On the aptly titled “traitor,” Olivia Rodrigo reflects on what went wrong in a past relationship, the feeling of being betrayed, and still missing what she had. She follows the same ideas in some of her other songs, such as her January 2021 breakout hit, “drivers license,” and “enough for you.”
The...
[Intro]
Ooh-ooh-ooh
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
[Verse 1]
Brown guilty eyes and little white lies, yeah
I played dumb, but I always knew
That you talked to her, maybe did even worse
I kept quiet so I could keep you
[Pre-Chorus]
And ain't it funny how you ran to her
The second that we called it quits?
And ain't it funny how you said you were friends?
Now it sure as hell don't look like it
[Chorus]
You betrayed me
And I know that you'll never feel sorry
For the way I hurt, yeah
You talked to her when we were together
Loved you at your worst, but that didn't matter
It took you two weeks to go off and date her
Guess you didn't cheat, but you're still a traitor
[Verse 2]
Now you bring her around just to shut me down
Show her off like she's a new trophy
And I know if you were true, there's no damn way that you
Could fall in love with somebody that quickly
[Pre-Chorus]
And ain't it funny? All the twisted games
All the questions you used to avoid
Ain't it funny? Remember I brought her up
And you told me I was paranoid?
[Chorus]
You betrayed me
And I know that you'll never feel sorry
For the way I hurt, yeah
You talked to her when we were together
Loved you at your worst, but that didn't matter
It took you two weeks to go off and date her
Guess you didn't cheat, but you're still a traitor
[Bridge]
(Ah-ah-ah)
God, I wish that you had thought this through
Before I went and fell in love with you
(Ah-ah-ah)
When she's sleepin' in the bed we made
Don't you dare forget about the way
[Chorus]
You betrayed me
'Cause I know that you'll never feel sorry
For the way I hurt, yeah
You talked to her when we were together
You gave me your word, but that didn't matter
It took you two weeks to go off and date her
Guess you didn't cheat, but you're still, you're still a traitor
(Ah-ah-ah)
Yeah, you're still a traitor
[Outro]
Ooh-ooh-ooh
God, I wish that you had thought this through
Before I went and fell in love with you
traitor was written by Dan Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo.
traitor was produced by Dan Nigro.
Olivia Rodrigo released traitor on Fri May 21 2021.
“traitor” debuted and peaked at #9 on the Hot 100 during the week ending June 5, 2021. It was Olivia’s fourth entry in the top 10 and her then-highest-charting non-single. In August 2021, the song was promoted to pop radio as a single, making Olivia the first artist in history to have her first four...
I wrote most of “traitor” on my bedroom floor in Salt Lake City. I sort of forgot about it until I sent a bunch of voice memos to Dan [Nigro] and he said he liked this. We finished it up together and I really like the way it turned out. It sort of feels like an old country song to me, which I’m obse...
Yes, “traitor” was certified 4× platinum by the RIAA on June 30, 2023.
In an interview with Teen Vogue, Olivia stated she had the idea for the hook while hiking in Salt Lake City with her mom, after which she wrote the song in 20 minutes in her bedroom to be in time for an outing with a friend. Olivia also said,
I think maybe in hindsight [that] made me write a better...