A Couple Minutes

"A Couple Minutes" is a poignant exploration of the residual love that exists after a relationship has ended. Unlike many breakup songs that focus on anger or heartbreak, this track focuses on a moment of gentle closure and maturity. The core meaning revolves around a chance meeting with an ex-lover, which serves as a catalyst for the protagonist to measure how much time has passed and how much emotion still lingers.

The lyrics suggest that while the romantic relationship is "over," the connection is not erased. The phrase "Love's never wasted when it's shared" is the song's philosophical anchor, rejecting the idea that a failed relationship is a failure of time. Instead, it reframes the past as a valuable, permanent part of their identities.

The recurring mention of having "only a couple minutes" juxtaposes the suspended reality of their interaction against the "real life" waiting for them outside. It implies that their love now exists only in these brief, stolen pockets of time, while their actual lives have moved on. The song captures the specific, bittersweet feeling of realizing you still know someone intimately—their habits, their expressions—even though you no longer belong to each other.

The narrative begins with a sudden, unplanned encounter, likely on a street or in a public place. The narrator notices immediate, small changes in their former partner, asking "Since when are you smoking now?" and inquiring about life updates like moving house. These questions serve as a bridge across the silence that has grown between them. The narrator observes that this person is the only one who truly knows her—who knows "that name" and "that face"—highlighting the deep, lingering intimacy despite the separation.

As the conversation progresses, the setting shifts metaphorically or literally back to a familiar space, described as being "back on your sofa." Here, the narrator confesses that the care she feels hasn't faded. She posits a central philosophy of the song: "Love's never wasted when it's shared." Even though the relationship is over, she reassures him that she will always be there in spirit.

The chorus acts as a reality check. The narrator repeatedly acknowledges the time constraint—they "only have a couple minutes" within this bubble of shared history before they must return to "real life." The song concludes with a mantra of letting go, visualizing every part of herself releasing the hold on his heart, accepting that while the love remains valid, their lives are now separate paths.

"A Couple Minutes" was released in late 2025 as a standout track from Olivia Dean's second studio album, The Art of Loving (released September 26, 2025). The song was co-written by Olivia Dean alongside her frequent collaborator and producer Zach Nahome, as well as renowned artist Maverick Sabre (who also provides backing vocals), Louis E. Ragland, and James A. Hawkins.

The track gained significant attention following a performance on the popular YouTube platform A COLORS SHOW in October 2025, where Dean's stripped-back, emotive delivery highlighted the song's lyrical depth. The production features a rich arrangement involving strings arranged by Rosie Danvers, contributing to the song's classic, timeless soul sound. Dean has described the album The Art of Loving as a more mature evolution from her debut, focusing on the complexities of adult relationships and self-discovery.

The song utilizes a loose, conversational rhyme scheme in the verses, often relying on slant rhymes (e.g., "know" / "house"—though not a direct rhyme, the flow connects the thoughts; or "name" / "face" / "okay"). This lack of rigid structure enhances the feeling of a natural, spontaneous dialogue between two people running into each other.

Rhythmically, the track follows a laid-back, mid-tempo groove characteristic of R&B ballads. The vocal delivery plays with rubato, with Dean stretching out phrases like "Love's never wasted" to emphasize the sentiment, while the "couple minutes" hook is delivered with a slightly more urgent, rhythmic cadence, mirroring the ticking clock of their brief encounter.

Musical Techniques: The song is anchored by a warm, organic instrumentation typical of Olivia Dean's neo-soul style. It features a gentle piano progression and acoustic guitar, layered with lush string arrangements (violin/cello) that swell during the chorus to heighten the emotional stakes. The production leaves ample space for Dean's vocals, which are delivered with a conversational, intimate tone in the verses and a soaring, soulful power in the chorus.

Literary Techniques:

• Conversational Opening: The song starts in media res with a question ("Turn around / Since when are you smoking now?"), immediately placing the listener in the middle of the scene.
• Juxtaposition: The lyrics contrast the "silence" of separation with the sudden intimacy of the conversation.
• Repetition: The phrase "In your heart, every part of me, will let go" in the outro acts as a rhythmic mantra, reinforcing the act of releasing emotional baggage.

Upon its release in late 2025, "A Couple Minutes" solidified Olivia Dean's reputation as a leading voice in the modern British Soul and R&B scene. The song was particularly praised for its lyrical maturity and the inclusion of Maverick Sabre in the writing process. The A COLORS SHOW performance became viral on social media platforms like TikTok, with users using the audio to soundtrack videos about amicable breakups and the feeling of bumping into ex-partners.

The song is considered a highlight of the The Art of Loving album, marking a shift in Dean's discography towards more orchestral and timeless arrangements, drawing comparisons to classic Motown records and the works of Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill.

The lyrics employ grounded, realistic imagery to convey complex emotions:

• Smoking: The opening line, "Since when are you smoking now?", symbolizes the passage of time and the small ways people change when we aren't looking. It highlights the narrator's realization that she no longer knows his daily habits.
• The Sofa: The line "Back on your sofa" serves as a metaphor for emotional safety and familiarity. Whether literal or figurative, it represents returning to a place of comfort and intimacy, if only for a moment.
• "A Couple Minutes" vs. "Real Life": The title phrase symbolizes a liminal space—a temporary bubble where their past relationship briefly comes alive again. "Real life" represents the present reality where they are apart, suggesting that their love is now a memory rather than a lived experience.
• Silver Lining: The lyrics mention finding a "silver lining," representing the maturity to see the good in a painful goodbye.

The central motif is the phrase "Only have a couple minutes" followed by "going back to real life." This repetition structures the song, constantly reminding the listener of the temporary nature of the encounter. It creates a sense of urgency and poignancy.

Another recurring element is the affirmation: "Love's never wasted when it's shared." This serves as the moral center of the song, repeated to comfort both the narrator and the subject. The outro features the repetitive chant "Let it start to be," which acts as a musical fade-out, symbolizing the gradual fading of the encounter and the return to normalcy.