Melanie Martinez’s “Evil” Lyrics Meaning
The teasing of “Evil” dates back to 10 March 2023, with Martinez first performing it at an event called Lollapalooza Argentina about a week later, on March 18th. The track was eventually released in full through Atlantic Records on March 31st, along with the rest of “Portals”, Melanie’s third studio album.
This track was produced by CJ Baran, whose presence is felt throughout the entirety of “Portals”. And he also co-wrote “Evil” with Melanie Martinez.
The Lyrics of “Evil”
As explained by the songstress, the sentiments expressed in this song revolve around her most-recent romance, whereas she was involved with a “narcissist”.
Within context, a narcissist can be described as someone who is unable to perceive their own faults. Or put otherwise and as alluded to in the chorus and leading into the second verse, if you’re in a relationship with someone like the addressee, as Melanie was, they would basically make you feel as if you were “evil” for loving them instead of admitting to their own faults.
The narcissist would gleefully lie to her face and stuff like that, even while concurrently perceiving that doing so was making her visibly distraught.
So it’s as if Melanie not only found herself heartbroken but also obviously suffering from self-esteem issues as a direct result of his actions. By contrast, being a narcissist and all, it seems as if the addressee wasn’t adversely affected at all.
Well that is until now, considering that they want Martinez back, but she’s giving them the cold shoulder. So another way of interpreting the title within the context of the chorus is as Melanie having now come to the realization that committing herself to the person was a mistake. It may have taken her “way too long” to come to that conclusion, but she has nonetheless.
“If you bite my hand again
I will never feed you, you can call me evil
Take it to the grave if you wanna play pretend
I won’t be mistreated, please call me conceited
Took me way too long to put this to bed
Lovin’ you was lethal, guess that makes me evil, evil”
And as for if they have actually broken up or not, honestly the beginning of the chorus implies that they have not, at least not fully. But in any event, she is giving the addressee an ultimatum, based on the premise that she’s tired of his BS basically. So if they ‘mistreat’ her again, then the cold-shoulder treatment will undoubtedly become a permanent thing.
Was “Evil” released as a single from “Portals”?
No. Before the official release of “Portals”, Martinez released the following songs as the album’s official singles:
A Fan’s Reaction
“As someone from a toxic, abusive, and homophobic family, ‘Evil’ has become a lifeline for me. As I’m growing up and becoming my true self, it’s inspiring to see Martinez going through a similar process and creating music that speaks to me and my kind. This song has given me so much and I’m grateful I can truly love myself.”
– Nat
