☝️ Key Points
- The song lyrics are about a failed relationship and the longing for past times.
- The singer is at a telephone booth trying to call home to talk to their partner.
- They feel paralyzed and are still stuck in the time when they called it love.
- Wiz Khalifa raps about his success and how it has changed his life without caring about his partner.
- The song ends with the image of the singer at a telephone booth desperately trying to get home.
Interpretation
The lyrics of the song 'Payphone' by
Maroon 5 are about a relationship that has fallen apart. The singer is standing at a payphone, trying to call home to talk to his partner. He has spent all his change on this call because he is desperately trying to get back the times they had. He wonders where the time has gone and what has become of their shared plans.
The singer remembers how hard it is to remember the people they used to be, and even harder to imagine that his partner is no longer with him. Although his partner says it's too late to fix it, the singer wonders if it's too late to at least try. He feels paralyzed and is still stuck in the time they called love. But even the sun sets in paradise.
The chorus repeats the singer's desperation, standing at a payphone trying to call home. He has spent all his change on his partner and wonders where the time has gone and what has become of their shared plans. He longs for a happy ever after, and to keep embracing his partner as he does now. He is frustrated by all the fairy tales he's heard and all the love songs he can no longer listen to.
In the second verse, the singer sings about how his partner ignored the future and forgot the past. He gave him his love, but he simply gave it away. The singer doesn't expect it to go well for him, but he also doesn't expect his partner to care. He knows he's said it before, but all their bridges are burned. He has wasted his nights and his partner has turned off the light. He still feels paralyzed and stuck in that time they called love.
The third part of the song is rapped by Wiz Khalifa. He talks about his success and how it has changed his life. He emphasizes that he no longer feels the need to communicate with his partner and changes his phone number so they can't call him anymore. He is proud that he made it from the bottom to the top and doesn't have to worry about his partner anymore.
The chorus is repeated once more and the song ends with the image of the singer at a payphone, desperately trying to get home.