No ‘GUTS’ No Glory: Standout Lyrics and Themes for All Ages from Olivia Rodrigo’s Sophomore Album

As a resident teenage girl in her mid-twenties, the anticipation was at an all-time high when I heard about Olivia Rodrigo’s upcoming sophomore album. I absolutely loved Rodrigo’s breakout debut album and found myself scream-singing the lyrics to my heart’s content on my commutes home from work. So, could this second album truly top the initial hype and popularity of her first album?

I’m here to tell you that “GUTS” does that and so much more. Upon my first listen, I enjoyed the alternative beats and vocal quality from Rodrigo, but I wasn’t entirely sure yet how connected I felt to the songs themselves. However, after my second listen, I found myself immersed in the lyrics and amazed at how relatable a lot of the themes on this album were.

Here’s a small sample of the songs that hit the most for us Livies who aren’t in Gen Z:

            Lacy: ‘Lacy’ was one of those songs that initially amazed me because of how effortlessly poignant and beautiful the sound is. The song touches upon the jealousy towards another woman, which is a topic many can relate to. Lyrics such as: “I care / Like perfume that you wear, I linger all the time / Watching hidden in plain sight” hit hard for anyone who has ever felt this way before. This is a theme that can be applied towards the jealousy of a former friend or the next girl that your ex started a relationship with. As someone who has been in friendship dynamics in the past where I felt less than the other person, this song was entirely relatable. I’m thankful that Rodrigo brought this all-too-common theme into a song.

            Ballad of a Home-Schooled Girl: The alternative sounding track, “Ballad of a Home-Schooled Girl” is for all the socially anxious guys and gals. The track details Rodrigo’s won social experiences (or lack thereof) as someone who spent her life being home-schooled. She makes light of this in the song and explains her point of view through lyrics like, “I laughed at the wrong time, sat with the wrong guy / Searchin’ “how to start a conversation?” on a website.” Despite never being home-schooled, I do deal with social anxiety, so many of the lyrics and references detailed in the song hit home. It was refreshing to hear this light approach to the topic and made me feel less alone in some of these all too often isolating feelings.

            Teenage Dream: No, this is not the “Teenage Dream” of my middle school youth (shout out to Katy Perry), but this “Teenage Dream” is an emotional ballad that is the cherry on top of Rodrigo’s masterpiece of an album as the final track. The song discussed Rodrigo’s fears about growing up and not meeting the potential that others see in her or hope for her in the future. The bridge of the song is one of the most emotional parts where Rodrigo achingly sings, “They all say that it gets better / It gets better, but what if I don’t?”. While she relates this topic to leaving her teenage life behind and going into her twenties, I think this is a theme almost everyone can relate to. That fear of not being enough or not meeting your goals and expectations is something that is a never-ending cycle the older anyone gets. Rodrigo found a way to depict this feeling in the most concise and sincere way, and I have to give her all the flowers for that.

“GUTS” is not only great, but it is greater than “SOUR” (I think enough time has passed where I can say that matter-of-factly). The storytelling, themes, emotions, and humor mixed throughout the album has resulted in a body of work that in my eyes has no skips. I’m thankful to have this album in existence right now, and I’m excited to see what else Rodrigo has up her sleeves in the rest of her career.

With love (and spilled guts),