Say you’re a part of Generation Alpha, and we don’t mean a subdivision from Teen Wolf, but if you were born after the year 2010, then, yup, that’s you! Perhaps you only know Colbie Caillat’s name because of her feature credit on ‘Breathe (Taylor’s Version).’ While that makes sense since her last solo recorded tune was seven years ago, it’s up to us Millennials to fill in the gaps, especially seeing as she’s finally returning to the country music scene with ‘Worth It!’
From her free-flowing blonde hair and perchance to turning all of our delicate feelings into a cutesy ballad (one of which has 134 million views on YouTube, by the way), she’s a pretty big deal for us! Still, if that isn’t enough to type her name into Google to understand what we oldies are babbling on about, we thought we’d curate five of her best tunes into one article. So you can not only become her fan, but do so by stretching out onto her musical therapy couch to understand the love lesson found within its lyrics!
‘Bubbly’
If there was one song in Colbie Caillat’s discography linked to her name, it would be the golden-hued ‘Bubbly,’ a soft strumming melody that immediately acts as a time portal to the year 2007. Enter it, and you know the call “Will you count me in?” has the response, “I’ve been awake for a while now // You’ve got me feeling like a child now.” We truly mean that, too. ‘Bubbly’ is interwoven into car drives with familial faces and school discos, where its splinters of light slowed down as the awkward pause of first loves hovered around the room.
It was the year’s song, yet just as we still know the lyrics, we can piece together those grainy moments from when we initially heard it. So perhaps its lesson is as easy to pick up on as love’s supposed to be easy! When someone doesn’t give you butterflies but makes you feel comfortable (“The rain is falling on my windowpane // But we are hiding in a safer place“), hold on to it.
‘I Never Told You’
The other song most recognizable as a Colbie song is ‘I Never Told You,’ an angsty ballad riddled with the stains of a love that got away. What’s interesting about the music video, in particular, is that it touches on the idea that a creative’s art piece will often hold those subconscious truths we don’t know how to tell in our waking moments. It’s in the photographs of their ex-lovers hanging in the shop window, where Colbie is painting the boy who still has her attention. Therefore, the love lesson wrapped up in this song is that though the situation may be sticky, you’ll feel better from getting everything out there rather than letting the years pass and the “what-ifs” continue to linger around.
‘Try’
With the background of one of those cosmetic advertisements that showcase the before and after of how gold star-rated a product is, the music video for ‘Try’ truly flips the idea of fitting into a person’s standard of beauty by creating your own. For extra effect, scenes show the girls taking off their makeup, unclipping hair extensions, even a wig, until they’re their authentic versions of themselves, over couplets like “You don’t have to try so hard // You don’t have to give it all away.” Its message is much bigger than love, but for the point of it, the only person you have to impress is yourself, and then, much like in ‘Bubbly,’ the right person will find you.
‘Realize’
So maybe ‘Realize’ is the companion piece to ‘I Never Told You,’ meaning that it’s full of unspoken truths and moments, with one person coloring in the gaps of a situation with all the colors they want to see before the other person does. The difference, though, is that there’s resentment here. Repeating “realize” is her attempt to force the situation until the bridge starts (“It’s not the same // No, it’s never the same // If you don’t feel it too”). The lesson comes in when it’s better to be in a relationship with someone who wants to be there rather than one that’s one-sided.
‘Worth It’
I think that everyone can relate to drifting apart from a past love. Although it’s a painful process, it’s a beautiful thing to be able to look back at that time in your life with new perspective and realize that what was gained from that relationship was worth all of the low points.
Colbie Caillat
We may only know some things about ‘Worth It’ thus far, like how Liz Rose co-wrote it. If you’re a Swiftie, that tidbit has you clicking “pre-save” on every platform possible. She did co-write ‘You Belong With Me,’ after all! We also have some lyric spoilers: “There’s still sweetness in the memories // Even after all the hurting // Even after all the long nights // Not quite // Knowin if it felt right.” Still, we know enough to gauge its lesson: even if a relationship didn’t end the traditional fairytale way, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t successful! Colbie pens a heartbreak tune like no other, so it will pull at our heartstrings and uncover many other things we ought to learn.
Colbie Caillat has other stunning tunes in her discography and, therefore, more love lessons to unravel. Is there something in particular that you picked up from one of them? Let us know through our Twitter @thehoneypop while we count down the days until ‘Worth It’ comes out on April 21st. As you know, our Instagram and Facebook pages will have full coverage!
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