It’s sometimes impossible to decipher the meaning of a song without context, understanding of subtlety, or symbolism. (See? Music is just like books!) Here’s an attempt at figuring out some of today’s top songs by digging a little deeper into what is really being sung about.

Can’t Catch Me Now — Olivia Rodrigo

Featured in The Hunger Games prequel: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the song “Can’t Catch Me Now” brilliantly reflects the life of one of the main characters, Lucy Gray Baird. Rodrigo states in the second verse, “I bet you figured I’d pass with the winter.” The main character’s last name is Snow. The song is set from Lucy Gray’s point of view. By writing “winter,” Rodrigo is claiming that Snow thought he could forget Lucy Gray. However, in the chorus of the song, Rodrigo sings, “You’ll see my face in every place, but you can’t catch me now.” Rodrigo wrote that Snow would always be reminded of Lucy Gray throughout his life, and by repeating “you can’t catch me now,” Rodrigo foreshadows that someone who reminds Snow of Lucy Gray (Katniss Everdeen) will be his ultimate downfall. The song builds up to an incredibly intense bridge, which mirrors the tension between the two characters in the movie. I really suggest giving this song a listen.

Greedy­ — Tate McRae

With melodies similar to those of popular 2006 artist Nelly Furtado, Tate McRae is emerging as a new pop girl to follow. I have heard of her in the past, but this song is the first of hers that really caught my and the world’s attention. Owing to this newfound popularity, McRae sings, “I’m running this room around, and I’m still half your age.” Flaunting that McRae is young and successful gives her an edge because she is content with what she produces. This confident and groovy song is a lot of fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Something in the Orange — Zach Bryan

Look, I’m not really a big fan of country music, so this might be biased; however, this song is pretty decent. The rising country star Zach Bryan has a different sound than most current country singers, and it is becoming wildly popular. “I poisoned myself again. Something in the orange tells me you’re never coming home.” In this song, Bryan is looking at a sunset represented by “the orange.” The sunset represents a relationship with someone who was once beautiful but is now dying. Bryan felt a stronger connection with the other person and is reminiscing on past times while looking at the metaphorical sunset. While normally this isn’t my style, the use of metaphors and the sad tone make this quite a good song.

Everybody — Nicki Minaj (feat. Lil Uzi Vert)

BARBS! Nicki has come out with a new album titled Pink Friday 2. Nicki samples the song “Move Your Feet” by Junior Senior throughout this hit song. Brilliantly, Nicki repeats the word “body,” constantly giving it different meanings every time. Minaj “bodies” this song and creates an end-of-year hit, finally feeding barbs around the world who haven’t had a new album in 5 years. The catchy lyrics and the addictive beat give this song a fun feel.

Maroon — Taylor Swift

While the album containing this song came out nearly two years ago, it is currently nominated for six Grammys. This song is really catchy, and the lyricism is genius. Swift’s Grammy-nominated album Red was released over a decade ago. This song reflects some of the themes of the album, as well as almost alluding to them. Throughout the song, Swift mentions 11 different shades of red without explicitly saying the word “red.” The colors she mentions are rosé, burgundy, wine, blood, scarlet, rust, lips, carnation, rose, ruby, and, of course, maroon. This usage of diction is creatively genius.

Ghost in the Machine — SZA (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)

SZA was already popular because of her album, Ctrl; however, her life fully took off when SOS, which contains “Ghost in the Machine,” came out. I originally listened to this song because I am a Phoebe Bridgers fan; however, SZA’s lyricism (not to mention her amazing voice) blew me away. Towards the beginning of the song, SZA sings, “Can you lead me to the ark? What’s the password?” Referencing Noah’s Ark in the Bible, SZA is asking for a new world with people who create true connections. Then, throughout the song, it repeats, “I need humanity.” The depressing song reflects SZA’s view of the current technological world. Relating to her audience, SZA is outright begging for humanity, as her album SOS itself is literally a call for help. Crazy.