Jennie & Dua Lipa's "Handlebars" Lyrics, Explained
On their new collaboration "Handlebars," Jennie and Dua Lipa bemoan the clumsy awkwardness of falling in love.
Falling in love isn’t always as adorable as all the rom-coms or love songs make it seem. And now, Jennie and Dua Lipa have teamed up with an anthem for the clumsy awkwardness that usually isn’t mentioned in those great romantic stories. On their bouncy new collab “Handelbars,” the pop duo commiserate over how their indelicate manner of falling too fast for someone can often lead to a drunken mess.
“I trip and fall in love / Just like a Tuesday drunk,” the singers belt in the chorus, comparing their pursuit of romance to getting tipsy on a weekday. The alcoholic comparisons are prevalent throughout the song, as Lipa calls for “another round, another drink” before she gets “a little too buzzed on your love” in her verse.
The song’s title also emphasizes the lack of control Jennie and Dua feel when giving into their romantic urges:
I always go all in, all in, all in / Over the handlebars / Hitting the ground so hard / If I'm alone, fallin', fallin', fallin'
The core message of the song is delivered in Jennie’s first verse, in which she describes her frustration with how she continues to give into love even when she knows it’s done her wrong before:
Mercy / Why is it love is never kind to me? / I heard that fools rush in and, yeah, that's me / It burns me time and time again / So why am I still fixing for this frying pan
“Handlebars” is one of several buzzy collaborations on Jennie’s debut solo album Ruby. The Blackpink breakout has also released new work featuring Doechii, Dominic Fike, Childish Gambino, and Kali Uchis.
