What About Love

Song Meaning

The lyrics capture a sudden, almost disorienting sense of falling in love, where the narrator feels utterly transformed. The opening lines, "Is that me who's floating away? / Lifted up to the clouds by a kiss," immediately establish a feeling of weightlessness and disbelief. This new emotional state is so profound that the narrator "don't recognize" themselves, questioning a past certainty: "Love's the one thing I know all about / I had it all figured out." This sets up a core tension between a previously held understanding of love and the overwhelming, unfamiliar reality of this new experience. The central conflict emerges in the pre-chorus and chorus, where the narrator pivots from the initial euphoria to a series of earnest, almost childlike questions. "What about trust? / What about tenderness?" these queries shift the focus from the grand feeling to the fundamental components of a lasting relationship. The chorus then escalates these concerns with poignant, almost paradoxical imagery: "What about tears when I'm happy? / What about wings when I fall?" These questions aren't about doubt, but rather a deep desire for the beloved to provide the emotional scaffolding for every facet of life, both joyous and challenging, to create a "story for me / That I can believe in forever." The most compelling aspect of the writing is its direct, unadorned questioning. Instead of declarative statements about love, the narrator poses a cascade of "What about" inquiries, building a sense of vulnerability and earnest need. This structure transforms the song from a simple declaration of affection into a plea for reassurance and a blueprint for a shared future. The repetition of "What about love?" at the end, alongside "What about you and me?", underscores the narrator's profound uncertainty and their desperate hope that this powerful, transformative feeling can indeed be the foundation for something enduring and real.