We had a hunch that Billie Eilish’s upcoming album, titled ‘Happier Than Ever,’ might not be telling so much of a happy story. The brand new single released ahead of the album, “Your Power,” is just more proof of this. In this track, Billie Eilish reflects on being in an abusive relationship with her partner.
Billie Eilish announced her highly anticipated second studio album ‘Happier Than Ever‘ to release on July 30, 2021. So far, there have been two singles released, namely “Therefore I Am,” and “my future.”
The new single, “Your Power” seems to be a reflection on Billie Eilish’s relationship with ex-boyfriend Brandon Adams better known by his stage name 7: AMP. Billie Eilish dated the LA-based rapper for a year and called it off in June 2019. She recalls his behavior as “self-destructive” and she even tried to get him into therapy, which failed. Releasing the song, Billie Eilish gave her thoughts about the song on Instagram; “this is one of my favorite songs i’ve ever written. i feel very vulnerable putting this one out because i hold it so close to my heart. this is about many different situations that we’ve all either witnessed or experienced. i hope this can inspire change. try not to abuse your power.”
In her recent documentary ‘Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry,’ she talked about her relationship with 7: AMP; “I just wasn’t happy. And I didn’t want the same things he wanted and I don’t think that’s fair, for him. I don’t think you should be in a relationship, super excited about certain things that the other person couldn’t care less about.”
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“Your Power” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Chorus
The song begins with the chorus and straight to the point: “Try not to abuse your power.” Billie Eilish is addressing somebody asking them not to abuse their powers. While this is a quite vague statement, Billie wanted it to be a blanket song covering varying aspects of abuse.
In an interview with Annie Mac, Billie Eilish revealed; “I’m not gonna get too deep into the specific lyrics and what they mean and what they’re really about but it’s a problem that’s occurring everywhere you look. And everyone is someone or knows someone who’s been taken advantage of.”
‘Abuse’ can come in different ways such as verbal, physical, or mental. Billie does not say which form of abuse she endured, but looking at the stories behind her relationship with 7: AMP, mental abuse is pretty apparent. He did not have to inflict mental abuse on her for it to be considered abuse, his own destructive behavior and his unwillingness to change is, too, a form of abuse on Billie Eilish.
It is also strange to imagine the kind of ‘power’ a relatively unknown rapper such as 7: AMP held over a global phenomenon such as Billie Eilish. Maybe this is the exact reason why she sings “You might not wanna lose your power / But havin’ it’s so strange.” Maybe, it is important to remember that Billie Eilish was only 16-17 years old when she dated 7: AMP, who was 22.
Verse 1
In the first verse of “Your Power,” Billie Eilish goes into the third person and sings about their 1-year-old relationship that doomed. She thought he was the hero who rode a white knight and swept her off her feet. And he played the part for a few months. However, the curtains opened up in a few months and revealed the real person for who is.
Billie Eilish sings “She was sleepin’ in your clothes” hinting at intimacy between the two when they dated. She opened herself up for him and imagined a life with him. But he could not play the game of life. So, now Billie has to snap back to reality and move on!
Pre-chorus
A frustrated and angry singer shouts at her ex for “ruining” her life in a year. She asks if he even feels bad for what he molded their relationship to become.
Verse 2
The second verse sheds some light on the form of abuse that went on. It was mental abuse, making Billie Eilish believe that the cracks in their relationship were her fault. Maybe his ways of asserting his dominance in the relationship were keeping her at bay. Maybe showing that he doesn’t need her was his way of compensating for the severe imbalance in real power in their relationship.
The lyric “You said you thought she was your age” is honestly a bit too creepy for all the wrong reasons. Did he really try to pretend that Billie was 22-years-old when they dated? Maybe, when the curtain on their relationship was lifted at the end of it all by Billie in her documentary, did he try to act innocent that he didn’t know she was underage?
It looks like Billie Eilish did go through horrifying experiences at a young age in her past relationship. However, the most important thing is that she found the courage to walk away from it all. She actually might be happier than ever!
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.