Posted by Tate McRae is always very passionate in describing her character, especially inside love relationships. Exes is her new single, out in November 2023: it follows Greedy, the other single from her second album, Think Later, set for release in December. And it’s again a song about relationships. Let’s discover the lyrics and their meaning.
You can find the song’s official video and the complete lyrics at the end of this article.
Exes: the song lyrics & their meaning
Exes is a song about how easy it is for Tate McRae to move on from her past relationships: in the lyrics, the singer describes herself as a woman who doesn’t get easily involved and can quickly change her mind. “Like it’s origami,” referring to the Japanese art of paper folding, transforming a piece of paper into something new.
From this point of view, if compared to many modern pop songs, Exes goes in a completely different direction. Instead of processing breakups or singing about lost love, Tate McRae celebrates her ability to easily adjust her mind to the new situation after breaking up. She shows off this ability, knowing it can sound cold, but that’s the effect of her pride, her self-love. As she says in a meaningful line:
I swear I care a lot, just not enough
That’s why she sings about love, almost mocking it. She sends kisses to his exes, describing them as men who don’t care as well. From this perspective, Tate McRae’s cold reaction to love is a defense strategy against the men out there who want to hurt her: until the right one arrives, she won’t allow herself to get too involved. That explains the song’s chorus:
Kisses to my exes who don’t give a shit about me
Kisses, kisses to the next ones who think they can live without me
We make up, then we break up
Then they swear they’ll never call me
But I still keep their number and their necklace
Kisses to my exes
In the end, Tate McRae hints that this could be related to her young age. She even seems to admit she “did it dirty” to some of her exes, but she isn’t thirty. This implies that she believes things will change soon. But until then, this is the real meaning of the lyrics in Exes: I don’t get hurt by my past relationships; I move on quickly, and my mind is fast at switching into my new reality. So if you think I’m in pain, well, you’re wrong: men like you won’t hurt me.
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The official video and the complete lyrics
Below you find the official video and the complete lyrics for Tate McRae’s Exes.
Oh, I’m sorry, sorry that you love me (Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha)
Changed my mind up like it’s origami
Oh, I’m sorry, sorry that you love me (Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha)
Changed my mind up like it’s origami
Kisses to my exes who don’t give a shit about me
Kisses, kisses to the next ones who think they can live without me
We make up, then we break up, then they swear they’ll never call me
But I still keep their number and their necklace, kisses to my exes
Happens every time
I don’t mean, mean to be cold, but that’s how I get, oh
Me and all my pride
Tryna burn down every damn bridge any time we can, and again
I’m a, I’m a, I’m a wild ride that never stops
I’m a, I’m a, I’m a hard case they can’t unlock
And I, and I swear I care a lot, just not enough
Let’s just say it is what it is and was what it was
Kisses to my exes who don’t give a shit about me
Kisses, kisses to the next ones who think they can live without me
We make up, then we break up
Then they swear they’ll never call me
But I still keep their number and their necklace
Kisses to my exes
Oh, I’m sorry, sorry that you love me (Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha)
Changed my mind up like it’s origami
Oh, I’m sorry, sorry that you love me (Oh-oh-oh)
Changed my mind up like it’s ori—
Say, say I wanna go there, then I wanna leave
Make another promise that I can’t keep
I don’t ever know what I want, but that’s what you want
If you’re down, well, then don’t blame me
Breakin’ it all before it starts, makin’ it all up in my head
But I just overshare ’bout things I never meant
I’m a, I’m a, I’m a wild ride that never stops
I’m a, I’m a, I’m a hard case they can’t unlock
And I, and I swear I care a lot, just not enough
Let’s just say it is what it is and was what it was (Was)
Kisses to my exes who don’t give a shit about me
Kisses, kisses to the next ones who think they can live without me (Nah, nah)
We make up, then we break up, then they swear they’ll never call me (Yeah)
But I still keep their number and their necklace, kisses to my exes
Oh, I’m sorry, sorry that you love me
Changed my mind up like it’s origami
Oh, I’m sorry, sorry that you love me (Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha)
Changed my mind up like it’s origami (Ha-ha)
Kisses to my exes, I know that I did you dirty
Little messed up, little selfish, we ain’t married, I ain’t thirty
Yeah, we hooked up, then we broke up, then I said you really hurt me
But I still got your number and your necklace, kisses to my exes
