“Overdrive” by Post Malone

Posty’s fifth studio album goes by the title “Austin”. On 14 July 2023, Mercury and Republic introduced the world to the project’s third single, “Overdrive”, which Malone first teased about a week beforehand. 

The Lyrics of “Overdrive”

It’s not specifically clear what the term “overdrive” is supposed to mean within the context of this song’s chorus, in which Posty declares that such a disposition dominates his modus operandi. But what can be pieced together more generally is the title alluding to the vocalist being, as he puts it in the second chorus, “uninspired”. 

In terms of its mainstream, canonical definition, being “on overdrive” would also point to the notion that he’s overworking himself, which Malone does kinda imply in the first chorus, that his “life [is] so overtired”. 

But in their entirety, these lyrics do not speak to such a concept, i.e. him being heavily burdened physically. Instead the two actual verses of this track insinuate something else. They insinuate that what’s stressing him out is the fact that he is striving to modify his characteristics to conform more to that of some unspecified individual. And he is doing all this in the name of pleasing a likewise unnamed addressee.

Since, in that regard, the vocalist asserts that he “could be more like him”, this may be a romantic situation. In other words, Posty may be trying to get with a lady who’s more attracted to another guy. He is therefore attempting to become “more like” that person so that she’ll dig him as well. But again, the lyrics don’t go there. 

And perhaps it should be pointed out that as of this writing, Malone’s Twitter account is captioned with the phrase “if y’all weren’t here I’d be crying”. This phrase alludes to him being depressed. Also, some of the comments he’s made concerning his “Austin” album and its associated music videos read especially humble.

“I spend my nights on overdrive
I live my life so overtired
And there’s nowhere I can hide
Now I live my life on overdrive”

At the end of the day, it can also be postulated that perhaps the addressee(s) of this piece are Post Malone’s fans. That’s not to say that his music career appears to be in any kind of peril. But that being said, it is important to note that his most recent studio album, 2022’s “Twelve Carat Toothache”, didn’t sell well as compared to the others. 

So it may be that Malone is speaking to his waning popularity as compared to other musicians who are currently trending, if you will. But with all of that being theorized, we’d likely have a better understanding of who the addressee is meant to be once the entirety of “Austin” comes out.

Credits

Malone co-wrote and co-produced “Overdrive” with Louis Bell and Watt. Its other credited writer is Billy Walsh. 

The single comes complete with its own music video, as directed by the following directors:

• Seth Halter
• Skyler Brown