I’m done.
That’s the two-word summary of singer Selena Gomez’s collaboration with Norwegian EDM DJ Kygo, “It Ain’t Me.”
The song—sung by Gomez with Kygo working his synthesizer magic in the background—tells the tale of a woman who’s been with a guy since her teens, but who’s finally decided his out-of-control lifestyle is more than she’s willing to deal with.
The fact that she’s finally drawing a line is a good thing. But the stuff that she’s apparently put up with for a long time … maybe not so much.
Once upon a time, Selena tells us in the song’s second verse, things were pretty good between her and her man. “I had a dream,” she sings, “We were back to 17/Summer nights and The Libertines/Never growing up.”
Ah, but they have grown up. Quite a lot, it would seem. And the woman whose perspective Selena sings from here is weary of her beau spending his nights partying without her. Nights where he doesn’t come home at all.
“Somewhere along the lines/We stopped seeing eye to eye,” she tells her wayward, soon-to-be ex-boyfriend. “You were staying out all night/And I had enough.” The consequences of his choices? She informs him she’ll be gone the next time he returns to their apparently shared residence. “No, I don’t wanna know,” she says, “Where you been or where you’re goin’/But I know I won’t be home/And you’ll be on your own.”
In addition to, presumably, being pretty lonely, this guy will also have to do without a long litany of things his lady used to help him with. Namely, caring for him in his inebriated, perhaps alcoholic, state.
“Who’s gonna walk you/Through the dark side of the morning?” Selena asks. “Who’s gonna rock you/When the sun won’t let you sleep?” Then she adds, “Who’s waking up to drive you home/When you’re drunk and all alone?” (A question that perhaps suggests he still has his own place, even if he apparently spends most nights with her.)
Selana’s simple answer to all those questions: “It ain’t me.”
Kudos to this woman for finally drawing a line. On the other hand, it seems pretty clear this live-in relationship has been dysfunctional and damaging for a very long time.
So it’s a good thing that Selena’s character here is cutting her losses. But it’s also a troubling thing to hear an influential star like Selena belt out bitter lyrics about living with such a toxic partner for so long, as if that experience is the most normal thing in the world.
After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.
