Avril Lavigne’s “I Fell in Love with the Devil” Lyrics Meaning

“I Fell in Love with the Devil” is a song recorded by Canadian singer and songwriter Avril Lavigne. The lyrics of this track see Lavigne describing a very toxic relationship she once got herself into. To make things worse, around that same time, she was also battling immensely with Lyme disease.

Apparently the devil she is referring to in the lyrics is the man she fell in love with. And why is she calling him the devil? Simply because he brought her nothing but trouble and hell.

What Avril Lavigne said about the lyrics of this song

During a 2019 interview she granted to the Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung, Lavigne explained the meaning of this song. In the interview, she confirmed that the song was actually about a real life toxic relationship she was in.

According to her, at the time the relationship began, she was also battling fiercely with Lyme disease. She referred to that period of her life as one which saw her constantly feeling vulnerable, insecure and scared. It was that difficult experience that led to the birth of this song.

Here are Lavigne’s exact words describing this song:

On February 7, 2019 (few days before the song’s release), Lavigne once again shed some light on its meaning. In a Twitter post, she referred to the song as one that was birthed as a result of one’s heart conflicting with one’s head and leading one into unpleasant situations that are difficult to escape.

Facts about “I Fell in Love with the Devil”

• Writer(s): Avril Lavigne solely penned this song. Hence she’s credited as the song’s sole writer.
• Producer(s): In addition to writing it, Lavigne also produced it with the assitance of music producer Chris Baseford.
• Album/EP: The song appears on the 2019 album Head Above Water. This album is Lavigne’s sixth studio album.
• Release Date: February 15, 2019 was the official release date of this track.
• Record Label: The record label through which “I Fell in Love With the Devil” was released was BMG.
• 1st Interesting Stuff: With a total length of 4:15, this is the longest track on the entire album (Head Above Water). 
• 2nd Interesting Stuff: Avril Lavigne is yet to release the identity of this “devil” with whom she was in a toxic relationship. However, it is very likely this person/”devil” might be Chad Kroeger (lead singer of Nickelback). Why? According to Lavigne, she was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2014. And in 2014 she was then married to Kroeger. The couple separated in the latter part of 2015.
• 3rd Interesting Stuff: Images which Lavigne released from the video in early July in advance of it officially dropping received a strong backlash from some fans, most-notably Christians. And why? Simply because of its overt religious imagery.

Did Lavigne release this song as a single?

No. The album on which it appears was preceded by three singles, none of which was this track. These singles are:

• “Head Above Water”
• “Tell Me It’s Over”
• “Dumb Blonde” (featuring Nicki Minaj)

Interpretation of “I Fell in Love with the Devil”: By Another Hand

This song can be classified under what can arguably be called a growing trend in the music industry of female singers making songs about falling in love with the wrong guy while simultaneously acknowledging that their feelings for him are too strong to actually terminate the relationship. However, what makes Avril’s “I Fell in Love with the Devil” stand out is that Avril goes as far as to equate her lover to “the Devil”. Moreover the track features other, religious-based lyrics which seem to extend its meaning outside of the realm of romance.

For instance, the bridge of the song reads as if the singer is going through some sort of spiritually-based moral dilemma, with ‘angels and devils fighting over her’. Indeed as she states earlier, she desires that “an angel” would “lend (her) a halo” to ‘save her from the hell’ for being “in love with the Devil”. So based on the aforementioned narrative, this would read as if she is saying she wants another, better dude, the types of which are also “fighting” for her attention to hook up with as opposed to “the Devil”.  But to be perfectly frank, all things considered, at particular junctures (i.e the second half of the song) it reads as if she is referring to spiritual as opposed to romantic matters.

Ultimately though such wordplay was obviously intentional. This track has a ghastly title. And accordingly some of the language used throughout, such as in the outro when she compares what she is experiencing to dying, is quite dark.