Meaning of “the grudge” by Olivia Rodrigo ​

“the grudge” finds Olivia Rodrigo talking about feeling very hurt because someone she cared for betrayed her trust. She can’t stop thinking about all the bad things that happened and feels angry and sad. Even when she says she is okay, deep inside she is not, because letting go of her pain is very hard. She wishes she could be strong enough to forgive the person but finds it really tough to do so.

She also expresses understanding that sometimes people who are hurt end up hurting others too. She imagines confronting the person who hurt her and making them feel sorry for what they did. Even though she tries to be tough, deep inside she still has strong feelings for this person.

The long and short of “the grudge” is that it is about the difficult journey of trying to forgive someone and the heavy burden of holding a grudge. It shows that forgiveness is not easy and it takes time and strength to heal from hurt.

When was “the grudge” released?

This track was released on 8th September, 2023 as part of Rodrigo’s second album titled “Guts”. “the grudge” is listed as the tenth track on this album.

Writing Credits

Olivia worked alongside Dan Nigro to compose this track. Nigro also co-produced “the grudge” together with Ryan Linvill.