Breaking It DownOlivia Rodrigo Spills Her ‘GUTS’ In Second Studio Album: Breakdown of the Songs, Lyrics, Meanings

Sep 8, 2023 8:10 am

By Hanna Wickes

olivia rodrigo

Forget the “driver’s license,” Olivia Rodrigo‘s got GUTS!

The singer-songwriter dropsped her highly-anticipated second album GUTS on Friday, September 8, a follow-up to her 2021 Grammy-winning debut album, SOUR. Keep reading for a breakdown of all the gutsy songs (and bonus tracks!), lyrics, meanings and more.

Olivia summed up GUTS during an interview with Guardian, saying, “It’s so much about growing up and finding your footing in the world.”

The songstress explained that after she turned 20 years old in February, she became overwhelmed by sadness. “Like, ‘Oh s–t, I worked my whole childhood and I’m never going to get it back.’ I didn’t go to football games, I didn’t have this group of girlfriends that I hung out with after school. That’s kind of sad.”

ICYMI, the singer-songwriter started off as a child star in multiple Disney shows, such as Bizaardvark, and of course, Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. She also appeared in shows like New Girl, and the All-American Girl series, Grace Stirs Up Success.

The former Disney star explained that she feels “super mature” in some ways and “super stunted” in other due to how she grew up.

“It’s just really hard to be a kid and an actor, and you can feel maybe a little taken advantage of sometimes,” she told the outlet. “The responsibility, feeling criticized in public, feeling like you have to work so much and you see your friends who can go to pool parties and hang out, and you’re stuck on set.” But she insisted, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

As for the hardest song to write for her to write for GUTS?

“There’s one song that I wrote about how my life changed because of all of the things that happened with the last album and how crazy that was,” she said during a conversation with Phoebe Bridgers for Interview magazine in September 2023. “It was cathartic in the end, but it was kind of hard dredging up all of that stuff.”

OK, now for the break down! Click through our gallery to see a deep dive into each track from Olivia’s GUTS, lyric breakdown and more.

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olivia rodrigo

‘all-american bitch’

During her conversation with Phoebe Bridgers for Interview magazine, Olivia revealed the phrase “all American bitch” was inspired from a quote in Joan Didion’s book, The White Album.

“I’ve experienced a lot of emotional turmoil over having all these feelings of rage and dissatisfaction that I felt like I couldn’t express, especially in my job,” she told Guardian of the song’s meaning. “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.”

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olivia rodrigo

‘bad idea right?’

Olivia sings about getting back together with an ex-boyfriend, even though all her friends are against the idea, in the second song she released from GUTS.

“Yes, I know that he’s my ex / But can’t two people reconnect?” she sings on the chorus. “I only see him as a friend / The biggest lie I ever said.”

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olivia rodrigo vampire

‘vampire’

“Vampire” was the first single Olivia released from her sophomore album. The track is about an ex-lover who was dishonest about their intentions, and used Olivia for fame and adoration.

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‘lacy’

“Lacy” is about Olivia’s complete infatuation with someone named Lacy.

“Smart, sexy Lacy, I’m losin’ it lately. I feel your compliments likе bullets on skin. Dazzling starlet, Bardot reincarnatе,” she sings, comparing Lacy to the French ’60s icon, Brigitte Bardot. “Well, aren’t you the greatest thing to ever exist?”

5 of 12

olivia rodrigo

‘ballad of a homeschooled girl’

The fifth track from her album hilariously reflects on Olivia’s social awkwardness and anxiety.

“I laughed at the wrong time, sat with the wrong guy, sеarchin’ ‘how to start a conversation?’ on a website,” she sings in the second verse. “I stumbled over all my words, I made it weird, I made it worse. Each time I step outside, it’s social suicide.”

6 of 12

olivia rodrigo

‘making the bed’

“making the bed” is a track that reflects Olivia’s thoughts on fame and stardom. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t wanna be where I am,” she sings in the last verse. “Countin’ all of the beautiful things I regret, but it’s me who’s been makin’ the bed.”

She told Guardian of the track, “I was 19 and had all this zest for life but also was in this industry for the first time, and that can be kind of alluring: Ooh, there’s all these exciting people and exciting things, all these fancy, shiny new toys,” she explained.

“It’s a strange thing when you become successful and get noticed for songs that are super raw and intimate, so on a certain level you feel like people really know you – and they do, but not in the way that your friends or family would know you. It’s a little bit of a tricky situation.”

7 of 12

olivia rodrigo

‘logical’

Olivia reminisces on a past toxic and manipulative relationship in “logical,” which left the singer reeling.

“And now you got me thinking, two plus two equals five and I’m the love of your life,” she sings in the chorus. “‘Cause if rain don’t pour and sun don’t shine, then changing you is possible. I guess love is never logical.”

8 of 12

olivia rodrigo

‘get him back!’

Olivia tells the story of her past toxic relationship, and how she has a desire to “get him back” with revenge after what he did to her.

“I wanna get him back. I wanna make him really jealous, wanna make him feel bad,” she sings. “Oh, I wanna get him back ’cause then again, I really miss him, and it makes me real sad. Oh, I want sweet revenge. And I want him again. I want to get him back.”

