What Will You Do

Song Meaning

These lyrics immediately drop us into a fraught emotional space. The narrator faces a stark declaration: "friends full stop." Yet, their own feelings are clearly far more intense, creating a palpable tension between stated boundaries and undeniable longing. It's a snapshot of unrequited or complicated affection, brimming with internal conflict. The central emotional tension stems from this clash. The narrator struggles to accept a platonic label when the other person "give me the sun" – a powerful image of overwhelming warmth and joy. This disparity forces the narrator into a state of self-deception, admitting their "head is filling with sweet sweet lies about you," suggesting a desperate attempt to reconcile their reality with their desires. A particularly sharp piece of craft lies in the subtle shift of a repeated line. Initially, the narrator states, "I know that it's wrong but I swear that it's true," affirming their own intense, perhaps inappropriate, feelings. Later, this morphs into "I know that it's wrong but I swear that you do," projecting their own conviction onto the other person. This shift reveals a deep-seated hope, or even a desperate belief, that the other person secretly reciprocates, despite their explicit declaration of friendship. The lyrics are effective because they capture the agonizing limbo of a relationship stuck between two extremes. The repeated, almost pleading question, "What will you do," isn't just a query; it's a cry for resolution, a desperate hope that the other person will acknowledge the unspoken intensity. The paradoxical demands like "Love me and turn me away" further underscore the narrator's emotional turmoil, highlighting the confusing push-pull of a connection that exists in a painful grey area.