The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather” Lyrics Meaning

All lyrics taken into consideration, perhaps the easiest way to describe “Sweater Weather” is as a lovemaking song. That is not to say that its wording is raunchy or even what we would generally consider to be NSFW. But it would be apparent to any adult that this piece is very much amorous in nature. And the fundamental idea it centers on is the vocalist’s desire to lock down the addressee, i.e. his sweetheart, as his significant other.

Thus the title – even though to some degree it can be interpreted, as used, literally – is for the most part a metaphor. You know how cold weather compels people, i.e. the likes of lovers, to cozy up? Well that is what the vocalist is ultimately alluding to, his desire to be physically close to the addressee. Moreover it can be said that he wants to serve a protective role in her life, i.e. being the one she comes to when she needs warmth, so to speak.

Meanwhile as fate would have it, what this song has become most famous for is certain lines found in the pre-chorus that some have interpreted as being related to bisexuality. However, it is obvious that such is not how Jesse Rutherford and co. originally intended it. 

Rather what he is speaking to when he sings of “one love”, etc. is once again the idea of himself and the apparently female addressee becoming “one” in what can be deemed a marital sense, i.e. living together in the buff with no inhibitions.

All in All

So by the time all is said and done, it would also be reasonable, perhaps even more so than the conclusion we presented previously, to classify this as a love song. 

The whole concept of “sweater weather” points to the notion of the vocalist looking for a reason to get physically close to the addressee. But it is also quite apparent that he doesn’t intend to just bonk her and jet. Rather, as the lyrics read, he is looking forward to the two of them actually sharing a loving future together.

The Neigbourhood

The Neighbourhood is a rock band from the Californian town of Newbury Park, with the group having a discography dating back to 2012. From then to now, the core of its membership has consisted primarily of vocalist Jesse Rutherford, buttressed by the following instrumentalists:

• Michael Margott
• Zachary Abels
• Jeremiah Freedman

And at the time this track was dropped by Columbia Records on 28 March 2012, drummer Bryan Sammis was also part of The Neighbourhood. He has since been replaced by Brandon Fried.

Facts about “Sweater Weather”

“Sweater Weather” can be found on The Neighbourhood’s first studio album, “I Love You..” It was released as the second single from that project.

Up until today, the song remains the band’s biggest hit. It went multi-platinum in a number of countries and eventually achieved sextuple-platinum status in the US as of the year 2021. In fact this track actually sports two chart histories. The first one when it was released and another for the 2020-2021 music season. 

The latter case is most likely the result of the tune achieving viral status on TikTok around that time. Recently, TikTokers have begun equating the lyrics with bisexuality, thus explaining the song’s newfound virality. However, it should be noted that users of the more-dated Tumblr had already made that connection awhile back. 

But for the record, it doesn’t appear that Jesse Rutherford himself (nor any of his bandmates) is gay, though he is known to rock “mutli-gender” clothing.

This track has two official music videos under its name. However, the most important would evidently be the second of those, as directed by Daniel Iglesias Jr. and Zack Sekuler.

As of 2021, this piece had sold over 6 million copies in the U.S. alone. And in the U.K., it has sold over half a million copies.

Writing of “Sweater Weather”

“Sweater Weather” was written by the following:

• Zach Abels
• Jeremy Freedman
• Jesse Rutherford

According to Rutherford, this is actually the first song he and his bandmates ever wrote. He also referred to it as possible the best song they had ever written.

And even though their style may have changed significantly since then, they still have an affinity for “Sweater Weather”. And it also doesn’t hurt, as alluded to earlier, that this is by far their biggest hit.