WAY BEFORE Lyrics – The Kid LAROI

WAY BEFORE Lyrics Meaning

[Intro]
The repetitive opening sets a nostalgic and regretful mood. It emphasizes that the happy times he is about to describe are stuck in the past and things have changed completely since then.

[Chorus]
He reminisces about a time when they truly enjoyed each other’s company while traveling and living life together. However, he feels a deep sense of betrayal because he was focused on their future as a couple, while she was only looking out for herself. He realizes now that her priorities were always selfish, and she put her own desires above the needs and happiness of their relationship.

[Verse 1]
The singer recalls a time when they were emotionally close despite any physical distance between them. They used to spend all night talking on the phone, and he felt a deep connection to her soul. Now, that warmth is gone, replaced by a need for space. He feels lonely and empty in his home, deeply missing the way he used to view her before everything fell apart.

[Post-Chorus]
This section reinforces the idea that the connection they once shared is long gone. He keeps repeating these words to remind himself and the listener that the current situation is totally different.

[Verse 2]
Things got complicated when outside people started getting involved in their private business. He points out that her friends, who used to be fans of his, eventually turned on him and started talking trash. He feels she is being dishonest with them about why she reached out to him recently. It hurts him to see her moving on to someone else so quickly, especially since he believes she is acting cold-hearted toward this new guy just like she did to him. He tries to warn her that being so heartless makes life feel very lonely. They cannot even have an honest conversation anymore because she avoids the truth and makes excuses. Even though he was devastated by the breakup and tried to distract himself by traveling to places like France and Japan or spending huge amounts of money, the pain stayed with him. He is frustrated that despite his fame and success, he could not fix what they had. People see his success and love his music, but they do not see the personal mess behind the scenes. He is tired of the games and the way she plays with the facts of their history. It feels like everything spiraled out of control and there is no way to fix the damage that has been done between them. He wants to move on but finds himself stuck thinking about how differently she remembers their shared past.

[Pre-Chorus]
He feels a deep sense of disappointment and sadness that their relationship ended in such a messy and unfortunate way.

[Chorus]
He looks back at their fun times together while traveling. It hurts him to realize that while he was dedicated to their partnership, she was actually just focused on her own interests. He sees clearly now that her main priority was always herself, which ultimately caused the bond they shared to break.

[Post-Chorus]
He continues to stress that the version of her he loved belongs to a different time. This repetition highlights the permanent gap between their happy past and the cold, distant reality of today.

[Verse 3]
He lists all the things that changed as they got more famous and successful. There was a time when they could just joke around and be happy without any pressure. Before things got toxic, she was not acting out or getting angry all the time. He remembers when she was curious about him and before her family even knew who he was. Everything felt more natural then, but as their expectations grew, the relationship started to fail. She began demanding things he never promised and started using him for his status or money. It is painful for him to remember that even her brother was once on good terms with him before the drama started. Now, all those personal connections feel ruined by her behavior and the way she lashes out at him during every talk. He misses the girl she was before she started chasing fame or acting in ways that caused them to crash and burn. He feels like the person he originally fell for has been replaced by someone he barely recognizes anymore, and he keeps going back to those earlier memories to find some peace from the current chaos.

[Pre-Chorus]
It is really sad for him to accept that something that started so well had to end so badly.

[Chorus]
They used to have a great time together on the road. However, the relationship failed because he was thinking about their future as a team while she was only thinking about what she wanted. It became all about her in the end.

[Outro]
The song ends by hammering home the point that the good version of their love is ancient history. He is stuck with the realization that those better days are never coming back again.