Ariana Grande has just dropped a brand new single but what are her ‘We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)’ lyrics about?
The wait is over! After months of anticipation, Ariana Grande has released her seventh studio album Eternal Sunshine. Ahead of the album’s release, Ariana shared a video on Instagram in which she said “kind of a concept album” and it’s all piece of the “same story and experience”. The songs are “vulnerable” but also “play the part of what people expect her to be”.
‘We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)’ is the follow-up to her hit single ‘Yes, And?’ and fans are already calling it one of her best singles ever. What is the emotional anthem about though? Here’s the meaning behind the lyrics explained.
At first glance, ‘We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)’ is a heartbreaking midtempo ballad about waiting for someone to love you back. In the emotional post-chorus, Ariana sings ‘Wait for your love / My love, I’ll wait for your love’. People have suggested the song could be about Ariana’s ex-husband Dalton Gomez or even her late ex, rapper Mac Miller.
However, the song could also have a double meaning. Through the lyrics, Ariana appears to address her critics and open up about feeling misunderstood. In the first verse, she sings: ‘I didn’t think you’d understand me / How could you ever even try? / I don’t wanna tiptoe but I don’t wanna hide / But I don’t wanna feed this monstruous fire.’
Over the past year, Ariana has faced intense public scrutiny over her divorce and her relationship with her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater. Ariana has faced public backlash because she and Ethan were married to different people when they met. However, Page Six has reported that they only started dating when they were single.
In the chorus, Ariana then seems to address the tabloids and the people who’ve turned on her. She sings: ‘We can’t be friends / But I’d like to just pre-tend / You cling to your papers and pens / Wait until you like me again.’
Ariana Grande – we can’t be friends (wait for your love) (official music video)
Ariana gets deeper in the second verse, singing ‘Me and my truth, we sit in silence / Mm, baby girl, it’s just me and you’ and ‘You got me misunderstood / But at least I look this good’. In the bridge, she also calls out people’s false perception of her adding: ‘Know that you made me / I don’t like how you paint me, yet I’m still here hangin’ / Not what you made me.’
Taking to her Instagram stories at the end of December in 2023, Ariana said: “I’ve never felt more pride or joy or love while simultaneously feeling so deeply misunderstood by people who don’t know me, who piece whispers together and make what they want out of me and their assumptions of my life.”
With ‘We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)’, Ariana creates a beautiful ballad while also reclaiming her narrative.
Ariana Grande – ‘We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love)’ lyrics
VERSE 1
I didn’t think you’d understand me
How could you ever even try?
I don’t wanna tiptoe but I don’t wanna hide
But I don’t wanna feed this monstruous fire
Just wanna let this story die
And I’ll be alright
CHORUS
We can’t be friends
But I’d like to just pre-tend
You cling to your papers and pens
Wait until you like me again
PRE-CHORUS
Wait for your love
My love, I’ll wait for your love
VERSE 2
Me and my truth, we sit in silence
Mm, baby girl, it’s just me and you
‘Cause wanna argue but I don’t wanna die
You got me misunderstood
But at least I look this good
PRE-CHORUS
We can’t be friends
But I’d like to just pre-tend
You cling to your papers and pens
Wait until you like me again
POST-CHORUS
Wait for your love
My love, I’ll wait for your love
I’ll wait for your love
My love, I’ll wait for your love
BRIDGE
Know that you made me
I don’t like how you paint me, yet I’m still here hangin’
Not what you made me
It’s somethin’ like a daydream
But I feel so seen in the night
So for now, it’s only me
And maybe that’s all I need
CHORUS
We can’t be friends
But I’d like to just pre-tend
You cling to your papers and pens
Wait until you like me again
POST-CHORUS
Wait for your love
My love, I’ll wait for your love
I’ll wait for your love
My love, I’ll wait for your love
OUTRO
I’ll wait for your love
I’ll wait for your love
I’ll wait for your love
I’ll wait for your love
I’ll wait for your love
