☝️ Key Points
- The song is about a complicated relationship in which both partners are invested but struggling with conflicts
- The repeated chorus is a plea to the singer's partner to not treat her cruelly and to treat the relationship with respect
- The singer understands the challenges of valuable relationships and is willing to work on them
- She is 'foolishly in love' and continues to believe in her partner's promises despite the one-sided nature of her love
- She continues to try to make the relationship work even while recognizing the difficulties
Interpretation
The lyrics of 'Easy Lover' by
Ellie Goulding are about a complicated romantic relationship where the expectations and behavior of both partners don't align. The song starts with the words 'It was never easy, lover / When you've given all you had to each other', suggesting that both partners have invested fully in the relationship but have difficulties recovering from conflicts.
The repetitive chorus 'Easy lover / Keep it cool on me / Don't be cruel to me / 'Cause I know you've done it before' expresses the singer's plea to her partner to not treat her cruelly and to handle their relationship with respect and care. She also asks him to 'keep it cool' with her, which could imply that she wants him to control his emotions and not over-dramatize the relationship.
The lines 'And I know they say that, 'Everything that's easy ain't worth it / And everything that's worth it ain't gon' be easy'' suggest that the singer understands that valuable relationships require work and are not always easy. She has made mistakes, but she doesn't repeat them and wouldn't be in the relationship if she didn't need her partner.
The song ends with the singer's sad realization that she is 'foolishly in love' and still believes in her partner's promises, even though she realizes he doesn't reciprocate her feelings. Despite this painful realization, she can't stop believing in him and continues to take a metaphorical 'shot', meaning she keeps trying to make the relationship work, despite the difficulties and one-sided nature of her love.