Are You Bored Yet? (feat. Clairo)

"Are You Bored Yet?" explores the anxieties and communication breakdown in a young relationship where the initial spark might be fading. Lyrically, the song is from the perspective of someone who senses the end is near and is grappling with feelings of doubt and insecurity. The central theme revolves around the fear of being in a relationship that has run its course and the vulnerability of asking a partner for the honest, painful truth. Wallows frontman Dylan Minnette described it as being about the thoughts and insecurities one experiences in a serious relationship at a young age, wondering if your partner is feeling the same sense of boredom or fear of missing out. The song captures the internal conflict of wanting to avoid hurting someone's feelings while simultaneously wanting to escape the relationship. Clairo's verse offers the counter-perspective, one of optimism and a willingness to work through the issues if only there were open communication. The recurring question, "Are you bored yet?", is a projection of the narrator's own feelings, hoping his partner feels the same way to validate his desire to move on.

The song unfolds as a candid, internal monologue set within a relationship teetering on the edge of uncertainty. The narrative begins with one partner, voiced by Dylan Minnette, deflecting the other's concerned inquiries. He feels a sense of unease but can't articulate it, choosing instead to feign sleep and avoid a difficult conversation. This avoidance is rooted in a deeper fear, a question that haunts young love: will they look back on this time with regret? He acknowledges their youth, suggesting they are too young to be burdened by such heavy, long-term thoughts, yet he can't shake the feeling. The phrase "stalling only goes so far when you've got a head start" hints at the paradoxical nature of their situation. On one hand, he's delaying a potential breakup, but on the other, there's a suggestion that perhaps one or both of them already has an eye on an exit, a "head start" to moving on, which makes the stalling a selfish act.

The chorus is the emotional centerpiece, a direct and vulnerable plea born from this anxiety. He imagines two scenarios: the mundane comfort of staying home or the clichéd romance of watching a sunset. Yet, regardless of the setting, the anxious question, "Are you bored yet?", bubbles to the surface. It's a projection of his own fears onto his partner. He's feeling lonely and bored and hopes she feels the same, so he doesn't have to bear the burden of these feelings alone. The line, "Will you tell the truth so I don't have to lie?", is a raw admission of his own cowardice. He's desperate for her to initiate the difficult conversation, to voice the doubts that he is too afraid to speak aloud, thus absolving him of the responsibility of ending things or confronting the problems head-on.

Clairo's verse provides the counter-perspective, a response from the other side of the relationship. Her tone is more hopeful and grounded. She expresses a deep sense of intimacy and history, stating, "Feels like I've known you my whole life," but this is immediately followed by the cutting observation, "I can see right through your lies." She is aware of his emotional turmoil and dishonesty. Despite this, she remains optimistic, expressing a desire to stay by his side and work through their issues. Her plea, "If you could tell me how you're feeling, maybe we'd get through this undefeated," stands in stark contrast to his passive desire for her to end things. She is advocating for open communication as a way to save the relationship, while he is silently hoping it will just fade away into another memory. This conversational dynamic, his hesitant anxiety versus her hopeful plea for honesty, encapsulates the song's central conflict of a relationship threatened by unspoken fears and a lack of communication.

"Are You Bored Yet?" was released on February 1, 2019, as the lead single from Wallows' debut studio album, Nothing Happens. The band, consisting of Dylan Minnette, Braeden Lemasters, and Cole Preston, wrote the song with producer John Congleton and Claire Cottrill (Clairo). The idea for the song began after Cole Preston's computer, containing many demos, was ruined by a spilled glass of wine; this was one of the first new ideas to emerge on his new computer. The band felt the track needed a female feature and, being friends with Clairo, reached out to her to collaborate. She came into the studio and wrote her verse, providing the optimistic counterpoint to the song's more pessimistic narrator. Minnette noted that the lyrics for the chorus were built around the title phrase, exploring the mundane versus romantic clichés of a relationship and the overarching anxiety that can permeate either scenario. The song was recorded between April and November 2018.

The song maintains a relatively consistent and upbeat tempo, which ironically juxtaposes its themes of relationship anxiety and potential decay. This creates a bittersweet, "dance-while-you-cry" atmosphere. The rhythm is straightforward and catchy, contributing to its pop accessibility. The rhyme scheme is generally simple and direct, often using couplets (AABB) within its verses and chorus, such as "sunset" with "bored yet?" and "tell me" with "memory." This simplicity keeps the focus on the conversational and direct nature of the lyrics. The song is written in the key of F♯ Major. The interplay between the lyrical rhythm, which follows natural speech patterns, and the steady musical rhythm makes the song feel both intimate and universally relatable.

Musically, "Are You Bored Yet?" is characterized by its blend of indie rock and bedroom pop, with a sound described as soft, upbeat, and nostalgic, driven by light synth, chiming piano, and delicate guitar riffs. This upbeat, "breezy summer" sound creates a deliberate paradox with the song's anxious and melancholy lyrical themes. The primary literary technique is the use of a conversational, call-and-response narrative between the male (Dylan Minnette) and female (Clairo) vocalists, who represent two conflicting perspectives within the relationship. Minnette's vocal delivery is questioning and hesitant, while Clairo's is more direct and hopeful, enhancing the lyrical push-and-pull. The production, handled by John Congleton, gives the song a clean, "digestible, and easy-to-listen-to" quality, making its complex emotional core accessible. Synthesizer elements are prominent, including a distorted, organic-sounding bassline, a memorable pluck melody, and a string pad that adds a "washed out" texture to the chorus.

"Are You Bored Yet?" became Wallows' breakout hit and their most popular song. It achieved significant commercial success, reaching triple-platinum certification in the US by the RIAA and peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. The song's popularity was amplified by its widespread use on social media platforms, particularly TikTok, where it became a viral sound. The official music video, directed by Drew Kirsch, also garnered significant attention, featuring a cameo by actor Noah Centineo as a bartender in the karaoke bar setting. The song was the lead single for their debut album Nothing Happens and served as a crucial introduction to the band's sound for a global audience. Wallows performed the song with Clairo on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, further boosting its profile. It is widely seen as a defining track of the late 2010s indie-pop and bedroom pop wave.

The primary lyrical motif, the question "Are you bored yet?", functions as a powerful symbol for relationship insecurity and emotional projection. It’s less of a genuine question and more of a manifestation of the narrator's own internal state of boredom and loneliness, which he projects onto his partner. The contrasting scenarios of "stay at home and watch the sunset" represent the spectrum of a relationship's activities, from the mundane to the peak romantic. The song suggests that this internal anxiety can poison any moment, regardless of its nature. The phrase "stalling only goes so far when you've got a head start" is a paradoxical metaphor for emotional infidelity; the "head start" refers to the selfish act of already having a new potential partner lined up, which makes it easier to stall and eventually end the current relationship.

The most significant recurring motif is the titular question, "Are you bored yet?". This phrase appears repeatedly in the chorus, acting as the song's central hook and thematic anchor. Its repetition emphasizes the narrator's obsessive anxiety and his desperate need for validation from his partner. Another key recurring line is, "Will you tell the truth so I don't have to lie?", which reinforces the theme of communication breakdown and the narrator's desire to avoid responsibility. Clairo's verse acts as a lyrical motif in itself, presenting a recurring counter-narrative of hope and resilience against the narrator's pervasive doubt. The music video, set in a karaoke bar, visually reinforces the theme of performance and public vulnerability, as the personal, internal feelings of the song are sung out loud for an audience.