Pop-sensation Olivia Rodrigo came out with her new album, “GUTS”, and with that, she released four limited-edition vinyls, each coming in a different color: purple, red, white, and blue. Each vinyl was correlated with a letter, overall spelling out ‘GUTS’. What we didn’t know is that there is a 13th song on each vinyl, each color getting a different unreleased song. The G red vinyl’s extra song is ‘obsessed’, the U white vinyl’s extra song is ‘scared of my guitar’, the T blue vinyl’s extra song is ‘stranger’ and the S purple vinyl’s song is ‘girl i’ve always been’.
These songs came as a surprise to everyone upon playing her vinyl and hearing an additional unknown song. Olivia officially released new versions of all four songs on Spotify, with an extra fifth song, “so american”, this past Friday, calling the release of the GUTS Deluxe album “GUTS (spilled)”. How creative! I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to review and analyze all five of these songs.
I also feel the need to add, I started writing this article over a week ago, listening to the ‘secret tracks’ under Spotify podcasts that people had uploaded and I reviewed the songs based off of that. My article was scheduled to be uploaded on Friday, the day that Olivia announced that GUTS Deluxe would be coming out, so I would like to be delusional and convince myself that I manifested Olivia’s official release of these songs.
- Obsessed
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‘obsessed’ is definitely one of my top favorites out of all of Olivia’s songs. This song details Olivia’s infatuation with her partner’s ex-girlfriend, and how she completely incapsulates her thoughts. I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever related to a song more in my life.
When my ex cut me off for another girl, I stalked her so much that I had to delete Instagram. She was all I thought about all day every day, and I found myself continuing to stalk her even after they ended things. While this is SO embarrassing to admit, I’m not alone in this; this is exactly what Olivia sings about.
In the first verse, she says “If I told you how much I think about her you’d think I was in love / And if you knew how much I looked at her pictures you would think we’re best friends”. Olivia continues with how she knows practically every detail about her boyfriend’s ex, and how it drives her insane.
I have honestly never related to a song more than I do to this song. While I can’t relate to it now (because I have since stopped stalking my ex’s ex) this song brings me back to those solid few weeks where I was stalking this girl every single day and thought about her every single second of the day.
In the pre-chorus, Olivia sings “And I know you love me, and I know it’s crazy / But every time you call my name, I think you mistake me for her / You both have moved on, you don’t even talk / But I can’t help it, I got issues, I can’t help it, baby” These lyrics truly show a glimpse about the insecurities that have arose due to Olivia’s obsession with her boyfriend’s ex. She explains that her “issues” are what cause her to act like this, which is so relatable to so many girls out there. It’s so hard to not compare yourself to your partner’s exes and wonder if they were better than you are.
I love how this song strays away from Olivia’s typical slow pop songs, falling under a rock genre. The intensity of this song increases throughout, truly exemplifying how intense Olivia’s obsession with her boyfriend’s ex is. The upbeat and fast-paced chorus is the epitome of the jealousy and obsession over a partner’s ex that arises.
Many people think this song is a “sister song” to ‘deja vu‘, with ‘obsessed‘ being from the current girlfriend’s perspective and ‘deja vu‘ being from the ex girlfriend’s perspective. HerCampus writer Eileen Flaherty wrote an amazing article analyzing this theory, and if it’s true, then it definitely adds to Olivia’s overall creativity that she continues to show to us.
Olivia not only released this song, but she also released a music video for “obsessed”, and honestly, I’m OBSESSED with it. Olivia is seen with all of her partner’s gorgeous pageant-worthy exes, all wearing sashes relating to their past relationships. Olivia is wearing a black dress, completely contrasting from all of the women, who are wearing white dresses. Olivia hands out trophies to these women, inciting the jealousy that she feels over them. This music video is pure genius and it makes my love for this song grow even stronger.
