People Watching

"People Watching" by Conan Gray is a poignant exploration of loneliness and the yearning for romantic connection. The song's central theme revolves around the act of observing others in love and fantasizing about experiencing those same deep emotions. Gray, who has stated he had never been in a relationship when he wrote the song, channels his personal feelings of being an outsider looking in. The lyrics are filled with specific, eavesdropped details of a couple's life, creating a narrative of a love story that the narrator is not a part of. This vicarious living highlights his own lack of romantic experience and his deep-seated desire for intimacy and attachment. The song also touches on the fear of vulnerability, as the narrator admits to cutting people out of his life, which leads to his isolation. Despite this, there is an undercurrent of hope that he will one day be able to fall in love without caution. The title itself has a double meaning: the act of observing people and the state of being a person who can only watch from the sidelines.

The song opens with the narrator closely observing a couple in a café. He notices the intimate and slightly quirky details of their relationship: she laughs so hard she cries at something that wasn't particularly funny, and they've been together for almost forty-nine months. He makes fun of her behavior during the holidays, and although she wears a ring, they tell people they aren't engaged. Their connection seems deep; they met in a metaphysical philosophy class, and he admires her intelligence, telling his friends he's drawn to her because she's smarter than him. They have profound conversations about their futures late into the night. The narrator insists he is happy for them, but this happiness is tinged with a deep sense of longing.

This observation triggers a strong desire within the narrator to experience the same kind of love and emotional connection. He expresses a wish to be as attached to someone as the people he watches. He acknowledges that someday he might fall in love without hesitation, but for now, his reality is to live vicariously through others. He admits that he's never been in a serious relationship. He dreams of a conventional life, symbolized by a house with a picket fence, but recognizes his own self-sabotaging tendencies. He hopes for more wisdom in his next attempt at trusting someone.

A recurring theme is the narrator's habit of pushing people away, which he compares to cutting tags off new clothes. This behavior inevitably leads to him being alone, yet he remains hopeful. The hope is that one day he won't be afraid to be vulnerable and let someone truly get to know him. His life feels monotonous, but this hope for a future connection persists. There's an ambiguous, layered vocal part that can be interpreted as either 'I feel love emotion' or 'I feel no emotion', reflecting his conflicted state of feeling both the desire for love and the emotional numbness of his current situation. The song concludes with a restatement of his desire to feel profound love and his current role as a mere spectator in the lives of others.

"People Watching" was written by Conan Gray in collaboration with Julia Michaels and Dan Nigro, with Nigro also handling the production. The song was released on July 15, 2021, as a single from his second studio album, Superache (2022). The inspiration for the song came from Gray's own experiences of people-watching at a café on his college campus at UCLA. He would often observe couples and their interactions, collecting little details about their lives that he later incorporated into the lyrics. Gray has been open about the fact that he had never dated anyone prior to writing the song, and this sense of longing and inexperience is a core element of the track. He explained in an interview that the song is for "all my fellow lonely people who wonder what it's like to be deeply in love." The writing session with Julia Michaels was particularly memorable; Gray initially intended to write an upbeat song, but Michaels saw through him and they ended up writing a "miserable song about wanting to be in love." The music video, directed by Joe Mischo, further illustrates the song's theme by casting Gray as a distracted café worker who observes the romantic lives of his customers.

"People Watching" utilizes a relatively free and conversational rhyme scheme that supports its narrative style. The rhymes are not strictly patterned, which gives the lyrics a more natural and prose-like feel, as if the listener is privy to the narrator's inner monologue. The song's rhythm starts at a measured pace, carried by a steady guitar line, which mirrors the act of quiet observation. As the song progresses and the narrator's emotions intensify, the rhythm builds, with the introduction of drums and a more driving bassline, particularly in the chorus and the bridge. This increase in tempo and rhythmic complexity reflects the swell of longing and frustration within the narrator. The interplay between the lyrical rhythm and the musical rhythm is key to the song's emotional arc, with the vocal melody often soaring over the increasingly lush instrumentation to emphasize moments of emotional release. Conan Gray's vocal phrasing is dynamic, shifting from a softer, more reflective tone in the verses to a powerful, belted delivery in the chorus, further enhancing the song's emotional impact.

"People Watching" employs a range of literary and musical techniques to convey its emotional depth. Lyrically, the song utilizes a strong narrative voice, creating a vivid story through detailed observations. The use of specific, almost eavesdropped details like the couple being together for "almost forty-nine" months adds to the song's authenticity and voyeuristic quality. The song employs metaphors, such as comparing cutting people out to removing clothing tags, to express complex emotional behaviors. Musically, the song is an indie-pop ballad that builds in intensity. It starts with a simple guitar accompaniment and gradually introduces more instruments, including piano, bass, and drums, creating a crescendo that mirrors the narrator's swelling emotions, particularly in the chorus and bridge. Gray's vocal delivery is central to the song's impact; it is emotive and conveys a sense of vulnerability and longing. A notable stylistic choice is the layered, ambiguous vocal in the bridge that can be heard as either "I feel love emotion" or "I feel no emotion," cleverly representing the narrator's conflicted emotional state.

"People Watching" has had a significant cultural impact, resonating deeply with a young audience who relate to its themes of loneliness and yearning for connection. Upon its release, the song quickly gained popularity, amassing millions of streams on platforms like Spotify. While it charted in New Zealand and Singapore, its primary success has been its ability to connect with listeners on a personal level. The song has been certified platinum in Canada and gold in Australia, Brazil, and New Zealand. Its music video has also been widely viewed. "People Watching" is considered a standout track on Conan Gray's sophomore album, Superache, and is often highlighted in reviews and fan discussions. The song is frequently performed at his concerts and has become a fan favorite. Its themes are often discussed on social media platforms like TikTok, where users create content exploring the song's meaning and emotional depth. The song has solidified Conan Gray's reputation as a "pop prince for sad internet teens," known for his authentic and relatable songwriting.

"People Watching" is rich with symbolism and metaphors that deepen its themes of loneliness and longing. The central metaphor is the act of "people watching" itself, which symbolizes the narrator's emotional distance and his vicarious participation in the love he desires but has not experienced. The detailed observations of the couple in the café act as a stand-in for the authentic experiences he craves. Another powerful metaphor is found in the line, "But I cut people out like tags on my clothing." This simile illustrates a defense mechanism, a swift and unthinking way of removing people from his life to avoid vulnerability, which ultimately results in his loneliness. The dream of a "house behind a picket fence" symbolizes a desire for a traditional, stable, and loving life, which the narrator feels is unattainable for him. The specific mention of the couple meeting in a "metaphysical philosophy" class is a subtle detail that hints at themes of existence, change, and the nature of reality, reflecting the narrator's own contemplation of his emotional state.

The most significant recurring phrase in "People Watching" is the title itself, which appears in the chorus: "But for now I'm only people watching." This line encapsulates the song's central theme of being an observer rather than a participant in love. The repetition of the chorus, with its declaration "I wanna feel all that love and emotion," reinforces the narrator's deep-seated yearning. Another key recurring motif is the line, "But I cut people out like tags on my clothing / I end up all alone but I still keep hoping." This couplet, repeated in the bridge, highlights the self-sabotaging cycle the narrator is trapped in, as well as his persistent hope for change. The phrase "life feels so monotone" also recurs, emphasizing the sense of emptiness and lack of excitement in the narrator's own life compared to the vibrant lives he observes. These recurring elements work together to create a powerful and cohesive narrative of loneliness, desire, and guarded optimism.