9 of 12

olivia rodrigo

‘love is embarassing’

“I told my friends you were the one, After I’d known you like a month,” she sings in the first verse. “And then you kissed some girl from high school, and I stayed in bed for like a week.”

Olivia recalls her past relationship, and how “embarrassing” it was to fall for someone with so many red flags.

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olivia rodrigo

‘the grudge’

“the grudge” reflects on Olivia’s lingering emotional turmoil after she was betrayed by someone close to her.

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olivia rodrigo

‘pretty isn’t pretty’

The songwriter explains her complicated feelings over her own beauty, trying to fit into an image that feels impossible to reach.

“When pretty isn’t pretty enough, what do you do?” she croons. “I could change up my body, and change up my face, I could try every lipstick in every shade, but I’d always feel the same. ‘Cause pretty isn’t pretty enough anyway.”

12 of 12

olivia rodrigo

‘teenage dream’

“They always used to praise me for being this precocious young girl,” she told the Guardian. “That’s so much of the praise I get, that I’m so impressive ’cause I’m so young doing this.

She explained that “teenage dream” is about her realization “that it wasn’t always going to be that way and wondering what I would lose or how I would become less attractive in certain ways to people.”

Back to intro

1/12

‘all-american bitch’

During her conversation with Phoebe Bridgers for Interview magazine, Olivia revealed the phrase “all American bitch” was inspired from a quote in Joan Didion’s book, The White Album.

“I’ve experienced a lot of emotional turmoil over having all these feelings of rage and dissatisfaction that I felt like I couldn’t express, especially in my job,” she told Guardian of the song’s meaning. “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.”

‘bad idea right?’

Olivia sings about getting back together with an ex-boyfriend, even though all her friends are against the idea, in the second song she released from GUTS.

“Yes, I know that he’s my ex / But can’t two people reconnect?” she sings on the chorus. “I only see him as a friend / The biggest lie I ever said.”

‘vampire’

“Vampire” was the first single Olivia released from her sophomore album. The track is about an ex-lover who was dishonest about their intentions, and used Olivia for fame and adoration.

‘lacy’

“Lacy” is about Olivia’s complete infatuation with someone named Lacy.

“Smart, sexy Lacy, I’m losin’ it lately. I feel your compliments likе bullets on skin. Dazzling starlet, Bardot reincarnatе,” she sings, comparing Lacy to the French ’60s icon, Brigitte Bardot. “Well, aren’t you the greatest thing to ever exist?”

‘ballad of a homeschooled girl’

The fifth track from her album hilariously reflects on Olivia’s social awkwardness and anxiety.

“I laughed at the wrong time, sat with the wrong guy, sеarchin’ ‘how to start a conversation?’ on a website,” she sings in the second verse. “I stumbled over all my words, I made it weird, I made it worse. Each time I step outside, it’s social suicide.”

‘making the bed’

“making the bed” is a track that reflects Olivia’s thoughts on fame and stardom. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t wanna be where I am,” she sings in the last verse. “Countin’ all of the beautiful things I regret, but it’s me who’s been makin’ the bed.”

She told Guardian of the track, “I was 19 and had all this zest for life but also was in this industry for the first time, and that can be kind of alluring: Ooh, there’s all these exciting people and exciting things, all these fancy, shiny new toys,” she explained.

“It’s a strange thing when you become successful and get noticed for songs that are super raw and intimate, so on a certain level you feel like people really know you – and they do, but not in the way that your friends or family would know you. It’s a little bit of a tricky situation.”

‘logical’

Olivia reminisces on a past toxic and manipulative relationship in “logical,” which left the singer reeling.

“And now you got me thinking, two plus two equals five and I’m the love of your life,” she sings in the chorus. “‘Cause if rain don’t pour and sun don’t shine, then changing you is possible. I guess love is never logical.”

‘get him back!’

Olivia tells the story of her past toxic relationship, and how she has a desire to “get him back” with revenge after what he did to her.

“I wanna get him back. I wanna make him really jealous, wanna make him feel bad,” she sings. “Oh, I wanna get him back ’cause then again, I really miss him, and it makes me real sad. Oh, I want sweet revenge. And I want him again. I want to get him back.”

‘love is embarassing’

“I told my friends you were the one, After I’d known you like a month,” she sings in the first verse. “And then you kissed some girl from high school, and I stayed in bed for like a week.”

Olivia recalls her past relationship, and how “embarrassing” it was to fall for someone with so many red flags.

‘the grudge’

“the grudge” reflects on Olivia’s lingering emotional turmoil after she was betrayed by someone close to her.

‘pretty isn’t pretty’

The songwriter explains her complicated feelings over her own beauty, trying to fit into an image that feels impossible to reach.

“When pretty isn’t pretty enough, what do you do?” she croons. “I could change up my body, and change up my face, I could try every lipstick in every shade, but I’d always feel the same. ‘Cause pretty isn’t pretty enough anyway.”

‘teenage dream’

“They always used to praise me for being this precocious young girl,” she told the Guardian. “That’s so much of the praise I get, that I’m so impressive ’cause I’m so young doing this.

She explained that “teenage dream” is about her realization “that it wasn’t always going to be that way and wondering what I would lose or how I would become less attractive in certain ways to people.”