Life can feel strangely safe when you're keeping yourself at a distance from everything that matters. In this vulnerable reflection, Phoebe Bridgers explores how falling in love transforms someone from a detached observer into an active participant in life. The speaker initially claims to fear nothing – not death, poverty, or loneliness – but we realize this fearlessness comes from emotional numbness and disconnection. Everything changes when love enters the picture, giving her "something to lose" and making her feel truly alive for the first time. The song beautifully captures how caring deeply for someone can be both terrifying and liberating, pushing us out of our comfort zones and into the world. The closing line about the childish belief of hearing oceans in seashells suggests letting go of protective illusions and embracing real, raw experiences, even if they come with risks.
Sidelines
Lyrics
I'm not afraid of anything at all
Not dying in a fire, not being broke again
I'm not afraid of living on a fault line
'Cause nothing ever shakes me, nothing makes me cry
Not a plane going down
In the ocean and drowning
Watched the world from the sidelines
Had nothing to prove
'Til you came into my life
Gave me something to lose
Now I know what it feels like
To wanna go outside
Like the shape of my outline
I'm not afraid of going back to school
I gave it up the first time, but I'll try again
I'm not afraid of getting older
Used to fetishize myself
Now I'm talking to my house plants
Not of being alone, oh
In a room full of people
Watching the world from the sidelines
Had nothing to prove
'Til you came into my life
Gave me something to lose
Now I know what it feels like
To want to go outside
Like the shape of my outline
And I used to think
You could hear the ocean in a seashell
What a childish thing
Writer(s): Marshall Kenneth Vore, Phoebe Lucille Bridgers, Ruby Rain Henley
Copyright(s): Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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