What The Lyrics To Olivia Rodrigo's 'Jealousy, Jealousy' Actually Mean
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The day has *finally* come — Olivia Rodrigo's highly-anticipated debut album, SOUR, is available to stream, which means I'll be in my feelings for the next month and a half.
If you clicked here, odds are you're going through your first listen and wondering what certain lyrics mean.
Welcome to track 9, "jealousy, jealousy." The song was written by Olivia, Casey Smith and her producer, Dan Nigro as an edgy critique of social media and the pressure to constantly look perfect in the public eye. Olivia's worked on acting projects dating back to 2015, but she skyrocketed into superstardom with SOUR's lead single, "drivers license." This opened up an entirely new world for the singer, with fans and critics watching her every move, so it's no mystery that she took out her frustrations through songwriting.
Without further ado, let's dive into "jealousy, jealousy" and see what its lyrics are really about.
Lyrics provided by Genius.
[Verse 1]
I kinda wanna throw my phone across the room
'Cause all I see are girls too good to be true
With paper white teeth and perfect bodies
Wish I didn't care
I know their beauty's not my lack
But it feels like that weight is on my back
And I can't let it go
In an interview with NYLON, Olivia described this song was "tongue-in-cheek and a little funny." It's one of the first she wrote for the record, when she was "super obsessed" with social media at the time.
"I would look for things that would hurt my feelings all the time and compare myself to everyone. I felt like my life was only what I showed to others. I didn’t feel like my life was any deeper than my Instagram feed. That’s a really troubling mindset to be in as a teenager," she said.
[Chorus]
Com-comparison is killin' me slowly
I think I think too much
'Bout kids who don't know me
I'm so sick of myself, I'd rather be, rather be
Anyone, anyone else
My jealousy, jealousy started followin' me (He-he-he, he)
Started followin' me (He-he-he, he)
In the chorus, Olivia includes a play on words with the act of "following" someone on social media. Instead, jealousy started following her when she followed people who fed into the often toxic mindset of social media.
[Verse 2]
And I see everyone gettin' all the things I want
And I'm happy for them, but then again, I'm not
Just cool vintage clothes and vacation photos
I can't stand it, oh God, I sound crazy
Their win is not my loss
I know it's true
But I can't help gettin' caught up in it all
In verse 2, Olivia paints the scene for us with vacation pics and vintage clothes — both are things that influencers are constantly posting to their feeds. She digresses though as she points out that their win isn't her loss, but she still gets wrapped up in other people's "highlight reels" on social media.
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
Yeah, all your friends are so cool, you go out every night
In your daddy's nice car, yeah, you're livin' the life
Got a pretty face, a pretty boyfriend too
I wanna be you so bad, and I don't even know you
All I see is what I should be
Happier, prettier, jealousy, jealousy
All I see is what I should be
I'm losin' it, all I get's jealousy, jealousy
I'm sensing a little sarcasm here. In the bridge, Olivia throws in the fact that some people rely on their parents' money to buy nice things like sports cars (and maybe even cosmetic procedures, with the "pretty face" mention). Throughout the song, she's so caught up in other people's posts and the lives they want others to perceive that she, too, wants to have these things.
[Chorus]
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