“Drivers License”

A valuable reminder from my first publisher / song whisperer Suzan Koc is that ideally a song should be a snapshot of a brief moment in time — like the way your heart collapsed when he (or she) left you standing in the rain. No one needs to see the whole photo album or hear all the wretched details of a relatioship’s demise. 

Such is the case with Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License,” a melancholy and impeccably produced track married to a young woman’s stream of consciousness about what’s going through her head as she drives past all the places ‘we’ used to drive together. There’s so much (and quite enough) to report on that alone! The song poked me in the heart first listen. It’s personal, raw and confessional…my favorite kind of tune. You can’t ignore it. 

Fans speculate that the tale is about Ms. Rodrigo’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (that’s a long title) co-star Joshua Bassett and his rumored new relationship with Sabrina (“you’re probably with that the blonde girl”) Carpenter. (From the looks of Ms. Carpenter’s Insta it appears that may be true.) But whether it is or not it’s gotta be about something real. Though her vocals sound like they were run through a Plugin designed to make any singer sound like 100 other pop stars the delivery and lyric is emotionally solid. I believe her.

I know you weren’t perfect but I’ve never felt this way for no one 

I just can’t imagine how you could be so Ok now that I’m gone

You don’t have to be a teenager to know how that feels — brutal. 

I was curious as to how much help an 18-year-old girl had in expressing her breakup. (If you’re in the songwriting biz you know how unusual it is these days for there to be less than 5 writers on a copyright.) To my delight, (and according to Wikipedia) only 2 writers were listed — no extra bodies receiving credit for breathing; no go-to songsmiths toting tasty ingredients to the party. Don’t get me wrong…I’ve been that girl before and I’m grateful but I’d be first to admit that a 2-writer room keeps things intimate and undiluted. 

Props to Olivia and her co-writer/producer Dan Nigro. “Drivers License"  had over 15.7 million global streams day one and debuted at number one on Billboard Hot 100. 


So how does someone who can’t have that much experience writing songs professionally tap into her feelings so effortlessly? Well, perhaps she’s simply downloading the truth (imagine that) instead of following an emotional pop-chart algorithm that would guide one through a proven formula. Newsflash…algorithms don’t have hearts. We’re all trying to write hits when we should be ignoring the algorithms and just telling the truth. But the truth isn’t always so easily accessible.

We’re fearless when we’re young. Learning to ski when we’re still small — we’re closer to the ground. Less far to fall. (oooh that rhymed!) 

But when we grow up we have to work through stories we’ve told ourselves about hurt — work through all the scar tissue from the baggage. And…do we really want to publicly admit to being a casualty of love? That we were vulnerable. Blindsided. If the answer is ‘no’ we may want to consider a different line of work. 

Back to my original point…when you’re dying to tell us the whole story… Stop it! Crop it: 

Red lights…stop signs…I still see your face in the white cars…front yards…sidewalks we crossed…I still hear your voice in the traffic…We’re laughing Over all the noise…

Yes. I’m there with her in that car. I feel her. I’ve been there.

There’s a predictable aftermath when songs like “Drivers License” blow up. You can count on there being more of them. Yesterday I was on a call catching up with my friend /artist managerJorge Hernandez while driving (ironically) west on the 101. He said he was ‘working a song’ called “Parallel Parking” by Arden Jones. I was like…wait a minute…are we on the verge of hearing a plethora of car-related content? Topics trend, I professed. I’m sure you recall that for a while there all we heard were songs about stars — “Counting Stars,” “Sky Full Of Stars, “All the Stars.” And how about those few years when the payoff of every other chart topper was “Tonight!” — as if nothing ever happened at any other time?!

Yeah OK Ok…there’ve been tons of songs about driving: “Old 55,” “I Drove All Night,” “One Headlight (which beat out “Bitch” for a Grammy in Best Rock Song 😢), “Fast Car!” In my view however, these songs weren’t results of writers chasing algorithms that showed the topic was trending. More likely, they were randomly and organically inspired because (drumroll) ideas flow ravenously while driving in cars. Our minds are in motion.   

Anyhoo, as soon as I hung up with Jorge…this came on: 

Falling Asleep at the Wheel

Buckle up…here we go. 

Cynicism aside, I’m immensely grateful for songs that poke me in the heart (and for the idea that my heart can still be poked) — happy as well that the intimate and undiluted experience of a 2-person co-write is still alive and well. Thriving even. 

Every songwriter wants a “Drivers License.” Let’s concentrate on the snapshots. Let’s think about putting aside the algorithms and remembering how it felt to be closer to the snow. 

Thanks for reading, my friends. Listen to my album 2.0 etc…If you'd like to receive my blog via email, please click here. Follow me on Twitter and Insta. Visit my Serial Songwriter Facebook Page. Get a signed CD or a copy of “Confessions of a Serial Songwriter.” ☮️