not the same

In 'not the same', ROSÉ captures the bittersweet realization of a love that has deteriorated beyond recognition. The song's opening, 'Say what you want to, babe, you know that you're talking in circles,' sets the stage for a narrative filled with disillusionment and pain. It portrays a relationship where honesty has given way to denial, and conversations become repetitive, devoid of meaning. The line paints the partner as someone who refuses to confront the reality of their actions, leaving the narrator lost in the shadows of what once was.

The refrain, 'Yeah, we had only and nothing but time, but some things just change overnight,' is laden with melancholy. It reflects the fragility of human connection, the way something so deeply rooted can unravel so quickly. Time, once their ally, becomes meaningless in the face of irreversible change. This shift is poignant—highlighting that love, no matter how enduring it seems, can falter when trust is broken.

As ROSÉ declares 'Shame on me for trusting you once, trusting you twice,' a note of self-reflection emerges. It’s not just anger at the partner’s failings, but a sorrowful acknowledgment of her own vulnerability. Trust, when betrayed repeatedly, transforms into regret. The repeated heartbreak is not just a reflection of the partner’s actions but a mirror for the narrator’s own hope and faith that were ultimately misplaced.

The verses 'Pick it up, drop your keys, come and get your stuff' symbolize closure. This moment is not about revenge or bitterness but about reclaiming autonomy. It’s the narrator’s way of drawing a line, cutting through the lingering ties of nostalgia and pain. The imagery of 'keys' and 'stuff' conveys an intimate finality—the end of shared spaces and lives.

The song reaches its most vulnerable when it admits, 'I keep on walking through all of the memories that I had with you, and I don’t miss it, the way you broke my love.' There is a powerful duality here: the lingering pull of memories juxtaposed with the narrator’s conviction that those moments no longer hold their original magic. It’s a quiet triumph, a realization that love, when not reciprocated or cherished, loses its beauty.

The closing, 'Oh, what a shame, nothing's the same,' encapsulates the song’s central emotion. It’s not just a lament for a partner who changed but for the loss of a shared world, a mutual dream. ROSÉ delivers a hauntingly romantic and melancholic reflection on the end of love—where heartbreak, self-discovery, and resilience intertwine in every note and lyric.