Billie Eilish has finally released her highly anticipated third album ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’, and the lyrics to the final track ‘Blue’ have caught the attention of fans.
Find out how the lyrics of the song relate to every track on the setlist below.
The album marked the long-awaited follow-up to the singer’s sophomore album ‘Happier Than Ever’, and the third LP in her discography following on from 2019’s breakthrough debut ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?’.
Not only does it see Eilish step into new territory with her songwriting, it also comes as a rollercoaster of emotions and appears to see the singer dealing with themes of heartbreak and isolation.
It also sees Eilish take on a particularly blue theme, which is seen both through the album artwork and in the powerful and aptly-named closing track ‘Blue’.
The song has been reported as being the album version of a previously unreleased Eilish song called ‘True Blue’, which the singer has frequently hinted at during her live shows and was originally meant to appear on her second album (via Capital FM).
Now, following its release on ‘Hit Me Hard And Soft’, fans have begun looking at the intriguing lyrics in the song, and it seems that Eilish uses the track to make a nod to every other song featured on the album.
In the first part of the song, for instance, Eilish includes the phrase ‘Birds of a feather’ – a nod to the title of the fourth track on the album, which is speculated to be about her past relationship with ex Jesse Rutherford.
Later in the song, around the two-minute mark, ‘Blue’ changes direction and becomes more solemn, as she sings about someone who was “born bluer than a butterfly”.
Before then, though, she seems to make more nods to the other songs in the tracklist. The line “Désole, mon amour,” for instance, relates to the French title of the seventh track ‘L’Amour De Ma Vie’, while the lyric “I’m trying my best” comes as a subtle nod to the sixth track ‘The Greatest’.
As highlighted by Captial FM, other nods to previous tracks in the LP include “Don’t know what’s in store, open up the door,” as a nod to ‘Chihiro’, “In the back of my mind,” as a reference to ‘Wildflower’ and “I’m still overseas”, which gestures towards ‘Bittersuite”.
Elsewhere, the lyric “A bird in a cage,” is reported as paying homage to the opening track ‘Skinny’, and “Thought you were made for me” is looped in with the album’s second track, ‘Lunch’.
Some fans have also begun speculating that the final lyric of the song, and therefore the album, may be a hint that Eilish is already working on a second part of the project, as she closes with the line “But when can I hear the next one?”.
“‘HIT ME HARD AND SOFT’ credits ends with a note from Billie Eilish seemingly teasing a new album,” wrote one fan page for the singer on X/Twitter, while others have suggested that a “red-themed” part two is on the horizon.
NME gave the album a four-star review and described it as “bold, brilliant and somewhat brighter”.
“Billie came into this process with aspirations to find herself, creatively and personally: ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ remains distinctly unique, a portrait of a singular talent entering young adulthood, exploring her queerness and experiencing the emotional thrill and (sometimes) catastrophe of chasing passion or falling in love,” it read.
“In trying to write an album for herself, she’s made one that will resonate harder than anything she’s done before.”
Shortly after announcing details of the album last month, the ‘Bad Guy’ singer went on to announce a 2024-2025 world tour in support of the LP – set to kick off this Autumn. Visit here to purchase US tickets and here for UK tickets.
Earlier today, she and brother/collaborator Finneas both opened up about the album, and said they have “never ever ever loved something more”.