Chappell Roanhas finally released a popular song that we’ve been waiting for since the first live performance. Roan had a massive breakout year in 2024 andhas been teasing a new album since earlier in 2025. However, asRoan prepares for her next album, she’s kept fans entertained with singles.
In March,Roan released “The Giver.” The release played into the recent rise in country music as it was Roan’s first country song. While it seemed unusual, Roan promoted it on podcasts, talking about how much country music has impacted drag culture. However,Roan’s newest release is the song her fans have really been dying to hear.
Chappell Roan Has Finally Released “The Subway”
Roan Teased The Song Live A Year Ago
Chappell Roan has finally released her song “The Subway,” which she’s been teasing for about a year. Roan had performed the song live a few times,including at the 2024 Governors Ball in New York. The song’s title fit well with the New York scene, but Roan still wasn’t sure if she was going to release the song.
However, fans fell in love with the ballad, and it ended up going viral on TikTok.Listeners were especially impressed with the song’s outro, which made it into many viral videos on TikTok. Along with the song’s release, Roan dropped a music video for “The Subway.” The video pairs well with the track and taps into Roan’s usual artistic vision.
The video seesRoan’s ex as a green-haired monster, like if Cousin Itt fromThe Addams Familywas made of grass. The video was filmed around NYC, from the subway to Washington Square Park. Roan is seen toward the end of the video, bathing in the famous Washington Square Park fountain and crying over her ex.
She also incorporated drag culture,featuring drag queens in various sceneson the subway. She also mimics their famous makeup style, which she’s done a lot in her career so far.
One of the most noticeable elements is that Roan wore her hair very long, like her ex’s, utilizing it throughout the video. She has it get stuck in the taxi door,allows rats to run through it as she lies on the ground, and at one point, has it collect garbage off the streets.
There’s also a scene that seems to mimicKing Kong, except instead of climbing the Empire State Building, Roan climbs up her ex’s hair. The whole video represents justhow in love Roan still is with her ex.
She sees and feels her everywhere, and she’s clinging to whatever is left so she doesn’t have to move on. InThe Wizard of Ozfashion, the video ends with Chappell Roan waking up on the subway and realizingthe whole video was just a dream- or a nightmare in her case.
“The Subway” Lyrics & Meaning Explained
Roan Confesses Deep Emotions In “The Subway”
“The Subway” is a heartwrenching ballad, similar to the beloved ones onThe Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. In the tune, Roan yearns for her ex-girlfriend,grappling with the fact that they’re no longer soulmates. Still, she sees her everywhere and hopes for the day that she’ll be just another face on the subway.
I saw your green hair
Beauty mark next to your mouth
There on the subway
I nearly had a breakdown
A few weeks later
Somebody wore your perfume
It almost killed me
I had to leave the room
In the intro to “The Subway,” Roan sings aboutspotting her ex’s green hair and beauty mark on the subway.She then confesses she smelled her ex’s perfume.
In both instances, Roan isn’t actually seeing her ex, but the reminders of the person she was once in love with are eating her alive.She admits she almost broke downwhen she thought she saw this person on the subway, and had to leave the room when she smelled their scent.
In the chorus, Roan seems like she’s trying to convince herself that the relationship isn’t really over. From Roan’s perspective, it’s just another day of missing her ex, andit’s never actually over for herbecause she still thinks about her all the time.
[Chorus]
It’s just another day
And it’s not over ‘til it’s over, it’s never over (Ah)
And it’s not over ‘til it’s over (Ah)
It’s never over
In the post-chorus, Roan explains it will never be over for her until she no longer looks for her ex orwishes they were still soulmates. One day, her former partner will just be another girl on the subway, and that’ll be the day the relationship finally ends for Roan.
‘Til I don’t look for you on the staircase
Or wish you thought that we were still soulmates
But I’m still counting down all of the days
‘Til you’re just another girl on the subway
In the second verse,Roan admits that she’s villainized her ex for moving on, when clearly she’s struggling to do the same. She also reveals that her ex is haunting her like shadows on the wall, even in the light.
Made you the villain
Evil for just moving on
I see your shadow
I see it even with the lights off
I made a promise, if in four months this feeling ain’t gone
Well, f*** this city, I’m movin’ to Saskatchewan
Roan then sings a line that her audience particularly enjoyed yelling back at her during her live performances. If she’s still not over her ex in four months, she will move to thesmall Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
After the second chorus, Roan switches the post-chorus’ first line, admitting that even when she’s intimate with other women, she’s still thinking of her ex and trying not to say her name. Then comes the highlight of “The Subway;“the song’s outro is where Roan really breaks down.
‘Til I can break routine during foreplay
And trust myself that I won’t say your name
She’s got, she’s got a way
She’s got a way, she’s got a way
And she got, she got away
She got away, she got away
And she’s got, she’s got a way
(She’s got, she’s got a way
She’s got a way, she’s got a way)
She’s got a way (She got, she got away
She got away, she got away)
She does a trade-off between the phrases “she’s got a way” and “she got away.” Roan is singing about how her ex had something about her that wasso hypnotizing it made her unforgettable. At the same time, she also got away from Roan, and now she can’t stop thinking about her.
Was The Wait For “The Subway” Worth It?
Roan Exceeded Expectations With Her New Single
The wait for Chappell Roan’s “The Subway” was definitely worth it. It’s an absolutely heartwrenching song, and Roan’s pain is felt with every lyric.She translated her emotions of longing and frustration into the songas brilliantly as she did when she performed it live.
Withthe popularity of Rona’s live performances, the singer had a lot of pressure to make the studio recording just as exhilarating, and she nailed it. The chorus is especially impressive, asRoan takes on an Alanis Morissette tonewith her vocals.
However,she really took it home with the outro, bringing the same passion from her live performance into the studio with her. As fans impatiently await the release ofChappel Roan’s second studio album, they at least finally have “The Subway” to keep them satisfied for now.
