lose your power / However havin' it's so strange.” She also wonders from time to time if abusers know what they do is wrong. “How dare you? / And why could you?” She asks. It’s easy to want answers and closure nevertheless in the end, however it’s better to be self-aware of any toxic mannerisms and attitudes you have got to avoid hurting others.
“NDA”
Listen to it once you’re feeling: defensive
Key lyric: “Yeah, I made him sign a NDA / Once was good enough / ‘Cause I don't want him havin' shit to mention, oh-oh”
Eilish’s struggles to have a private personalized life and also a romantic partner have some days been caused by the creeps that watch her every move, so much so that she “had to save [her] cash for security.” Deep synth bass beats and plucky strings accompany the instrumentals to prepare an eerie atmosphere. Due to the stress of fame, Eilish some days has second thoughts about her career: “30 under 30 for another year / I can barely go outdoors, I think I hate it here.”
“Therefore I Am”
Listen to it once you’re feeling: sick of fake friends’ bullshit
Key lyric: “I’m not your friend / Or anything, damn”
The title of this R&B track is a play on the iconic philosophical quote from René Descartes, “I think, so I am.” As a result of her celebrity, Eilish explains feeling distrustful from time to time whenever making connections, fearing her companions might be using her for clout. It’s even frustrating whenever people think they know her although they really don’t: “Don't talk 'bout me like how you may know how I feel / Top of the world, nevertheless your world isn't real / Your world's an ideal.” Even in the event you're an enormous stan for your preference artist, you’ll never know everything about them.
“Happier Than Ever”
Listen to it once you’re feeling: mad and sad soon after a breakup, however better off than before
Key lyric: “When I'm away from you / I’m happier than ever”
The title track starts as an acoustic breakup ballad, calling out an ex who made Eilish miserable: “I knew any time If I asked you to / Be cool about what I was tellin' you / You'd do the opposite of what you mentioned you'd do / And I'd just be more afraid.” Upon the second verse, the song evolves to bass strings evoking aggravation. By the third, a hard electric guitar rages to exclaim her anger and sadness: “And all that you did was make me fuckin' sad / So don't waste the time I don't have / And don't attempt to create me feel bad.” In the event you listen cautiously in the outro, you could hear guttural screams accompanying the riffs, so if you’re going through a rough breakup, feel free to rage along.
“Male Fantasy”
Listen to it once you’re feeling: heartbroken
Key lyric: “Guess it's hard to know / Any time nobody else comes around / If I'm getting over you / Or just pretending to / Be alright, convince myself I hate you”
The album closes with a somber acoustic ballad as Eilish tries to move on from a recent heartbreak, reflecting on what is real love and what isn't. The title is a reference to Eilish’s feelings that pornography perpetuates a fantasy in which ladies exist solely to please males. “Distract myself with pornography / I hate the way she looks at me,” she sings. Yet Eilish understands real love is more than just sex. And some days, you just can’t explain it.