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With Gracie Abrams’ recent Austin City Limits debut and the release of The Secret of Us, she’s really become a voice for a new generation of raw, reflective songwriting.

Her track “Blowing Smoke” stands out as an honest, almost uncomfortable dive into jealousy, frustration, and lingering attachment. After performing the song live with that signature vulnerability, it’s clear she’s striking a chord, especially with fans who know what it’s like to watch an ex move on too soon. This is a great excuse for me to dive deep into these lyrics and, as a fan of English literature and poetry, stretch some comparisons to works that deal with similar emotions.

Now, these are just my own interpretations. Still, I’ll be using insights from poets like Jack Gilbert, Ocean Vuong, and June Jordan to shed more light on how Abrams’ words tap into a larger history of heartbreak and emotional fallout. In the same way The Secret of Us reflects Abrams’ growth in storytelling, her lyrics in “Blowing Smoke” use blunt questions, self-reflection, and anger to illustrate themes that poets have tackled for centuries.

These aren’t just modern feelings; they’re timeless. And by comparing her lines with classic and contemporary poetry, we can get a more nuanced picture of what Abrams is getting at with each line.

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Gracie Abrams Blowing Smoke Lyrics

Gracie Abrams Blowing Smoke Meaning

“I cut the rope and you fell from the tower”

In the first line, “I cut the rope and you fell from the tower,” the speaker takes control, ending the relationship. She’s doing this for her own peace, but there’s an underlying tension here. Cutting someone off isn’t always simple or easy, and it can leave complicated feelings behind. She’s torn between wanting freedom and feeling the weight of letting go.

Jack Gilbert’s line in “A Brief for the Defense,” “We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world,” feels like it could fit right into this moment. Gilbert is talking about how, even when life is hard, we still need to choose to accept our moments of peace or joy. The speaker in the song wants that peace, but the pain lingers, showing that walking away isn’t always enough to make the feelings disappear.

As the song continues, it’s clear that “cutting the rope” didn’t erase her emotions. The line is powerful, but she still struggles to let go of what she’s feeling, showing us that there’s more to healing than simply moving on. This first step is about self-preservation, but it’s only the beginning of her journey through her emotions.

“But I still hate the image of you kissing her”

The line, “But I still hate the image of you kissing her,” shows us the jealousy and frustration that stick around after a breakup. Even though she ended things, she’s haunted by the idea of him with someone else. There’s a tension between her wanting to be strong and free from the past, but at the same time, she can’t shake the image of him moving on.

This kind of emotional tug-of-war is something we also see in Ocean Vuong’s poem “Kissing in Vietnamese.” In his line, “I will love you / if only to wound you,” Vuong captures that feeling of being tied to someone, even when the love is gone. The speaker in the song hates the idea of him with another person, but her thoughts keep coming back to it. She’s both hurt and angry that he’s moved on, showing us that breaking up doesn’t always mean we stop caring.

By asking questions like, “Is she prettier than she was on the internet?” and “Are your conversations cool, like are you even interested?” she’s trying to find reasons why his new relationship might be shallow or meaningless. Her jealousy is clear, and it’s also relatable—seeing an ex with someone new can bring out all kinds of insecurities, even if we don’t want to admit it.

“Far enough away from all the baggage you’ve been carrying”

When she says, “Far enough away from all the baggage you’ve been carrying,” the speaker reveals that she sees him as someone who avoids dealing with his issues. She feels like he moves from one relationship to the next without really addressing what’s inside, hoping that others will “help him bury” his emotional baggage instead of dealing with it himself.

This line brings to mind June Jordan’s poem “Poem for My Love,” where Jordan talks about the disappointment of loving someone who doesn’t fully appreciate you. She writes, “How beautiful you were, and the way that beauty moved me and spoke to me is not the way you move me now.” Jordan shows us that what once felt meaningful can become shallow when someone doesn’t meet us halfway. In the song, the speaker sees through her ex’s pattern of avoiding his problems and using new relationships as a distraction.

The speaker’s view of her ex becomes clearer here. She recognizes that he’s not growing or changing; he’s just moving on to new people, hoping they’ll help him cover up the issues he won’t face. It’s a critique of his unwillingness to grow, showing us that she values emotional honesty, even if it’s painful.

“And I hear your voice like a boom in my tower”

In the line, “And I hear your voice like a boom in my tower,” the speaker is alone but still feels his presence. She claims, “I’m completely fine,” but hearing his voice “like a boom” suggests otherwise. She’s trying to be independent, but she can’t fully escape his memory or the effect he has on her.