Favorite lyrics: “Is she friends with your friends? Is she good in bed? Do you think about her? No, I’m fine, it doesn’t matter, tell me is she easy-going? Ever controlling?”
Specifically the “No, I’m fine, it doesn’t matter, tell me…” I feel like in these lyrics, you can truly grasp the obsession that Olivia has with her partner’s ex. This verse is ADDICTING to listen to and you can truly hear the desperation and obsession in her tone of voice within these lyrics. Convincing her boyfriend that it’s fine and that she doesn’t care about his ex, but pressing on and on with questions that she so desperately needs to know the answers to.
In my opinion, this song is so relatable to so many girls out there who find themselves obsessively stalking either their boyfriend’s ex or their ex’s new girlfriend, or even their ex’s ex. This song is the hidden reality of relationships and exes that nobody really talks about. We all stalk other girls and obsess over them, but we never really admit it because we don’t want to seem ‘crazy’. Olivia really validated my feelings with this song, and that it’s almost a universal experience to be obsessed with your partner’s ex. I love this song and it is genuinely pure musical genius.
- Girl I’ve always been
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Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about this song. I purchased Olivia’s purple vinyl and was one of the first to hear this song and was absolutely addicted to the catchy and country vibe, despite not being a country fan whatsoever. Olivia officially released a different version of this song on Friday, and honestly? I like the other version more! I do still like this song, but not as much as the others on the deluxe album.
Regardless, this song is still so catchy, and I find myself constantly singing it throughout the day. Olivia sings about how she has always stayed true to herself and her identity despite being done wrong by someone who accuses her of acting different. This song can honestly be interpreted in so many ways, which honestly adds to the beauty of it.
In the first verse, Olivia says “”Baby doll, you have changed” / That’s the thing you always say / Cursin’ me, trash my name / I rained all over your parade / Now you’re on my couch, you’re fightin’ tears / You say I’m cruel beyond my years / And as I’m walkin’ out that door / Say you don’t know me anymore” I feel like these lyrics are so powerful. My interpretation of this is that her partner backstabbed her, hence the “Cursin’ me, trash my name”, and when Olivia finally had had enough, she walked out the door and was accused of having ‘changed’. Knowing your worth and when you’re done being treated poorly is not acting different!
She says in her second verse “So don’t say that I’ve been actin’ different / I’m nothin’ if I’m not consistent / You knew everything you’d be gettin’ / I told you right from the beginnin'” and I feel like this is really relatable to a lot of people. It’s so frequent where you’ll get accused of acting different when you’ve always been consistent and are the person you’ve been from the beginning.
In the chorus she sings, “I got wrapped up in the game again / And you woke up in an empty bed / And I can’t say I’m a perfect ten / But I am the girl I’ve always been” In my eyes, getting “wrapped up in the game again” infers repeating the cycle of a toxic relationship, but she continues by saying “And you woke up in an empty bed”, inferring that this ex is waking up alone, having to deal with the consequences of their actions. She says she may not be perfect, but she has never changed and that’s one thing about her that reigns true.
It’s so admirable that Olivia is showing some self-identity and that she truly knows who she is. In some of her other songs, such as “making the bed”, it seems like Olivia struggles with self-identity, but in this song, Olivia acknowledges from the start that she knows who she is and that that is something that hasn’t ever changed.
Olivia has never dove into the country realm of music before, and even though I’m not a country fan whatsoever, I still really like this song. I love Olivia’s country accent in this song, and it’s a side of her that I never expected to see (but that I hope I see more of!!!)
Favorite lyrics: “Well, I have captors I call friends / I got panic rooms inside my head / And I get down with crooked men / But I am the girl I’ve always been.”
Not only are these lyrics SO CATCHY and honestly addicting, but I also think they’re really honest and creative too. Everyone has their quirks about them, and Olivia is open to admit this. She may be a little crazy and do things that are out of the ordinary, but she’s always done this. I love that within this song, I’m able to learn more about Olivia and the person that she truly is. The lyrics “I got panic rooms inside my head” are so relatable because it feels so honest for Olivia to admit that she deals with internal struggles, because I feel like this is a reality for so many women out there.
