What's Left Of Me

Grace VanderWaal's 'What's Left Of Me' is a haunting exploration of the emotional aftermath of a toxic relationship. The song delves into the lingering effects of a past lover who continues to haunt the narrator long after the relationship has ended. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of someone who is still grappling with the emotional scars left behind, symbolized by the recurring imagery of physical marks and the feeling of being haunted.

The song opens with a sense of time passing ('Eight months since I saw you') but immediately juxtaposes this with the feeling of the lover's presence still being palpable ('On my skin I can feel you'). This sets the tone for the rest of the song, where the narrator is caught in a cycle of trying to forget but being unable to escape the memories and emotional residue of the past relationship. The use of metaphors like 'rotting in those blue sheets' and 'scrubbing my skin so hard that I start to bleed' emphasizes the depth of the emotional wounds and the desperate attempts to cleanse oneself of the past.

Grace VanderWaal's unique voice adds an extra layer of vulnerability and raw emotion to the song. Her delivery makes the pain and longing in the lyrics feel incredibly real and relatable. The repetition of 'Oh, oh, oh, oh' throughout the song serves as a haunting echo, reinforcing the idea that the past is inescapable and continues to reverberate in the present. The song captures the struggle of moving on and the realization that some scars may never fully heal, leaving the listener with a poignant sense of what it means to be haunted by love.