BADLANDS [halsey] // Lyric Analysis

5. Roman Holiday

"Roman Holiday" was the most difficult song she had to write for the album, Halsey never explained the reason behind this sentence, but it could be about everything, from the lyrics, to the struggle of putting together all the memories she wanted to sing, or to relate them with logic.

VERSE 1:

"Do you remember the taste of my lips that night /
I stole a bit of my mother's perfume /
Cause I remember when my father put his fist in the wall and separated the dining room"

Halsey details a flashback to one of the most important nights of her life. She remembers small things like spraying on a little bit of her mother's perfume (maybe to make the moment seem more adult) and what her lips (lipstick/lip-gloss) tasted like.

As well as big and surprising events like her punching a huge hole in the wall probably because he was worried about where she had been all night or just because he was angry.

It's easy to notice how most of the moments Ashley has captured in her songs happen during the night, maybe she does it because of the darkness and the feelings the situation creates.

"I remember the fear in your eyes /
The very first time we snuck into the city /
Late December with my heart in my chest and the clouds in my breath"

It's a scary journey when two kids from a small town travel into the big city for the very first time. It's like exploring an entirely different world. They're nervous and excited, the listener can tell that from the line "my heart in my chest" which symbolizes the her pounding heart.

Halsey is from Washington, New Jersey but she seems to have had a thing for different parts of NYC since her childhood. She mentioned and in and contrary to this time of the year she's claimed people like her flood NYC in the summer in New Americana: "Survival of the richest, the city's our until the fall."

"Didn't know where I was running to /
But I won't look back"

These lines detail a time in which Halsey and her love ran away to have an adventure. Along with the other occurrences mentioned in the previous lines of this verse, they could have fallen in love through and in between it all.

She has no idea where this adventure will lead her, but no matter what happens she won't regret it, "she won't look back".

CHORUS:

"Cause we'll be looking for sunlight /
Or the headlights /
Till our wide eyes burn bright"

On their adventure in the city, they'll be heading with no direction, hoping to find something special following wherever the bright lights take them, whether it's sunlight or headlights in the night time.

They both cast out the darkness, but what if they were driving in search of something? What that something is, it's unknown to us. It could be hope, desires, some type of fulfilment.

But what we know is that they won't stop searching until their "eyes burn bright" because of all what they'll have seen.

"We'll be listening to the same tunes /
That we're going through /
To the bottom of the line"

The worn-out shoes are both literal and figurative. They're just putting on old shoes and heading out to somewhere new. This old-new thing can figure two things, the first one is about the style. Halsey has always said how she likes vintage clothes, but she wears them 'in the present' and likes to mix them with what people is more likely to wear nowadays; the second point is about time, about how their old selfs go into something new, without changing immediately.

At the same time, they symbolize this old lifestyle. These battered shoes have been through a lot like their owners. The damage testifies for how long they've gone, both in love and on the road.

"The bottom line" represents the end of their current lives and eventually their new ones. It may be reflective of the relationship that is destined to come to an end. This may also mean that they've been on the road so long without stopping, that they have nothing but the clothes on their back.

"And we know that we're headstrong /
And our heart's gone /
And the timing's never right /
But for now let's get away"

They now understand they may not be destined for one another, but they're willing to face the future, no matter what it brings.

Their secret vacation symbolizes more than an amazing journey, but the possibility of their last fun event as a couple together. Instead they choose to live in the moment and enjoy the rest of their time together. "The timing is never night" but until they can run away from time, and not be catched they'll still together.

"On a Roman holiday"

The use of a 'Roman Holiday' references the Audrey Hepburn film titled Roman Holiday. In the movie, the princess Ann (Audrey H.) is exhausted from her busy schedule and sneaks out into the city of Rome to spend a night of being free from her royal duties and responsibilities – for doing so, she meets a guy. According to Halsey's life, this man would be her actual lover.

Halsey is getting away for a while to be free, not worrying about the consequences and just letting loose, just like the royal lady.

VERSE 2:

"Do you remember the taste of my lips that night I tried to kiss you on the drive to Queen's"

During their trip to Queens (one of NYC's most famous neighborhood), she couldn't resist her urges to be intimate with her love interest. If she hadn't kissed him, the night might not have lived up to its potential.

"Cause I'll imagine the weight of your legs as you lie between my hips in the backseat /
I imagine the tears in your eyes /
The very first night I'll sleep without you"

Halsey even remembers the fantasies she began to develop in her mind following the kiss. Their trip to Queens and the city would transition into a coming-of-age story and unforgettable experience losing their virginity together, or simply having sex.

Usually the media likes to depict the woman crying after nights of extreme passion with their first lover because they feel they gave up on something sacred. However, she doesn't see herself shedding tears for him. She may not miss his presence as much as he'll miss hers.

"And when it happens I'll be miles away /
And a few months late /
Didn't know where I was running to /
But I won't look back"

Almost paralleling the first verse, the simple pronoun change caters to the development of Halsey's inception as an independent woman and . As invested as she is in discovering new territories, she's distanced herself from her suitor.

Being a few months late into this situation signifies being pregnant, as well as a lack of timely manner in which she finally realizes that she's already too far gone from the relationship she had with this person.

This might even branch more meaning into why the song is between "Ghost" and "Hurricane"  which conceptualizes constant searching for love, whether aesthetic or passionate: "I'm searching for womething that I can't reach."

BRIDGE:

"Feet first, don't fall /
Or we'll be running again "

Halsey is saying to be careful ("feet first" inside of head first) or they'd fall back into old habits. Don't forget that 'Young God' also mentions running as in looking for love again: 'We'll be running, running, running, again.'

"Keep close, stand tall"

She's saying not to stray too far but still remain confident.

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what your favourite feature of Ashley?

don't you think her smile is absolutely the cutest? it just radiates joyyy.