“Chains Of Love” is the fifth track on Charli XCX’s brand new album ‘Wutherin Heights.’ Despite the electro-pop beat, the song talks about love that’s both painful and enduring.
“Chains Of Love” was released as the second single from Charli XCX’s contribution to the soundtrack of the movie ‘Wutherin Heights,’ from 2026. “In early December 2024, I got a text from an unknown number that turned out to be Emerald Fennell,” said Charli XCX about hearing from the director of the ‘Wuthering Heights’ movie.
“I began to sink into this reimagined world of Wuthering Heights and I suddenly began to feel… inspired. I was immersing myself in a story that was not my own, a story that was steeped in history, a story that had existed since 1847 (tysm Emily Brontë),” revealed Charli XCX on creating not one song, but an entire album for the movie soundtrack.
The story of “Chains Of Love” is likely inspired by the characters Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff from Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.’ In the novel, the two share an intense, destructive, yet inseparable love stemming from a source of similar tragic upbringing.
Listen to “Chains Of Love” by Charli XCX
What is the meaning of “Chains Of Love” by Charli XCX?
At the beginning of the song, Charli XCX goes through a list of punishments she is willing to endure before she lets go of her lover.
I’d rather drown in a stream
I’d rather light myself on fire
Maybe she can smile through all of this torture because she is quite used to what she has going on with her partner. The 1847 social divide also plays a major role in the toxicity of their relationship and the revenge spree Heathcliff goes on later in the story.
Charli XCX sings that Cathy endures all of it “In the eye of your (Heathcliff) storm.” The eye of the storm is calm despite the chaos surrounding. This hints that Cathy and Heathcliff did manage to see their situation as rather favorable for them, despite all the problems they were facing from the society around them.
The chains of love are cruel
I shouldn’t feel like a prisoner
In the hook of the song, Charli XCX sings about how cruel some bonds can be. In the novel, Cathy and Heathcliff are forced to separate due to their social differences, despite having shared a strong bond since childhood. The chains of love are supposed to feel bonding, not constricting. But everyone lives a different story.
In the second verse of the song, Cathy says no matter how hard she tries, she will forever be stuck in a place where she was not forcefully married off to her wealthy neighbor, Edgar Linton. This results in Heathcliff leaving town for three years, only to return wealthy and vengeful.
And I wait for your call
It is a bitter disservice to everyone involved when someone is forcibly married off to a third party. All three parties suffer in a lackluster marriage. Cathy still imagines her life with Heathcliff while she is married to Linton. Sometimes her face turns blue, unable to breathe, thinking about the atrocities she committed in love.
I know the chains of love won’t break
In this line, Charli XCX highlights the duality of the situation Cathy is in. Chains of love could represent strength and bonding while also restriction and being grounded.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Read the complete lyrics to the song on Genius.