Trust Nessa Barrett to surprise fans with a scathing single that is about the sinking feeling we get when we ultimately lose something we’ve been hoping for for a long time. But instead of accepting that a chapter has closed, she consoles herself by hoping that her ex will never truly love anyone but her.
“The hardest pill to swallow / Is knowing that tomorrow you’re not mine, mine, mine / If I don’t get to have you / Thank God our matching tattoos last for life, life, life,” she sings in the first verse, describing the relief she gets from knowing that her ex still has a piece of her that will last for a long time.
Whether the ex walks down the aisle with his new lover, Barrett is still not getting over the fact that their relationship had ended. She still wants him to think about her and continue to love her, even when he’s kissing his new girl and telling her he loves her. Throughout the single, Barrett describes a person who isn’t ready to let go, instead choosing to abide in fantasies that no matter who her ex is with, he’s still in love with her.
This is a single that is sure to resonate with a lot of people, as anyone who’s ever loved and lost knows that letting go and finally accepting that it’s over can be very hard. And that’s exactly what the “i hope ur miserable until ur dead” singer wants to achieve with the single, “It’s about accepting that sometimes even though you want something, it’s not always meant to be. I hope people who listen to this feel an emotion that is hard for us to accept but need to in order to live a fulfilling life.”
The accompanying music video opens with Barrett walking into a house before we see her doing her makeup. She is later shown at her ex’s wedding, implying that she was getting ready to attend the event. At the end of the video, as the bride and groom ride off, we see Barrett sitting alone on the floor before the wedding’s officiating priest comes and covers her with a white cloth.
Barrett first teased the surprise single on June 20 by sharing pictures and videos from a wedding chapel. She followed it up by posting a video with the single’s instrumental in the background. Nessa Nation also participated in the release promotion by sharing a wedding invitation, with the date of the release teased at the bottom.
The single – written by Barrett, Evan Blair, and Madi Yanofsky, and produced by Blair – will be featured on her upcoming EP hell is a teenage girl.