This song is so pretty and dives into the reality of relationships and breakups, where you get backstabbed and accused of changing, but the reality is, you’re the same as you’ve always been. I love Olivia being firm on her sense of identity and knowing who she is. This song is such a fun and catchy song to listen to, but I wish she released the original vinyl version of it!
- scared of my guitar
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This song is so breathtaking and meaningful, and while the title can be interpreted it in many different ways, I think this song reflects on Olivia’s songwriting, and how she’s utilizing her guitar and her songwriting to cope with the truth of her discontent in the relationship. In the first verse, she says “Perfect, easy, so good to me / So why’s there a pit in my gut in the shape of you?”. In my eyes, it’s evident that she’s in a healthy relationship but the pit in her gut is Olivia knowing deep down that her partner simply isn’t quite right for her.
In the pre-chorus, she says “Barely sleep when you sleep next to me / But I keep thinkin’ I’ll find a cure / I say that I’m fine, I tell you all the time / I’ve never felt so happy and sure” Olivia explains that she can’t sleep when she’s with her partner, hoping that it’ll change, but in reality, her body is rejecting this person. She doesn’t want to admit it, so she reassures him that she’s happy and confident with him but knows that deep down, this isn’t true and that he just isn’t right for her.
In the chorus, Olivia says “But I’m so scared of my guitar / ‘Cause it cuts right through to the heart / Yeah it knows me too well so I got no excuse / I can’t lie to it the same way I lie to you” In my eyes, this is essentially Olivia admitting that she knows herself too well and that she isn’t able to lie to herself about her relationship the way that she lies to her partner. She knows the truth and that she shouldn’t be in this relationship. She says “Once you let the thought in, then it’s already done / So I lay in your arms and pretend that it’s love” These lyrics are so powerful. Olivia knows that once she admits that this relationship isn’t right for her, then it’ll actually be true, and it will no longer just be a thought in her brain that she’s able to ignore. Instead of having to cope with this, she lays in her partner’s arms and pretends that their relationship is love when she knows it’s not.
Olivia repeats “I pretend that it’s love” over and over again in the bridge, which is just so powerful and meaningful. Her vocals are also incredibly amazing in the bridge, with her voice sounding just so beautiful and powerful. It’s so genuine of her to admit that she’s scared of not being in a relationship, so she stays with someone that she knows isn’t right and instead, convinces herself that it is. These lyrics really hit me hard, because I feel like so many of us have been in those shoes, where we’re pretending someone loves us and that we love them, just so we can experience the feeling of love even if it isn’t real. Sometimes, people have such a need for validation that they’ll do anything to get it.
In the second verse, Olivia sings “I’d rather be tied to someone, even if they’re wrong” Wow. These lyrics are so honest and relatable to so many women in the world, myself included. I find myself heavily resonating with these lyrics, as I’m sure many others do. While it may be a terrible thing to admit, I’d honestly be with someone who I know isn’t right for me than simply being alone for the rest of my life.
In the final chorus, Olivia finishes with “Yeah, I lay in your arms and pretend it’s enough” It seems evident that this relationship just isn’t enough for her, but she wants to feel loved so she just pretends that it’s enough because she’d rather have something than nothing.
I feel like it’s really powerful that this song’s main instrument is a guitar. Olivia is singing about being scared of her guitar, yet she sings with her guitar, which is oxymoronic, yet so symbolic. This really symbolizes the need to listen to her guitar and let go of her relationship, but being unable to.
Favorite lyrics: “Cause what if I never find anything better? / The doubt always creeps through my mind / So we’ll stay together ’cause how could I ever / Trade somethin’ that’s good for what’s right?”
