Here's What Billie Eilish's Oxytocin Really Means
If you're not listening to Billie Eilish, you're missing out on one of today's best young artists. Eilish makes music that mesmerizes and pushes boundaries with her messages, lyrics, and beats. And of course, she continues this in her sophomore album, "Happier Than Ever," which was released on Friday, July 30, 2021, per Pitchfork.
The outlet also notes that the album is more anecdotal than her 2019 debut album, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" This further shows her progression as an artist and as a person, and it allows the world to fall in love with her music on a deeper level.
The sophomore album contains 16 tracks, with "Oxytocin" among them. This track is named after the "love hormone" of the same name, a hormone that dually acts as a neurotransmitter, per Healthline. This hormone is essential for reproduction, with Healthline explaining that it moves sperm in men and triggers both labor and breast milk production in women. Oxytocin is also related to serotonin and dopamine in that they all fall under the "happy hormone" category of hormones. In fact, when you're attracted to someone, your body begins producing an increased amount of oxytocin, though your body always produces oxytocin naturally. But just how does Eilish utilize this hormone for her new song?
Billie can only describe this song as "satisfying"
"Oxytocin" is the fifth track on Billie Eilish's "Happier Than Ever," approximately marking the one-third mark through the 16-track album, and, like the hormone is known as the love hormone, this song is about love and lust (via Genius). In fact, Eilish sings about wanting to do things to her partner that God wouldn't approve of. She sings, "I wanna do bad things to you / I wanna make you yell / I wanna do bad things to you / Don't wanna treat you well," in the post-chorus.
The song is both sensual and fun, and Eilish herself has described it as "the most satisfying thing in the world" (via Genius). "'Oxytocin' is a fun one. That's probably one of my favorites," Eilish told Spotify. "We had all these songs and I was like, the only thing we're missing is the song that's purposefully gonna be insane live." She later added, "I was also just going through crazy feelings at the time too. You can understand those if you listen to the lyrics."
With lyrics in the chorus like "I can see it clear as day / You don't really need a break / Wanna see what you can take / You should really run away," Eilish has us all wanting to text our crushes for a summertime fling.
Looking for more breakdowns of Billie Eilish's new songs? Check out breakdowns of "Getting Older" and "My Future."