Alessia Cara’s “Not Today” Lyrics Meaning
The premise of “Not Today” is that Alessia Cara is suffering from depression. In fact it was written, as she revealed in an interview, in the aftermath of the young songstress enduring “probably the worst year” of her life. And whereas there were varying factors contributing to that reality, the primary one, as highlighted in this track, was her having broken up with her boyfriend.
But with that being established, the bottom line is that, once again, she’s extremely stressed out. In fact in the first verse she implies that she is actually seeing a psychiatrist to help her overcome the strong level of pessimism she has developed. Indeed in her mind, there is no indication that this unfavorable feeling will ever end.
However, from a logical standpoint, she knows that it must. And that brings us to the titled, “not today”. This statement is an assertion of the idea that this young lady understands she will eventually heal. But it is also pretty clear that said moment of healing will “not” occur “today”. Or another way of looking at it is that there is no foreseeable end to her emotional anguish. But at the same time, she’s not the fatal type of pessimist to actually believe that all of her future joy has been sucked away due to one extremely-terrible era.
Conclusion
After all is said and done, this song is definitely melancholic. The singer’s heart is broken, and the bottom line is that she’s going to need some time before it is rectified to the point whereas she can once again be happy.
“Not Today” is a Self-penned Song
Alessia Cara wrote “Not Today”, and the track was produced by fellow Toronto native Jon Levine.
Date of Release
Def Jam Records released this track on 13 November 2018. And it is featured on Alessia Cara’s second album entitled “The Pains of Growing”.
Who is the ex boyfriend of Alessia’s “Not Today” talks about?
Based on the timing of its release (and the fact that she’s only had one known boyfriend up until that point), logically the romantic relationship Alessia is speaking of is the one she has had with Kevin Garrett – who is also a professional musician though from the United States. This relationship lasted for two years, and they are on record for having broken up in 2018.
There’s a possibility this song might be about that relationship. Alessia and Garrett began dating in 2016. The relationship was rumored to have ended somewhere in 2018. If the rumors of the demise of the romance were true, then it’s likely this track is about the collapse of that relationship.
Here are Alessia’s words to DJ Zane Lowe regarding the meaning of this heartbreak song:
“Not Today” is a song recorded and performed by singer Alessia Cara. This song finds the brokenhearted narrator (Alessia) lamenting about the pains of being dumped by her boyfriend. She repeatedly tells herself that someday she’s going to come out of the overwhelming sadness consuming her. Even though she knows happiness and peace would find her someday, she is realistic enough to know that it certainly wouldn’t embrace her today. Hence the birth of the title: “Not Today”. She tells herself that today she shall suffer sadness. And it’s okay to go through that. However, someday she’ll end up finding peace. Alessia revealed the lyrics of “Not Today” stem from the sadness she felt after the collapse of a relationship. According to her, the song can be likened to the severe pain one feels right before healing begins. Alessia believes it’s very important to devote some time to grief over what you have lost or whatever is causing you sorrow. However, in doing so, one should remember to remind themselves that things will eventually be okay. The sadness won’t last forever. It will someday give way to happiness. That wouldn’t happen today, but it would surely happen one day. That’s basically what this song is all about.