Olivia Rodrigo has revealed that her song 'purple' originally had a completely different meaning before she rewrote the lyrics. The track, which appears on her album 'You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love', now carries a heartbreaking double meaning that has moved fans to tears.
From Love Song to Heartbreak
In an interview with Capital, Olivia explained that 'purple' was one of the first songs she wrote for the album. The initial version was a sweet, pure love song inspired by a poem she wrote in her phone: 'You kiss my neck / Our paths intersect 'til the two lines form a circle / I melt with you your red and my blue and now I see the world in purple.'
She said: 'I thought that that was such a beautiful sentiment. So I took it to the studio and we made it into a whole song. It was very sweet at first.'
A Shift in Tone
However, a few months later, Olivia and her collaborator Dan revisited the song. Dan started playing 'weird guitar things' underneath it, and Olivia changed the chords, giving the track a 'creepy vibe'. She explained: 'We sort of tweaked it to be the beginning of the unravelling in the album. That song is sort of where everything starts to go south.'
The final version of 'purple' begins with lyrics about the joys of blending lives in love, such as 'Now I got / A local grocery store and a favourite florist', but soon turns darker, reflecting loss of self: 'It's crazy / I had big dreams 'til I tied myself to you / Now I'm all-consumed.'
Olivia's revelation means that a demo of 'Purple' exists as a full love song, contrasting sharply with the haunting track fans know today.