Wow. This verse is just so beautiful and masterful and it is honestly everything. This perfectly depicts what it’s like being in a relationship that you just know deep down isn’t right, but being too scared of the idea that you won’t find anyone else. ‘What if I never find anything better?’ These simple seven words are such a lyrical masterpiece. This is a fear that so many women experience when they’re in a relationship that they know just isn’t right for them, but they are too scared that they won’t find anyone better. Olivia chooses to stay in this relationship because she’s scared that this is the best she’ll ever have, and she’d rather have that than nothing.
This song is so powerful and dives into the realities of being in a relationship with someone you know isn’t right, but you don’t want to be alone. It elaborates on knowing that you can’t lie to yourself, but being too scared to do anything about it due to the fear of being alone and not being able to find anyone who is truly right for you. So, Olivia lies to herself and pretends that her relationship is love when she knows deep down that it isn’t.
- Stranger
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This might honestly be my favorite song that Olivia has ever released. This song beautifully captures what it’s like to wake up and come to the realization that you’ve finally moved on from your ex. I haven’t been able to relate to this song until recently, and it makes this song even more powerful and beautiful knowing that I can sing this song and actually relate to it, something I thought I’d never be able to do.
This song is really different from all of Olivia’s songs, because none of her songs depict actually being over an ex and the relief that it brings. She explains in the first verse that everyone always told her that the pain of heartbreak would subside and that over time, she’d move on, but that she “always believed that it was some comforting lie”. I feel like it’s such a reality that everyone faces when faced with heartbreak; hearing the repetitive and obnoxious “You’ll move on,” from friends and family just feels like a bold-faced lie and that you’ll never get over your ex, and Olivia perfectly incapsulates those thoughts.
In the chorus, Olivia sings “‘Cause I was half myself without you and now I feel so complete / And I can’t even remember what made me lose all that sleep / I cried a million rivers for you, but that’s over now” These lyrics are just SO beautiful; there is genuinely no other word I can use to describe it. While it may seem dramatic, I don’t even know how to analyze these lyrics. I relate to this to such an extreme extent that I’m honestly speechless reading these lines.
I feel like this is something that is a universal experience for all girls everywhere, where we destroy ourselves over a guy or girl and then months later, we can’t even remember why we were so upset. It’s so heartbreaking crying over the loss of someone who’s leaving your life, and I find the grieving process to be worse than any physical pain I could ever imagine. And that is exactly what makes the healing process so much more meaningful. It’s such an eye-opening feeling waking up one day and realizing that you’ve finally healed from the heartbreak that you were once absolutely destroyed over, and how silly all of those tears shed were.
Olivia sings, “You’re just a stranger I know everything about” and this is something that is so weird to me about breakups. We spend weeks, months, sometimes even years, learning every single detail about a person. What their favorite movie is, what their biggest pet peeve is, what their go-to coffee order is, what their biggest insecurity is; the list goes on and on. We spend so much time learning everything there is to know about a person, and we memorize every part of their body to the point where we even have a favorite freckle of theirs, only for them to one day become a stranger that we never speak to ever again. Olivia explains this and how she’s okay with it; she spent so much time getting to fully know someone only for them to become a stranger, but because she knows that this person was never right for her, she’s okay with it.
Olivia sings about this in the second verse: “Oh, but I hope you’re happy babe, you know I really do / And God knows I am the girl I am because of you / You know I’ll always think of you, I’ll love you ’til the end of time / You are the best thing that I’ll ever keep so far out of my life”. These lines are the true epitome of finally being over an ex. Olivia truly wishes her ex-boyfriend nothing but happiness, and that she knows that she’s the person that she is because of him. I really relate to these lyrics. For me, I still have love for my ex-boyfriend and I think I always will. He was in my life for so long and I’ll always care about him, but I just know that he isn’t meant to be in my life ever again. It’s so meaningful finally coming to that realization that someone isn’t meant to be in your life anymore.