This theme of lingering memories also shows up in Ocean Vuong’s poetry. In “Kissing in Vietnamese,” he writes, “Your mouth a kiss of smoke.” This image of smoke—a thing that fades but leaves a trace—mirrors how her ex’s memory sticks around. Vuong’s line speaks to how love and memories don’t just vanish; they leave a mark, even if we try to forget. In the song, the speaker is haunted by him, showing that some connections take longer to fade.

The line shows that moving on isn’t just about being physically separated; it’s also about letting go emotionally. Even though she says she’s fine, his “boom” in her mind suggests she’s still affected. This moment reminds us that getting over someone is often more complicated than just saying goodbye.

“And I find your books pretentious now”

The line, “And I find your books pretentious now,” shows the speaker’s shift in perspective. She used to admire his interests, but now they seem shallow or fake. She’s seeing her ex more realistically, realizing that her earlier idealized view of him didn’t capture who he really is.

In “A Brief for the Defense,” Jack Gilbert writes, “We must risk delight… though we know we are doomed.” Gilbert is saying that life includes both the good and the bad, and we can’t ignore either. The speaker here is finally seeing the bad parts of her ex. She’s realizing that what she once admired was never as deep as she thought, and this awareness helps her let go of the fantasy she’d built up about him.

This shift shows growth on her part. She’s breaking free from the illusions she once had, choosing to see him for who he is, even if that means losing her idealized memories. It’s an important step in her process of moving on.

“And I bet you think about me now”

In the line, “And I bet you think about me now,” the speaker is admitting that, even though she’s trying to let go, she hopes he still thinks about her. There’s a part of her that wants to believe he hasn’t forgotten her, that he still remembers their time together.

June Jordan, in “Poem for My Love,” captures a similar feeling when she says, “And now I want to do it all over / with you.” Jordan is talking about wanting to be remembered, to know that the other person still holds on to those memories. The speaker in the song hopes her ex feels the same way, that he’s haunted by her memory like she is by his. This line is about that need for validation, that desire to believe that what they had still matters, even if it’s over.

By hoping he still thinks of her, the speaker is showing her own vulnerability. It’s one final glimpse of her struggle to let go, of wanting to believe that their connection is still there, even as she tries to move forward.

Themes, Meanings, and Main Takeaways

At the heart of Gracie Abrams’ “Blowing Smoke” lies the struggle of letting go—trying to move forward while haunted by jealousy and regret. The song captures Abrams’ signature mix of bluntness and vulnerability, as seen in her recent performances on Austin City Limits and on tour for The Secret of Us. The lyrics, like “I cut the rope and you fell from the tower,” reveal a speaker who has taken a painful step to end things but hasn’t fully shaken the feelings left behind.

This theme of conflicting emotions echoes Jack Gilbert’s “A Brief for the Defense,” which reminds us, “We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world.” Here, Abrams’ lyrics reflect Gilbert’s view: accepting that love is hard but still choosing self-preservation over lingering attachment.

As she pictures her ex with someone new, Abrams’ next focus on jealousy and resentment taps into a powerful human experience that poetry has long explored. Lines like, “But I still hate the image of you kissing her,” reveal how unresolved feelings can gnaw at us. Her blunt frustration, recently described as “biting” and “honest” in reviews of The Secret of Us, mirrors the tension in Ocean Vuong’s “Kissing in Vietnamese.” Vuong’s line, “I will love you / if only to wound you,” suggests how love, even when painful, leaves traces that are hard to forget.

Abrams’ speaker shares this same inner conflict—her jealousy hints that, despite her best efforts, she’s still affected by what her ex does next. Both Abrams and Vuong explore how past love can linger in ways that aren’t easy to shut off, despite wanting closure.

Finally, Abrams questions her ex’s avoidance of emotional “baggage,” noting that he uses new relationships to “bury” unresolved issues rather than face them. This theme is reinforced in the final lines, where Abrams’ speaker claims she knows “everything they don’t,” adding a sense of superiority over her ex’s new partners. June Jordan’s “Poem for My Love” addresses this kind of disappointment, where love can feel imbalanced or unappreciated. Jordan writes, “How beautiful you were, and the way that beauty moved me and spoke to me is not the way you move me now,” describing the disillusionment that comes when love fades.

In Abrams’ song, her recognition of her ex’s flaws and avoidance marks a turning point—she’s seeing things more clearly, recognizing that his patterns aren’t hers to fix. This realization aligns with Abrams’ own growth as a songwriter, as she explores deeper emotional territory, showing her listeners that self-reflection and honesty are as necessary to moving on as they are to creating impactful art.

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