After performing her queer anthem “The Subway” live for over a year, Chappell Roan has delivered a rich, visually lush, and fully embodied studio version that lives up to the hype and can be adored by the masses.
Stream: “The Subway” – Chappell Roan
Over a year ago, Chappell Roan made her live debut of “The Subway” at New York’s Governors Ball Music Festival, further building upon what was already an early career defining show. With the song’s lyricism and thematic avenues strongly steeped in New York’s vastness and grandeur, it was the perfect moment and setting to introduce listeners to the track.
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
Many fans had assumed that “The Subway” would be released shortly thereafter, but what followed were months of performances at festivals and independent shows, live versions of “The Subway” posted all over social media in its entirety. From her particularly impressive vocals at Lollapalooza to a teary eyed rendition at Primavera Sound, fans were eager for a studio release.
Online chatter was split down the middle, one side annoyed with how long she was taking to release the song, the other wanting her to take as much time as needed to release a polished piece. In the more recent months before its release, Chappell Roan discussed her trouble with creating the studio version and why “The Subway” sat in the release queue for as long as it did.
During an appearance on Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers’s podcast Las Culturistas earlier this year, Chappell Roan had this to say about “The Subway”:
“I’ve been banging my head against the wall with ‘The Subway’ because songs can work live, certain things can work live, and they do not work in the studio.” She also said via her Instagram upon the track’s release, “Obviously not knowing this really chaotic year would follow the [Governors Ball] performance, it didn’t really leave me the time to build the world the song deserved. But we are finally here . . . thank you for sticking it out for a whole year. It was worth it to make sure everything was absolutely right.”
We may never truly know what aspects of the song Chappell Roan was stuck on, whether it debates over lyrical changes or the vocal undertaking that comes at the end of the song. However, with the polished and sonically refined version finally out, diehard fans and casual listeners alike are sure to notice the subtle yet effective nuances that make the studio version as strong as it is.
On a surface level, “The Subway” is tackling a theme that has been addressed by countless artists big and small, that post-breakup slog, an endless orbiting around thoughts of a lost connection.
What makes Chappell Roan’s take on this universal experience particularly special are her vocal chops, making its lyrics ever more resonant, and her steadfast dedication to visual pieces of her music. More importantly, Chappell Roan has managed to create yet another track to add into the cultural well that makes up queer art, specifically about wlw relationships, one that both queer and heteronormative audiences are captivated by.
The music video for “The Subway” is the vehicle by which audiences can fully immerse themselves into the feeling that Chappell Roan embodies on “The Subway.” On a mad chase across New York, she sees her ex in everything, from the bustling streets of Manhattan to the quieter moments on rooftops to ads on public transit. In Chappell Roan’s own words, “The cliche of ‘the girl that got away’ barely scratches the surface for me with this song. I wrote it as I was stumbling around New York with a broken heart and I kept envisioning us on every street, fire escape, coffee shop, park and yes . . . the subway.”
It’s just another day
And it’s not over ’til it’s over
It’s never over
It’s just another day
And it’s not over till it’s over
It’s never over
‘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
We spend the second half of the music video in Chappell Roan’s daydreams, walking through the train among a sea of beautiful people. Seemingly unaware and unfazed by them, she continues to peer down the train cart, out windows, helplessly looking for a paper trail to lead her back to this green haired lover. Out in the midst of the city during the outro, the climactic vocal showcase, Chappell Roan painfully reckons with her loss. From a teary eyed Roan floating in the fountain of Washington Square Park to a belting climax as trash flies around her in whipping winds, the visuals make the already intoxicatingly melancholic outro even more resonant.
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
It’s just another day
And it’s not over ’til it’s over
Oh til its over
It’s just another day
And it’s not over ’til it’s over
It’s never over
‘Til I can break routine during foreplay
And trust myself that I won’t say your name
But I’m still counting down all of the days
‘Til you’re just another girl on the subway
Before being yanked back to reality, Chappell Roan watches what could’ve been walking off to the end of the cart, a red-haired and green-haired woman hand in hand. With their backs turned to her, she wakes up from the daydream, back on the subway awaiting the next visual reminder of what once was.
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
While the wait was long, the end product is without a doubt well worth it.
Chappell Roan’s commitment to building quality, authentic, and fleshed out art is what makes her such an electric and thrilling force.
“The Subway” is now part of Chappell Roan’s evolving journey to a cultural figurehead in modern-day pop music, and the star is showing no signs of letting up on her dedication to excellence.
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Stream: “The Subway” – Chappell Roan
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© Ryan Lee Clemens
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