Chappell Roan's ‘The Subway' Lyrics Capture The Heartbreak Of A Lost Love
The mellow pop track is an ode to lost love. The Grammy-winner sings about a mysterious girl with green hair and a beauty mark that she spotted on the train. The two seemingly begin a relationship, but the girl soon moves on, leaving Roan heartbroken. ''Til I don't look for you on the staircase / Or wish you thought that we were still soulmates / But I'm still counting down all of the days / 'Til you're just another girl on the subway,' she sings.
In the music video, Roan runs around New York City and chases after the girl with green hair.
Roan first debuted the song in 2024 during her set at New York City's Governor's Ball.
When she announced the official release of 'The Subway,' she wrote: 'I'm very proud of this song & what a journey she has been on. I first played it at gov ball when I was painted green as lady liberty and in the past have played new songs live to feel them out. Obviously not knowing this really chaotic year would follow the performance , it didn't really leave me the time to build the world the song deserved. But finally we are here. I def ripped my hair out trying to figure out the puzzle of how this song should feel musically and visually and emotionally, luckily there are some to spare. Thank you for sticking it out for a whole year. It was worth it to make sure everything was absolutely right (˘ᴗ˘) xoxo.'
This is set to be a busy year for Roan. This autumn, she'll be hitting the road for her Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things pop-up shows. She'll begin with a four-night stint at Forest Hills Stadium in New York, from September 20 to 24. Then she'll hit Kansas City for two nights, on October 3 and 4. And finally, the shows will wrap with two nights in Pasadena on October 10 and 11.
And read the full lyrics to 'The Subway' below:
Verse 1
I saw your green hair
Beauty mark next to your mouth
There on the subway
I nearly had a breakdown
A few weeks later
Somebody wore your perfume
It almost killed me
I had to leave the room
Chorus
It's just another day
And it's not over 'til it's over, it's never over (Ah)
And it's not over 'til it's over (Ah)
It's never over
Post-Chorus
'Til I don't look for you on the staircase
Or wish you thought that we were still soulmates
But I'm still counting down all of the days
'Til you're just another girl on the subway
Verse 2
Made you the villain
Evil for just moving on
I see your shadow
I see it even with the lights off
I made a promise, if in four months this feeling ain't gone
Well, fuck this city, I'm movin' to Saskatchewan
And it's not over 'til it's over (Ah, ah-ah)
Oh, 'til it's over
'Til I can break routine during foreplay
And trust myself that I won't say your name
'Til you're just another girl on the subway
Outro
She's got, she's got a way
She's got a way, she's got a way
And she got, she got away
She got away, she got away
And she's got, she's got a way
(She's got, she's got a way
She's got a way, she's got a way)
She's got a way (She got, she got away
She got away, she got away)
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Juliana Ukiomogbe is the former Assistant Editor at ELLE. Her work has previously appeared in Interview, i-D, Teen Vogue, Nylon, and more.
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