So if Olivia Rodrigo seems pretty sad for a lovestruck girl, her song “Maggots For Brains” may explain the despair. It also showcases the musical through line of Rodrigo’s latest, You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love. Borrowing from post-punk legends like The Cure and Joy Division, Rodrigo explains what happens to the mind when one becomes codependent on a romantic partner.
Catatonia
Rodrigo begins the song with a daily ritual of nothingness. Her brain descends into a comatose state when she’s without her boyfriend.
My day was so mundane, I don’t think I left the house,
Drank a pot of coffee, tried to write, nothing came out.
Somehow, it’s the weekend, I’m still bored out of my skull,
And I went to a party, but only on principle.
The “We” in a relationship often has the power to erase the individual. Rodrigo no longer recognizes herself. She’s walking dead, a derailed train, a brain full of grubs.
I’m a zombie in my body, I’m a train off of the track,
I feel dirty, I feel rotten, and the colors are all flat.
I’m a sad shell of a woman, and I’ve got maggots for brains.
But that’s just the thing that happens when my,
When my baby goes away.
I Love Rock and Roll but Really Love Post-Punk
Rodrigo told The New York Times Popcast that she’s a fan of rock music. However, “Maggots For Brains” felt more alternative than traditional rock and roll. “I love those songs, maybe I’ll do that later,” she said. “But making [this] song was like, ‘Okay, I kind of figured out what I wanted the sound to be or what was gonna be different about this record.’”
Everything feels moldy like the fruit that’s in my fridge,
And everything that’s funny, I wish I could tell to him.
And sometimes, at a low point, I even wish for a tragedy,
’Cause I know he’d come over and take real good care of me.
It remains one of her favorite tracks on You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love. The post-punk groove echoes The Cure’s early goth rock. And what’s more goth than a zombie inside your body?
When my baby goes away,
He goes away, oh.
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