feel like shit by Tate McRae Lyrics Meaning – Unpacking Heartache in the Digital Age
Lyrics
I would say I’m pretty tough
But it’s been a couple weeks now
And I still feel stuck in my lungs
And usually I go out on nights
And not think of you once
But if they start playin’ that song
I can’t help but to think about us, oh
Really thought I’d be done with the hardest part
When I pulled myself out of your arms
Wish I knew that was only the start
And now I’m fallin’ apart ’cause
Last night for the very first time
You didn’t even try to call
Oh, I won’t lie, I thought I might die
I couldn’t even sleep at all
And maybe I’ll get used to it (ah, ah)
But right now I just feel like shit (ah, ah)
Oh, oh
So I kissed somebody else
Just to see how it felt
But all that was goin’ through my brain
Was your hands around my waist
You know how to do it so well
Really thought I was done with the hardest part
When I pulled myself out of your arms
Wish I knew that was only the start
And now I’m fallin’ apart ’cause
Last night for the very first time
You didn’t even try to call (you didn’t even try to call)
Oh, I won’t lie, I thought I might die
I couldn’t even sleep at all
And maybe I’ll get used to it (ah, ah)
But right now I just feel like shit (ah, ah)
Oh, oh
Now if I get a little too drunk
I’ll start thinkin’, “What if you were the one?”
I know that the damage is done
And I still have the shirt that you wore
When we first met, it’s there on the floor
I might kick it under the bed
Hopin’ that I could forget that
Last night for the very first time
You didn’t even try to call
Oh, I won’t lie, I thought I might die
I couldn’t even sleep at all
And maybe I’ll get used to it (ah, ah)
But right now I just feel like shit (ah, ah)
Oh, oh
(Used to it)
(Feel like shit)
Tate McRae’s soul-baring track ‘feel like shit’ hits a nerve with its raw depiction of post-breakup blues. McRae, who rapidly ascended pop’s ladder with her relatable lyrics and emotive delivery, has crafted a ballad that articulates the lingering pangs of a love lost, all while navigating the unchartered waters of healing.
Stripping down the layers of production to lay bare the emotional vulnerability, McRae delivers a melodic confessional that serves as an anthem for the brokenhearted in the streaming era. The intricate dance between her poignant lyrics and the moody piano underscores a generational dialogue on love, loss, and the quest for emotional recovery.
The Weight of Silence: A Night Without a Call
McRae taps into a universal feeling, where the void left by an expected phone call that never comes speaks volumes. The singer captures the seismic shift that happens when the routine communication in a relationship halts, leaving a gaping emotional wound. In a world where constant connectivity is the norm, the absence of that one specific interaction becomes a deafening silence for the heart.
The intensity of this silence fills the night, suffusing it with a sense of dread and loneliness, as McRae confesses that she thought she might die. It’s a hyperbolic yet deeply relatable expression of the anxiety and despair that can accompany the firsts in the aftermath of a breakup—the first night without contact, the first morning waking up alone.
A Failed Attempt at Rebound: The Ghost of a Touch
The lyric ‘So I kissed somebody else just to see how it felt’ delves into the desperation to feel something, anything, that might just mimic what once was. But McRae reveals that even in the arms of another, the haunting memory of her past lover’s touch overshadows the present. It’s a stark portrayal of the difficulty in moving on, where every new experience is colored by the old.
This brutally honest confession acknowledges a seldom-discussed truth: sometimes the search for a salve only reminds you of the wound. Her recounting of the futility in trying to evoke the same sensations she once cherished amplifies the sense of yearning and loss.
The Imprint of a Memory: Clinging to the Past
The retention of physical mementos, such as a shirt worn at a significant moment, illustrates how tangible items become a metaphorical time capsule of a relationship. McRae’s lyrics, ‘I still have the shirt that you wore when we first met,’ reveal the complexity of detaching sentiment from the mundane, objets transforming into relics imbued with deep meaning and complicated memories.
These artifacts become both a source of comfort and pain, a means to recall the sweetness of the initial encounter that ironically now perpetuates the agony of remembrance. Through such striking imagery, McRae underlines the difficulty in letting go not just of a person but of the narrative they were a part of.
Tate McRae’s Elegy to Vulnerability: The Hidden Heart of ‘feel like shit’
What sets ‘feel like shit’ apart is its unapologetic embrace of vulnerability. McRae doesn’t shy away from the messy, unglamorous facets of heartbreak; she dwells in it, owns it, and invites her listeners to recognize themselves within her verses. The song becomes a hidden sanctuary for those who need to acknowledge their heartache without reservation.
In expressing her own fragility, McRae unlocks a shared space of understanding and camaraderie. It is music as therapy, offering solace in the mutual acceptance of our most fragile selves and validating the torturous oscillation between grief and recovery.
‘Can’t Help but to Think About Us’: The Lyrical Hooks That Echo Our Stories
Certain lines in McRae’s ‘feel like shit’ resonate as memorable echoes of collective experience. ‘But if they start playin’ that song / I can’t help but to think about us’ encapsulates how a single melody can transport us back to moments we wish to escape, yet inexorably define us.
These lyrical hooks become mantras of the mourning, signposts along the journey through post-relationship ennui. They encapsulate the universal struggle to sever the ties that bind memories to the sensory world around us, highlighting the intricacy of emotional healing in an era defined by a soundtrack to every high and low.