The bridge of this song is really beautiful as well, and I feel like it perfectly exemplifies healing from someone. “There’s nothin’ left for me to know / I had to stay, you had to go / And it was mean, but it doesn’t matter anymore though / 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, no” I feel like with breakups, all we do is question what went wrong and rethink everything over and over and over again until we drive ourselves insane. Olivia says that there’s nothing left for her to know anymore, and that the breakup might’ve been mean, but it simply had to happen and it just doesn’t matter to her anymore. She went through the heartbreak process, and she screamed and she cried over how much she loved him, but it just doesn’t matter anymore. These lyrics really hit home for me and honestly make me so sad, yet so happy, at the same time.
It’s such an eye-opening moment to realize that that person that we shed so many tears over just isn’t right for us, and that they never were. Among the final lines, Olivia sings “And if I’m not enough for you, you’re not enough for me / I fought a million battles, but you can’t get to me now / You’re just a stranger I know everything about” These lyrics reference “enough for you” from Olivia’s SOUR album, where she battles a breakup that happened as a result of her evidently not being enough for her partner. But in “stranger”, Olivia sings these lyrics with more of an acceptance that because she isn’t enough for her partner, that he isn’t enough for her. This shows such personal growth; finally know your worth and that you’re able to recognize that we deserve so much more than someone who doesn’t think that we’re enough.
Favorite lyrics: “I thought of all the things I did to try and win your love / How did that happen? I can’t imagine ever doing all that stuff for just some guy / Like you’re just some guy”.
I’ll be real, it was honestly so hard for me to pick my favorite lyrics from this song, but this verse is just something that is so relatable to me. I’ve destroyed myself and completely changed who I am for a guy, and looking back at it, I honestly can’t believe some of the things that I’ve done for a man just so I can feel loved. This is definitely a universal experience for so many girls out there, and I’m so glad that Olivia addresses it in this song, because it’s something that goes unspoken in our society.
This song is so beautiful. I can’t describe it in any other way besides calling it beautiful over and over and over again. This song dives into the horrors of heartbreak, and how relieving it is to finally get over someone, but Olivia explains it in such an alluring and exquisite way.
I remember first listening to this song when it first came out, knowing I was still hung up on my ex. I thought I’d never be over my ex, having spent a year and a half crying over him as he repeatedly transitioned in and out of my life over and over again. I listened to this song once and refused to listen to it again until recently. I felt almost envious of Olivia, as she evidently has moved on from her ex, something I was positive I’d never be able to do. Now that I have finally healed and moved on from my ex-boyfriend, I just listen to this song and scream my heart out and smile. I think about all of the tears I shed over him, and how I drove myself absolutely insane and completely changed who I am and destroyed myself over someone who never cared about me the way that I cared about him, but that that’s all over now. I feel happy knowing that I’m finally over him, a day that I genuinely thought would never come.
I said it once and I’ll say it five hundred times. This song is so beautiful. A complete masterpiece. This might be my all-time favorite song ever and I find myself listening to it multiple times a day and singing it throughout my day. I feel such a range of emotions when I listen to this song because it’s just so beautiful and relatable and truly exemplifies what the healing process is like.
- so american
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WE GOT OUR FIRST LOVE SONG!!! This song is one of my all-time favorites of Olivia’s (as I’m saying about practically every new song on her deluxe album), and it’s such a change from her typical break-up songs.
This song is obviously about Olivia’s relationship with Louis Partridge, and it’s so adorable to see Olivia be hopelessly in love. This song essentially explains what it feels like to be head over heels with someone, and while I can’t relate to it at the moment, it makes me so genuinely happy for Olivia.
In the first verse, Olivia says “He says I’m pretty wearin’ his clothes / And he’s got hands that make Hell seem cold / Feet on the dashboard, he’s like a poem I wish I wrote” Is this not absolutely adorable? Olivia infers that her boyfriend is perfect and dreamy, comparing him to a poem. It’s so cute seeing Olivia finally get treated right, and it’s something that I’m so grateful to be able to witness.
