Song Rewrites

I took some of my favorite songs and dug deeper into their meanings. Then I thought, "How would the song be different if it were from an opposing perspective?" I thought the whole meaning of the song would change. So I commenced with my experiment and did what any mediocre writer would do: I re-wrote 4 songs by various artists from an opposite perspective and looked at the results. If you haven't listened to these songs, you should. They spark lots of ideas for books, short stories, poems, and even intense, if not explicit fan fictions. So, according to my hypothesis, did the song change? Well, yes, but actually, no. I'll go ahead and let you see for yourself.

P.S. - I think songwriting has become my new hobby.

When The Party’s Over - Billie Eilish

The song is written from the perspective of a girl who’s felt heartbreak too many times and “can’t afford” to lose another lover. Here’s the perspective of a girl who has never felt heartbreak before and doesn’t know how to handle it.

Don’t you know I’m too good for you?

You’ve told me to be free, haven’t you?

Tore your shirt when you said you were leaving

But you tore my soul and now I’m grieving

Deafening a silent dove

Am I still your love?

Oh, I can’t lie, you said you’d never leave me, but now I’m bleeding

Believed your lies, and all that did was hurt me, now I’m bleeding

The air was damp, the sink was running

Showed you my dress, you said it looked stunning

Your emerald eyes, they looked like clovers

But they turned to stone when the party was over

Deafening a silent dove

Am I still your love?

Oh, I can’t lie, you said you’d never leave me, but now I’m bleeding

Believed your lies, and all that did was hurt me, now I’m bleeding

Deafening a silent dove

Am I still your love?

Oh, I can’t lie, you said you’d never leave me, but now I’m bleeding

Believed your lies, and all that did was hurt me, now I’m bleeding

Lovely - Billie Eilish ft. Khalid

This song is from the perspective of someone who feels like the walls are closing in on them, which could be a metaphor for depression. Here’s the perspective of someone who feels like their world is too big and they need a place to call home, and the only way to find home is giving up their extreme sanity to become vulnerable.

I thought I knew a way

Thought I knew a way out

But I never can escape

The darkness and the rainclouds

Oh, it seems to me that you can’t save me from here

The walls, they’re engulfing, and I cannot see you clear

Need a place to call my own in this barren fear

But the night won’t fade, and the walls seem to disappear

Isn’t it lovely? I’m alone

My mind is my crown, my heart’s its throne

They burned it away, my only hope

But I still can’t find my home!

The void I’ve fallen in

It’s inescapable, I know

And the dusk isn’t swaying

I have nowhere to go

Oh, it seems to me that you can’t save me from here

The walls, they’re engulfing, and I cannot see you clear

Need a place to call my own in this barren fear

But the night won’t fade, and the walls seem to disappear

Isn’t it lovely? I’m alone

My mind is my crown, my heart’s its throne

They burned it away, my only hope

But I still can’t find my home!

Driver’s License - Olivia Rodrigo

This song is from the perspective of the singer herself, who can’t believe her lover left her for someone who embodies all of her insecurities. This is from the perspective of the lover who left Olivia (aka Joshua Bassett).

Heard you got your driver’s license last week

Isn’t that a miracle?
I was so excited for you

But you forgot ‘bout that, so typical

Yeah, today I saw you cruise the suburbs

I think I saw a tear in those eyes

I know you think I’m with that blonde girl

Mmm… you think she’s relevant?

To make her smile, to make you cry,

That was never my intent

But today I saw you cruise the suburbs

And I thought you’d forgotten me again

Yeah, I was never perfect

But this love, it scarred me so damn much

And I think you can imagine

How it felt to feel your touch, but now you’re gone

Oh, I heard what you said in that song that you wrote about me

Thought we were forever but I guess that was just a good dream

Did I ever mention to you
On that day, how gorgeous you were?

And now you’re probably thinking

That now I say the same exact thing to her

Yeah, today I saw you cruise the suburbs

And wished that I could cry along with you

Yeah, I was never perfect

But this love, it scarred me so damn much

And I think you can imagine

How it felt to feel your touch, but now you’re gone

Oh, I heard what you said in that song that you wrote about me

Thought we were forever but I guess that was just a good dream

Green lights, road signs

I really think you should let me go now

And trust me, I know how it hurts

Please, dry those tears, do you hear

When I call your name in the rain?

Sirens wailing

The way I hear your whispers in the background

But they drowned under all the noise

Love, dry those tears, can you hear

When I scream your name in the rain?

Yeah, I was never perfect

But this love, it scarred me so damn much

And I think you can imagine

How it felt to feel your touch, but now you’re gone

Oh, I heard what you said in that song that you wrote about me

Thought we were forever but I guess that was just a good dream

Thought we were forever but I guess that was just a good dream

Heather - Conan Gray

This song is from the perspective of a girl who’s jealousy over her crush’s girlfriend causes her to doubt her own self. This is from the perspective of “Heather”, or the girlfriend of said crush.

She still remembers, third of December

You gave her your sweater

I thought it looked better on her than it did me

Only if you’d see

How much she hates me

I can’t help but hate you when you

Walk by

And stare right through her sore eyes

Wilting like a rain sky

You think I’d criticize?

I’d rather die

Why do you always kiss me

Whenever you think she’s looking?

You gave me your sweater

I hate polyester

But she likes it better

So go call her “Heather”

Watch as she waits for you

Hoping you’ll come

You know inside she’s hurting

She thinks you’re the one

On her chair made of leather

You still like me better

But look at the way that she shines in the rain

When she walks by

You stare right through her sore eyes

Wilting like a rain sky

You think I’d criticize?

I’d rather die

Why do you always kiss me

Whenever you think she’s looking?

You gave me your sweater

I hate polyester

But she likes it better

So go call her “Heather”

(So don’t call me “Heather”)

Why do you always kiss me

Whenever you think she’s looking?

You gave me your sweater

I hate polyester

But she likes it better

So go call her