​i​ hate u, i love u

As the song begins with Olivia O'Brien's gentle yet somber vocals, we are introduced to the raw vulnerability of feeling used while still being inextricably drawn to someone. The emotional journey starts with confusion and a desperate yearning, the inability to understand why the protagonist continues to feel hurt by and yet so deeply needs the presence of this other person in their life.

In the chorus, the listener is fully immersed in the push and pull of conflicting emotions—the hatred for the feelings of love that seem to betray the self, the unwillingness to want someone combined with an inability to prioritize anyone else above them. There is a profound sense of helplessness in the recognition of these tangled desires, all while realizing the futility as the beloved's attention is fixated on another.

gnash's verses add depth to this emotional voyage, articulating a personal and intimate heartache that comes from memories tainted with the bitterness of present emotions. There's an acknowledgment of shared history, the small moments that only serve to amplify the loss. The casual mentions of not being able to sleep, the lingering presence of someone in everyday routines, and the admission that even friendship can break a heart introduce us to a journey filled with nostalgia and continuous cyclical suffering.

The bridge offers a poignant crescendo of the song's emotional narrative. It's a moment of painful realization and clarity – watching the one you love adoring someone else with such intensity that you feel invisible. This feeling crescendos into a culmination of desolation that gnaws at one's sense of self-worth and existence, questioning how this unrequited love can be so unnoticed that it feels akin to a slow emotional passing.