In the chorus, Olivia says in an upbeat and happy tune “And he laughs at all my jokes / And he says I’m so American / Oh God, it’s just not fair of him / To make me feel this much / I’d go anywhere he goes / And he says I’m so American / Oh God, I’m gonna marry him / If he keeps this shit up / I might just be in la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-love” This is actually so cute and truly idealizes a perfect relationship and what it feels like to be in love. It’s obvious that this song is about Louis Partridge within the lyrics “And he says I’m so American”, as Louis is from London and Olivia is from America. It seems to be an inside joke that they have, that obviously seems to make Olivia giggle and kick her feet. She says that if he keeps treating her this way, she’s gonna MARRY HIM, and that she may just be in love. It honestly makes me smile just reading these lyrics, because it’s so cute seeing Olivia happy and lovestruck and that she’s proud to show it to everyone. The repetitiveness of the “la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-love” shows the giggly happy feeling that one experiences when they’re truly in love, and it’s so cute.
Olivia sings in the second verse “I really love my bed, but, man, it’s hard to sleep when he’s with me / When he’s with me” This song contrasts “scared of my guitar”, where Olivia sings “Barely sleep when you sleep next to me” because she knows her partner isn’t right for her. But in “so american”, Olivia sings that it’s hard to sleep when she’s with her boyfriend because of the excitement and happiness that she feels when she’s with him. The contrast is so cute and it truly shows how happy Olivia is in her relationship.
In the bridge, Olivia says “I don’t wanna assume this stuff / But ain’t it love? / Think I’m in love” This is just so cute and it makes me so happy knowing that Olivia has written so many sad heartbreak songs, and that she’s finally in love in a healthy relationship. It made me so excited to hear Olivia announce to the world that she’s in love, and I felt so happy for her.
Favorite lyrics: My favorite lyrics are actually the outro itself, where Olivia’s producer, Dan Nigro yells “Okay!” and Olivia yells “Stop it! Ah!” Olivia sounds so embarrassed and giddy, and it’s such a happy feeling when you’re flustered over someone. You can genuinely hear her smile in this outro, and it’s so adorable how happy and lovestruck she sounds within this outro. Olivia truly sounds so elated in this outro, and I find myself smile whenever I reach the end of this song and hear these lyrics.
I love this song. This song feels like the type of song that I’d blast in my car with the windows down, and I love Olivia’s upbeat and happy tone. This song truly exemplifies what it feels like to be in love and although I can’t currently relate to it, I still love listening to it and screaming my heart out. This song makes me so happy to listen to and I just feel so happy for Olivia knowing that she’s finally being treated how she deserves to be treated. As HerCampus writer Eliana Jacobs writes in her article about “so american”, this song is basically a love letter Olivia wrote to her boyfriend, and we’re all here for it!
- overall thoughts
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Honestly, I think that “GUTS (spilled)” is an absolute masterpiece. These five songs are so beautiful and so creative in their own perfect way, and I genuinely can’t get enough of them. ‘obsessed‘, a song about being completely obsessed and infatuated with your partner’s ex to the point where you drive yourself insane. ‘scared of my guitar‘, a song about being in a relationship that you know isn’t right for you but being too scared to admit it because you don’t want to be alone, so you stay in this relationship and pretend that it’s love when you know deep down that it isn’t. ‘stranger‘, a song about waking up one day and realizing that you’ve finally moved on from your ex, and recognizing the relief that it brings and how much you’ve healed. ‘girl i’ve always been‘, a song about having someone backstab you and being accused of having “changed” when you’re the same girl you’ve always been from the start. “so american”, a song about being in love and the giddy, silly feelings that it brings. These songs and their lyrics are so mesmerizing, and I have genuinely been listening to them NONSTOP since they came out (my friends can attest; I have been playing nothing other than “GUTS (spilled)” for the past several days). My final thoughts? Olivia Rodrigo is a lyrical genius.