The wait is over. Olivia Rodrigo’s extremely anticipated sophomore album, “Guts,” is out on the planet, and it is all the pieces we had hoped for and extra. The “Good 4 U” singer is thought for penning vulnerably trustworthy, true-to-life lyrics that run the gamut of all of the complicated and fantastic — albeit typically messy — feelings coming of age has to supply. Her newest LP is not any exception (which might be why followers might be utilizing “Guts” lyrics for Instagram captions for years to come back).
A follow-up to the 20-year-old singer-songwriter’s record-shattering debut report that launched her to international superstardom, “Sour,” “Guts” consists of 12 songs on its customary version, and a number of other of these tracks have already grow to be instantaneous fan favorites — particularly “Lacy.” Clocking in at two minutes and 58 seconds, the fourth monitor on the album packs in highly effective, gut-wrenching lyrics that cohesively tie into the overarching theme of the compilation. The mid-tempo ballad finds Rodrigo consumed with envy and fury because it explores her fixation and rising resentment towards somebody named Lacy. The title alone is sending listeners on a lyrical Easter egg hunt as they attempt to decode the which means behind its hard-hitting, punchy lyrics. So, who precisely is the titular Lacy? Let’s dissect the lyrical inspiration behind “Lacy” forward.
Olivia Rodrigo’s “Lacy” Which means
The track begins off by offering vivid descriptors for the seeming protagonist, Lacy. She’s good, interesting, has “skin like puff pastry,” and is so unbelievably stunning that Rodrigo goes so far as to name her “Bardot reincarnate” and somebody so completely angelic that she seems to be “made of angel dust.” The “Vampire” singer notices each little factor Lacy does whereas additionally confiding about her deteriorating state of psychological well-being. “Did I ever tell you that I’m not doin’ well?” she sings on the finish of the primary verse.
Rodrigo aptly likens admiring Lacy’s absolute flawlessness to the “sweetest torture,” one thing that has taken over her life to the purpose that it is taking its toll, but she can not seem to cease. Nevertheless, because the singer strikes on to the second verse, her admiration of Lacy seems to be turning bitter, as she finds herself evaluating herself to Lacy and, in consequence, feeling insufficient or less-than. It is virtually as if Lacy is taunting her by merely present. “I’m losin’ it lately / I feel your compliments like bullets on skin,” she wistfully confesses within the second verse earlier than the upcoming refrain declares her resentment and wrestle with these undesirable feelings of inferiority. “Try to rationalize, people are people / But it’s like you’re made of angel dust,” she sighs.
The outro is a heightened model of her infatuation-turned-aversion as her idealization of Lacy dissipates, leaving her enraged. “Lacy, Oh, Lacy / It’s like you’re out to get me / You poison every little thing that I do,” she kicks off the bitter revelation earlier than acknowledging her personal culpability in placing Lacy on a pedestal, and, by doing so, being her personal worst enemy. “Lacy, oh, Lacy / I loathe you lately / And I despise my jealous eyes and how hard they fell for you / Yeah, I despise my rotten mind and how much it worships you,” she closes out the monitor, expressing bitterness in the direction of herself for the way in which issues turned out.
Who Is Olivia Rodrigo’s “Lacy” About?
On its face, “Lacy” might simply be a few woman named Lacy whom Rodrigo reveres and measures herself up in opposition to. Nevertheless, because the monitor goes on, it turns into obvious that Lacy won’t be an precise individual, however a figment of Rodrigo’s creativeness. If Lacy seems too good to be true, it is as a result of she is not actual, however a witty lyrical machine employed by Rodrigo. Lacy is probably going the personification of the Good Younger Lady that the “Brutal” singer strives — and, at instances, desperately needs — to be.
The aspiration to be “Lacy” begins out harmless however quickly spirals right into a full-blown unhealthy obsession, which chips away at Rodrigo’s shallowness over time. She finally realizes that she’s the creator of her distress as she tries and fails to stay as much as the unattainable magnificence and gender norms imposed by the media and the general public basically. The outro echoes her indignation as she acknowledges how younger ladies’s self-worth and worth are so usually tied to their bodily look, and, having realized it, she loathes herself for desirous to chase the perfection that Lacy embodies. Even then, she’s self-aware of the half she performed in indulging and shopping for into these unrealistic expectations as a younger girl within the leisure trade.
The operating theme of “Guts” is introspection and self-discovery, because it presents an unflinchingly trustworthy portrayal of Rodrigo’s (very public) teenage experiences as she enters her 20s. “Lacy” is not the one monitor that speaks to her deep-seated insecurities, self-doubt, and emotions of inadequacy as she navigates her younger maturity. The seething album opener, “All-American B*tch,” unleashes her long-repressed anguish over being so removed from an ideal American woman that is poised, an everlasting optimist, a reasonably crier, and just about “grateful all the time” for all that she has. Equally, monitor 11 on the report, “Pretty Isn’t Pretty” delves into the psychological turmoil that originates from not aligning with societal bodily expectations for girls. “When pretty isn’t pretty enough, what do you do?” she says, exasperated, earlier than lamenting how unattainable it’s to fulfill each single a kind of absurd parameters anyway.
Olivia Rodrigo’s Quotes About “Lacy”
Whereas Rodrigo hasn’t but addressed the monitor in an interview, she has spoken about its thematic inspiration whereas making the album. “Nobody can be perfect, ever,” she advised The Guardian within the September 2023 story. “It’s so funny because I am so strait-laced. But it’s hard. I feel super mature in some ways and super stunted in others cos of how I’ve grown up.” In the identical interview, she mentioned, “I’ve always felt like: you can never admit it, be so grateful all the time, so many people want this position. And that causes a lot of repressed feelings. I’ve always struggled with wanting to be this perfect American girl and the reality of not feeling like that all the time.”
Olivia Rodrigo’s “Lacy” Lyrics
Take a look at the “Lacy” lyrics of their entirety beneath (by way of Genius).
VERSE 1
Lacy, oh, Lacy, pores and skin like puff pastry
Aren’t you the sweetest factor on this aspect of Hell?
Expensive angel Lacy, eyes white as daisies
Did I ever let you know that I am not doin’ nicely?
CHORUS
Ooh, I care, I care, I care
Like fragrance that you just put on, I linger on a regular basis
Watching, hidden in plain sight
And ooh, I strive, I strive, I strive
But it surely takes over my life, I see you in all places
The sweetest torture one might bear
VERSE 2
Sensible, attractive Lacy, I am losin’ it these days
I really feel your compliments like bullets on pores and skin
Dazzling starlet, Bardot reincarnate
Nicely, aren’t you the best factor to ever exist?
CHORUS
Ooh, I care, I care, I care
Like ribbons in your hair, my abdomen’s all in knots
You bought the one factor that I need
Ooh, I strive, I strive, I strive
Attempt to rationalize, persons are folks
But it surely’s such as you’re manufactured from angel mud
BRIDGE
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
Outro
Lacy, oh, Lacy, it is such as you’re out to get me
You poison each little factor that I do
Lacy, oh, Lacy, I simply detest you recently
And I despise my jealous eyes and the way onerous they fell for you
Yeah, I despise my rotten thoughts and the way a lot it worships you
