Music

Dua Lipa, Houdini: the song lyrics & meaning

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After teasing it in multiple ways, Dua Lipa finally released her new single, Houdini, on November 9th, 2023, anticipating a new album that still needs to be officially announced. The track inaugurates a new artistic phase for the English singer, and the lyrics have a precise meaning related to her perspective on romantic relationships. Let’s discover it together.

You can find the complete lyrics and the official video for Dua Lipa’s Houdini at the end of this article.

Houdini: the song lyrics & meaning

Houdini is a song about Dua Lipa’s ability to disappear if her boyfriend doesn’t please her enough: in the lyrics, the singer explicitly challenges her partner, asking him if he’s actually able to keep her with him. He will need a serious effort because Dua Lipa is particularly elusive: if she feels he’s not the right one, she will vanish into thin air like Houdini.

Harry Houdini was one of the most famous illusionists of all time, well renowned for his unique escape skills: he’s often associated with performances where he was handcuffed, bound in chains, or sealed in containers, and he proved he was able to set himself free in a short time, without apparent explanation. By comparing herself to Houdini, Dua Lipa refers to her similar ability to escape romantic relationships when her boyfriend doesn’t show enough effort or commitment. For the song’s marketing campaign, Dua Lipa posed with a key in her mouth, symbolizing the possibility she has to escape any possible prison.

In the song lyrics, Dua Lipa shows off her attitude: she describes herself as a woman who “won’t be here for long,” comparing herself to a solar eclipse, an exceptional astronomical event that lasts only a few seconds.

I come and I go
Tell me all the ways you need me
I’m not here for long
Catch me or I go

Time is passin’ like a solar eclipse
It’s your moment, baby, don’t let it slip

The singer intends to raise her boyfriend’s attention: keeping her is not impossible but requires energy. It’s something he should “think about night and day,” and if he’ll do all the right things, maybe he’ll be able to change her ways. Dua Lipa means that she’s used to running away every time, but there is a chance this time it won’t happen.

If you’re good enough, you’ll find a way
Maybe you could cause a girl to change her ways
Do you think about it night and day?
Maybe you could be the one to make me stay

As of 2023, Dua Lipa is dating the French director Romain Gavras. The fans could see her Instagram post (now deleted) in July 2023, wishing him a happy birthday in French. The couple seems pretty happy together, so Houdini should be interpreted as a symbolic song about Dua Lipa’s nature, not mandatorily connected to her current relationship.

This is, therefore, the real meaning of the lyrics behind Dua Lipa’s Houdini: don’t take me for granted; I can disappear any time, so I expect a constant effort from you in this relationship. But if you are good enough, if you prove you can please me and make me happy, this time I’ll stay and reward your commitment.

Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave

The complete lyrics and the official video

Dua Lipa - Houdini (Official Music Video)
Watch this video on YouTube.

I come and I go
Tell me all the ways you need me
I’m not here for long
Catch me or I go Houdini
I come and I go
Prove you got the right to please me
Everybody knows
Catch me or I go Houdini

Time is passin’ like a solar eclipse
See you watchin’ and you blow me a kiss
It’s your moment, baby, don’t let it slip
Come in closer, are you readin’ my lips?

They say I come and I go
Tell me all the ways you need me
I’m not here for long
Catch me or I go Houdini
I come and I go
Prove you got the right to please me
Everybody knows
Catch me or I go Houdini

If you’re good enough, you’ll find a way
Maybe you could cause a girl to change her ways
Do you think about it night and day?
Maybe you could be the one to make me stay

Everything you say is soundin’ so sweet (Ah-ah)
But do you practice everything that you preach? (Ah-ah)
I need something that’ll make me believe (Ah-ah)
If you got it, baby, give it to me

They say I come and I go
Tell me all the ways you need me
I’m not here for long
Catch me or I go Houdini
I come and I go (I come and I go)
Prove you got the right to please me
Everybody knows (I’m not here for long)
Catch me or I go Houdini

If you’re good enough, you’ll find a way
Maybe you could cause a girl to change her ways
Do you think about it night and day?
Maybe you could be the one to make me stay

I come and I go
Tell me all the ways you need me (Ooh)
I’m not here for long
Catch me or I go Houdini
I come and I go (I come and I go)
Prove you got the right to please me
Everybody knows (I’m not here for long)
Catch me or I go Houdini

Published by Carlo Affatigato

Carlo has been a web content creator for over 10 years. He founded Auralcrave in 2015, envisioning it as a new space capable of offering different perspectives on topics that passionate all of us. With a scientific background, Carlo developed an interest in music, cinema, literature, and art at a young age, transforming it into a complementary dimension to his professional growth. For years, he was a music journalist specializing in electronic and dance music, writing for the most important Italian magazines (both online and print). Movies and TV series have been a true obsession in many phases of his life: during university, it was not uncommon for him to set the alarm in the middle of the night to watch classic films airing on TV. With the advent of the Internet, Carlo became a keen observer of web and social phenomena, addressing light topics such as advertising, trends, fashion, and general themes. He is the main author of Auralcrave and personally manages its social media, editorial line, book publication, resource management, and business expansion. A former engineer, life coach, husband, and father, he believes that every area of knowledge has interesting stories that deserve to be told and is convinced that doing so makes the world a better place.