Chappell Roan has left the Pink Pony Club, and, in true hot-girl fashion, is crying on the subway – at least, that’s what’s happening in her latest single, aptly titled “The Subway.”
In a slight departure from her more recent pop hits like “The Giver,” Roan trades glitter for grief and is more vulnerable than ever. “The Subway” finds her in the quiet wreckage of heartbreak, documenting the aftermath of love with aching precision. It’s not just about missing someone, it’s about how their presence lingers, even in their absence; she’s seeing her ex on public transit, smelling her in stranger’s perfumes, and seeing her shadow everywhere – even with the lights off,” Roan croons, unable to rid herself of the ghost of relationship’s past.
Chappell debuted the song at last year’s Gov Ball in New York, leaving fans eager to hear more. “I’m very proud of this song & what a journey she has been on. I first played it at gov ball when I was painted green as lady liberty and in the past have played new songs live to feel them out. Obviously not knowing this really chaotic year would follow the performance, it didn’t really leave me the time to build the world the song deserved. But finally we are here,” she said in a recent instagram post. “I def ripped my hair out trying to figure out the puzzle of how this song should feel musically and visually and emotionally, luckily there are some to spare. Thank you for sticking it out for a whole year. It was worth it to make sure everything was absolutely right.”
Following suit with the idea of “ripping her hair out,” Roan has been teasing the highly anticipated release for weeks now – in the form of red-hair-covered, Cousin-It-esque promotional actors walking through subway stations. Fans quickly put clues together, discovering Roan’s return was imminent.
But what fans weren’t expecting? Chappell showing her vulnerable side. The production is softer than her previous works, and intentionally so; heartbreak like this isn’t meant to be a pop banger. It’s intimate, confessional, and cinematic – built for crying on the last train home, mascara smudged and heart still raw.
But more than just a ballad of loss, “The Subway” is a study in emotional residue: the way love imprints itself on our daily lives, long after it’s gone. It’s the moment when the party ends, the glitter fades, the silence creeps in, and you’re left alone with the memories, hurt, and hope that healing might one day come, even if today it hasn’t.
With “The Subway,” Roan doesn’t just give us another heartbreak anthem, she gives us permission to fall apart, beautifully; even a Midwest Princess needs to cry every now and then.