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 the planet, and it is every thing 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 fantastic — albeit generally messy — feelings coming of age has to supply. Her newest LP is not any exception (which might be why followers will probably 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 document that launched her to world superstardom, “Sour,” “Guts” consists of 12 songs on its normal version, and several other of these tracks have already grow to be immediate fan favorites — particularly “Lacy.” Clocking in at two minutes and 58 seconds, the fourth monitor 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” Meaning

The tune begins off by offering vivid descriptors for the seeming protagonist, Lacy. She’s sensible, interesting, has “skin like puff pastry,” and is so unbelievably lovely that Rodrigo goes so far as to name her “Bardot reincarnate” and somebody so completely angelic that she seems to be “made of angel dust.” The “Vampire” singer notices each little factor Lacy does whereas additionally confiding about her deteriorating state of psychological well-being. “Did I ever tell you that I’m not doin’ well?” 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. However, 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’s nearly as if Lacy is taunting her by merely present. “I’m losin’ it lately / I feel your compliments like bullets on skin,” she wistfully confesses within the second verse earlier than the approaching refrain declares her resentment and battle with these undesirable feelings of inferiority. “Try to rationalize, people are people / But it’s like you’re made of angel dust,” 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’s like you’re out to get me / You poison every little thing 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 loathe you lately / And I despise my jealous eyes and how hard they fell for you / Yeah, I despise my rotten mind and how much it worships you,” she closes out the monitor, expressing bitterness in direction of herself for the way in which issues turned out.

Who Is Olivia Rodrigo’s “Lacy” About?

On its face, “Lacy” might simply be a few woman named Lacy whom Rodrigo reveres and measures herself up towards. However, because the monitor goes on, it turns into obvious that Lacy won’t be an precise individual, 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 machine employed by Rodrigo. Lacy is probably going the personification of the Perfect Young Woman that the “Brutal” singer strives — and, at instances, 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 vanity over time. She finally realizes that she’s the creator of her distress as she tries and fails to stay as much as the unimaginable magnificence and gender norms imposed by the media and the general public basically. 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 desirous 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 girl within the leisure trade.

The working 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 monitor 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 fairly crier, and just about “grateful all the time” for all that she has. Similarly, monitor 11 on the document, “Pretty Isn’t Pretty” delves into the psychological turmoil that originates from not aligning with societal bodily expectations for girls. “When pretty isn’t pretty enough, what do you do?” she says, exasperated, earlier than lamenting how unimaginable it’s to satisfy each single a type of absurd parameters anyway.

Olivia Rodrigo’s Quotes About “Lacy”

While Rodrigo hasn’t but addressed the monitor in an interview, she has spoken about its thematic inspiration whereas making the album. “Nobody can be perfect, ever,” she advised The Guardian within the September 2023 story. “It’s so funny because I am so strait-laced. But it’s hard. I feel super mature in some ways and super stunted in others cos of how I’ve grown up.” In the identical interview, she mentioned, “I’ve always felt like: you can never admit it, be so grateful all the time, so many people want this position. And that causes a lot of repressed feelings. I’ve always struggled with wanting to be this perfect American girl and the reality of not feeling like that all the time.”

Olivia Rodrigo’s “Lacy” Lyrics

Check out the “Lacy” lyrics of their entirety under (by way of Genius).

VERSE 1
Lacy, oh, Lacy, pores and skin like puff pastry
Aren’t you the sweetest factor on this aspect of Hell?
Dear angel Lacy, eyes white as daisies
Did I ever let you know that I’m 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
But it takes over my life, I see you all over the place
The sweetest torture one might bear

VERSE 2
Smart, horny Lacy, I’m losin’ it these days
I really feel your compliments like bullets on pores and skin
Dazzling starlet, Bardot reincarnate
Well, 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 received the one factor that I would like
Ooh, I strive, I strive, I strive
Try to rationalize, persons are individuals
But it is such as you’re fabricated 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 latterly
And I despise my jealous eyes and the way arduous they fell for you
Yeah, I despise my rotten thoughts and the way a lot it worships you