Anger and adoration: Has any paradox better captured a snuffed-out love affair? Because it doesn’t end, not really—the passion forges ahead rudderless. Olivia Rodrigo gets it (and owns it) in her new Guts song “get him back!” which riffs on the dual interpretation of those same words: “get him back” as in restore the relationship, and “get him back” as in procure revenge. In Rodrigo’s song, neither instinct trumps the other; they exist most accurately in unbearable equilibrium.
As Rodrigo told The New York Times, “I had such a desire to live and experience things and make mistakes and grow after Sour came out, I kind of felt this pressure to be this girl that I thought everyone expected me to be.” She continues, citing the source of inspiration for “get him back!”: “I think because of that pressure, maybe I did things that maybe I shouldn’t have—dated people that I shouldn’t have.”
Of course, she doesn’t name specific names, but fans speculate “get him back!” is at least in part addressed to her producer ex Adam Faze. For instance, she sings, “I met a guy in the summer and I left him in the spring,” which follows the timeline of her relationship with Faze. (She also cheekily adds, “He said he’s six-foot-two and I’m, like, “Dude, nice try”; reports on his height vary, but judging from photos of the couple together, Faze is likely not 6’2”.)
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The larger Guts album, Rodrigo told the Times, is “about reckoning with those feelings and coming out of that disillusionment and realizing the core of who I am and what I want to be doing and who I want to be spending my time with.” But if the tongue-in-cheek contradictions of “get him back!” are any indication, the path to self-actualization is rarely straightforward.
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Read the full lyrics below.
I met a guy in the summer and I left him in the spring
He argued with me about everything
He had an ego and a temper and a wanderin’ eye
He said he’s six foot two and I’m like, “Dude, nice try”
But he was so much fun and he had such weird friends
And he would take us out to parties and the night would never end
Another song, another club, another bar, another dance
And when hе said, “Something wrong?” he’d just fly me to Francе
So I miss him some nights when I’m feelin’ depressed
’Til I remember every time he made a pass on my friend
Do I love him? Do I hate him? I guess it’s up and down
If I had to choose, I would say it right now
I wanna get him back
I wanna make him really jealous, wanna make him feel bad
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, back, back
So I write him all these letters and I throw them in the trash
’Cause I miss the way he kisses and the way he made me laugh
Yeah, I pour my little heart out, but as I’m hittin’ “send”
I picture all the faces of my disappointed friends
Because everyone knew all of the shit that he’d do
He said I was the only girl, but that just wasn’t the truth
And when I told him how he hurt me, he’d tell me I was trippin’
But I am my father’s daughter, so maybe I could fix him
I wanna get him back
I wanna make him really jealous, wanna make him feel bad
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 (back?)
I want to get him back, back, back
I wanna key his car (I want to get him back)
I wanna make him lunch (And then I, I want to get him back)
I wanna break his heart (Then I, I want to get him back)
Then be the one to stitch it up (And then I, I want to get him back)
Wanna kiss his face (And then I, I want to get him back)
With an uppercut (Then I, I want to get him back)
I wanna meet his mom (And then I, I want to get him back)
Just to tell her her son sucks, yeah (Then I, I want to get him back)
Oh, I wanna key his car (Then I, I want to get him back)
I wanna make him lunch
I wanna break his heart (Then I, I want to get him back)
Stitch it right back up
I wanna kiss his face (I want to get him back)
With an uppercut
I wanna meet his mom (Then I, I want to get him back)
And tell her her son sucks, yeah
I wanna get him back
I wanna make him really jealous, wanna make him feel bad
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 (back?)
I want to get him back, back, back, back
I’ll get him, I’ll get him, I’ll get him, I’ll get him back, woo-hoo
Get him back, c’mon, c’mon
I’ma get him so good, he won’t even know what hit him
He’s gonna love me and hate me at the same time
Get back, girl, you better get him back
Culture Writer
Lauren Puckett-Pope is a staff culture writer at ELLE, where she primarily covers film, television and books. She was previously an associate editor at ELLE.
