Who Is Olivia Rodrigo’s Lacy About? The Lyrics, Explained

The wait is over. Olivia Rodrigo’s extremely anticipated sophomore album, “Guts,” is out on this planet, and it is the whole lot we had hoped for and extra. The “Good 4 U” singer is thought for penning vulnerably sincere, true-to-life lyrics that run the gamut of all of the advanced and great — albeit generally messy — feelings coming of age has to supply. Her newest LP is not any exception (which might be why followers shall be utilizing “Guts” lyrics for Instagram captions for years to come back).

A follow-up to the 20-year-old singer-songwriter’s record-shattering debut file that launched her to international superstardom, “Bitter,” “Guts” consists of 12 songs on its customary version, and a number of other of these tracks have already grow to be on the spot fan favorites — particularly “Lacy.” Clocking in at two minutes and 58 seconds, the fourth observe on the album packs in highly effective, gut-wrenching lyrics that cohesively tie into the overarching theme of the compilation. The mid-tempo ballad finds Rodrigo consumed with envy and fury because it explores her fixation and rising resentment towards somebody named Lacy. The title alone is sending listeners on a lyrical Easter egg hunt as they attempt to decode the that means behind its hard-hitting, punchy lyrics. So, who precisely is the titular Lacy? Let’s dissect the lyrical inspiration behind “Lacy” forward.

Olivia Rodrigo’s “Lacy” That means

The tune begins off by offering vivid descriptors for the seeming protagonist, Lacy. She’s sensible, interesting, has “pores and skin like puff pastry,” and is so unbelievably stunning that Rodrigo goes so far as to name her “Bardot reincarnate” and somebody so completely angelic that she seems to be “manufactured from angel mud.” The “Vampire” singer notices each little factor Lacy does whereas additionally confiding about her deteriorating state of psychological well-being. “Did I ever let you know that I am not doin’ effectively?” she sings on the finish of the primary verse.

Rodrigo aptly likens admiring Lacy’s absolute flawlessness to the “sweetest torture,” one thing that has taken over her life to the purpose that it is taking its toll, but she can not seem to cease. Nonetheless, because the singer strikes on to the second verse, her admiration of Lacy seems to be turning bitter, as she finds herself evaluating herself to Lacy and, because of this, feeling insufficient or less-than. It is virtually as if Lacy is taunting her by merely present. “I am losin’ it recently / I really feel your compliments like bullets on pores and skin,” she wistfully confesses within the second verse earlier than the approaching refrain declares her resentment and wrestle with these undesirable feelings of inferiority. “Attempt to rationalize, persons are individuals / Nevertheless it’s such as you’re manufactured from angel mud,” she sighs.

The outro is a heightened model of her infatuation-turned-aversion as her idealization of Lacy dissipates, leaving her enraged. “Lacy, Oh, Lacy / It is such as you’re out to get me / You poison each little factor that I do,” she kicks off the bitter revelation earlier than acknowledging her personal culpability in placing Lacy on a pedestal, and, by doing so, being her personal worst enemy. “Lacy, oh, Lacy / I detest you recently / And I despise my jealous eyes and the way laborious they fell for you / Yeah, I despise my rotten thoughts and the way a lot it worships you,” she closes out the observe, expressing bitterness in direction of herself for the best way issues turned out.

Who Is Olivia Rodrigo’s “Lacy” About?

On its face, “Lacy” may simply be a couple of woman named Lacy whom Rodrigo reveres and measures herself up towards. Nonetheless, because the observe goes on, it turns into obvious that Lacy may not be an precise particular person, however a figment of Rodrigo’s creativeness. If Lacy seems too good to be true, it is as a result of she is not actual, however a witty lyrical gadget employed by Rodrigo. Lacy is probably going the personification of the Excellent Younger Girl that the “Brutal” singer strives — and, at occasions, desperately needs — to be.

The aspiration to be “Lacy” begins out harmless however quickly spirals right into a full-blown unhealthy obsession, which chips away at Rodrigo’s shallowness over time. She finally realizes that she’s the creator of her distress as she tries and fails to reside as much as the unattainable magnificence and gender norms imposed by the media and the general public typically. The outro echoes her indignation as she acknowledges how younger ladies’s self-worth and worth are so typically tied to their bodily look, and, having realized it, she loathes herself for eager to chase the perfection that Lacy embodies. Even then, she’s self-aware of the half she performed in indulging and shopping for into these unrealistic expectations as a younger lady within the leisure business.

The operating theme of “Guts” is introspection and self-discovery, because it presents an unflinchingly sincere portrayal of Rodrigo’s (very public) teenage experiences as she enters her 20s. “Lacy” is not the one observe that speaks to her deep-seated insecurities, self-doubt, and emotions of inadequacy as she navigates her younger maturity. The seething album opener, “All-American B*tch,” unleashes her long-repressed anguish over being so removed from an ideal American woman that is poised, an everlasting optimist, a reasonably crier, and just about “grateful on a regular basis” for all that she has. Equally, observe 11 on the file, “Fairly Is not Fairly” delves into the psychological turmoil that originates from not aligning with societal bodily expectations for girls. “When fairly is not fairly sufficient, what do you do?” she says, exasperated, earlier than lamenting how unattainable it’s to fulfill each single a kind of absurd parameters anyway.

Olivia Rodrigo’s Quotes About “Lacy”

Whereas Rodrigo hasn’t but addressed the observe in an interview, she has spoken about its thematic inspiration whereas making the album. “No one might be good, ever,” she instructed The Guardian within the September 2023 story. “It is so humorous as a result of I’m so strait-laced. Nevertheless it’s laborious. I really feel tremendous mature in some methods and tremendous stunted in others cos of how I’ve grown up.” In the identical interview, she mentioned, “I’ve at all times felt like: you possibly can by no means admit it, be so grateful on a regular basis, so many individuals need this place. And that causes lots of repressed emotions. I’ve at all times struggled with eager to be this good American woman and the truth of not feeling like that on a regular basis.”

Olivia Rodrigo’s “Lacy” Lyrics

Take a look at the “Lacy” lyrics of their entirety beneath (by way of Genius).

VERSE 1
Lacy, oh, Lacy, pores and skin like puff pastry
Aren’t you the sweetest factor on this facet of Hell?
Pricey angel Lacy, eyes white as daisies
Did I ever let you know that I am not doin’ effectively?

CHORUS
Ooh, I care, I care, I care
Like fragrance that you just put on, I linger on a regular basis
Watching, hidden in plain sight
And ooh, I strive, I strive, I strive
Nevertheless it takes over my life, I see you all over the place
The sweetest torture one may bear

VERSE 2
Good, attractive Lacy, I am losin’ it recently
I really feel your compliments like bullets on pores and skin
Dazzling starlet, Bardot reincarnate
Properly, aren’t you the best factor to ever exist?

CHORUS
Ooh, I care, I care, I care
Like ribbons in your hair, my abdomen’s all in knots
You bought the one factor that I would like
Ooh, I strive, I strive, I strive
Attempt to rationalize, persons are individuals
Nevertheless it’s such as you’re manufactured from angel mud

BRIDGE
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh

Outro
Lacy, oh, Lacy, it is such as you’re out to get me
You poison each little factor that I do
Lacy, oh, Lacy, I simply detest you recently
And I despise my jealous eyes and the way laborious they fell for you
Yeah, I despise my rotten thoughts and the way a lot it worships you