Halsey's New Album "Manic": 27 Best Lyrics
Halsey is officially back with her new album Manic, and — spoiler alert — it’s good. The record is one of Halsey’s most moving to date, discussing love, disappointment, self-sabotage, and heartbreak in fresh, powerful ways. She even works in references to a couple of her favorite films, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Jennifer’s Body. The power that has.
As a songwriter, Halsey crafts lyrics that are truly personal and unique to her style as an artist. She’s unafraid to tackle difficult feelings with honesty and sincerity, and no small amount of humor and poetics. By doing so, her lyrics are both specific and super relatable. She doesn't hold back when it comes to writing songs, and that “let it out” spirit has us screaming “LITERALLY ME” at basically every single track.
Here are 27 lyrics from Manic that felt like Halsey was speaking right to us.
“Ashley”
“And I don’t wanna be somebody in America / Just fighting the hysteria.” — Me to my classmates after going on a 17 minute rant about intersectional feminism during Spanish class.
“I left you to clean it up.” — Me to my mom when my dog pees on the carpet.
“It’s impossible to work this out.” — Gabriella Montez telling Troy Bolton she needs to go her own way after literally singing “Work This Out” like seven minutes prior.
“Is it really that strange / if I always wanna change?” — Me changing my outfit 6 times before I leave the house.
“Clementine”
“In my world I’m 7 feet tall / and the boys always call / And the girls do too.” — My average height self staring at the negative amount of notifications on my phone.
“I’m constantly / Constantly / having a breakthrough.” — Me after one therapy session.
“Cuz I don’t need anyone / I don’t need anyone.” — Me when I absolutely need someone.
“I just need everyone / And then some.” — What did I just say…
“Graveyard”
“Don’t know how you even see / You push right through me.” — Me trying to walk through the streets of New York City.
“You Should be Sad”
“I got no anger, got no malice / Just a little bit of regret.” – Me thinking about all the times I voluntarily let people break my heart.
“So there’s some things I gotta say / Gonna jot it down and then get it out / And then I’ll be on my way.” — Ok, I’m pretty sure Halsey took these lyrics right from Gabriella in High School Musical 2...
“I’m just glad I made it out / Without breaking down.” — Me after successfully watching an episode of This Is Us without crying.
“Dominic’s Interlude”
“There’s power in the words you’re thinking.” — My 11th grade English teacher when no one raises their hand to answer another one of his philosophical questions about Shakespeare.
“I HATE EVERYBODY”
“My friends are getting bored of me.” — Me after going on another rant to my friends about why Galleria was the best character in The Cheetah Girls.
“So I’ll just hate everybody.” — Me being reasonable.
“3am”
“Think I took it way too far.” — Me after originally downloading Tik Tok as a joke, only to buy a ring light 3 days later to start filming my own videos.
“Someone please come and flirt with me.” — Me anytime I’m looking cute in public.
“I really need a mirror that’ll come along and tell me I’m fine.” — Literally @ the Evil Queen from Snow White.
“Without Me”
“Thinking you could live without me / Baby, I'm the one who put you up there.” — Me to my dog after I put him on my bed but he refuses to cuddle.
“Finally / / beautiful stranger”
“You can come to mine but both my roommates are home.” — What it’s like to be in college.
“killing boys”
“I’m killing boys. Boys are just placeholders. They come and they go.” — Ok…this Jennifer’s Body sample isn't technically a lyric, but it is a mood!
"Told me pick my battles/And be picking them wise/But I wanna pick them all." — Me rotating my Spotify playlist between new Halsey, new BTS, and new Jonas Brothers.
“More”
“Somehow I just want you more.” — Me, 7 minutes after someone breaks my heart.
“Still Learning”
“I should be living the dream / But I’m living with a security team.” — Me in third grade having a Hannah Montana concert in my bedroom.
“And no one around me knows / Who I am / What I’m on / Who’ve I hurt.” — Me to my coworkers when I show up wearing all black and combat boots.
“929”
“Well who am I?” — Jean Val Jean after stealing a candlestick in Les Miserables.
“Think my moral compass is on a vacation.” — My new go-to excuse.
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