Yes — I am analyzing an unreleased song from my favorite artist way before I analyze her published catalogue, but I’m irrelevant so why does it matter?

I became a fan of Natalia Kills around 2022? I am not sure actually, it’s been such a long time since I first heard that amazing, earth-shattering album. Shortly after I discovered Cruel Youth and +30mg. I was distraught to find out that the EP had only released in… (prepare for this bomb) *checks notes*.. 2016!!! To her credit, she’s released a few songs here and there since, but still. I was 15 when +30mg released..I’m 25 now. To really put things in perspective, when +30mg was released, Taylor Swift was out and about amidst a Tom Hiddlestunt/Toe Alwyn love triangle and a battle with the media that called her a snake.

Anyways. Naturally, after many years of squeezing as much as I can from the +30mg EP (and the amazing instagram posts during that era from Teddy herself) I decided to search for any unreleased material she might have out there, in the chaos of the internet. I had listened to the Happiest Girl demo months before it was announced as a new track on BLACKPINK’s album, and in the recommendations of YouTube I saw the title Cruel Youth — Violet Roses (Unreleased). I clicked, liked it, then didn’t pay much attention to it for months to a year after…until recently.

Maybe it’s due to my recent melodramatic sexual slash bordering on romantic affiliation, but I find myself reaching for the song whenever I am in a melancholic mood. Unlike other unreleased material, the song actually sounds polished and clear. Her voice isn’t muffled by amateur mixing either. The melody is catchy and easy to get lost in its feel. I love it. On the surface I would only hear the chorus and sing along, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to dive deep into the meaning and imagery of the song. I mean, the title Violet Roses must bring out some intrigue. Right?

Background on Violet Roses

I couldn’t find much information on the song other than the fact that Chris Braide supposedly produced it and she sang a snippet in a livestream following the release of +30mg. Based off of this I surmise that it is a scrapped song from the EP, considering of its production. I imagine with a more psychedelic sound it would fit in perfectly. What a shame.

Analysis

Let us first discuss the imagery of ‘violet roses.’ Colors and their symbolism is a huge thing when it comes to poems, literature, and writing in general. Red correlates to passion and love and blue correlates to depression. The choice of the color violet at first glance appears esoteric and highly specific. Google says that violet symbolizes ‘modesty, spiritual wisdom, faithfulness, and intuition.’ More specifically (and excuse me putting on the STEM glasses on) violet is the color at the end of the visible spectrum of light. This can be given the meaning that whatever is violet is barely visible or there. The shade is also historically tied to royalty.

Now add in botany symbolism and you have a more coherent meaning. Roses, in general, are flowers of love, so a colorful assortment of them relate to various relationship statuses or feelings. According to Google, purple roses symbolize, ‘enchantment, royalty, mystery, and love at first sight.’ To me the AI overview seems to equate violet and purple, so I’ll add that violet is a darker shade of purple, meaning whatever feelings attributed to purple are deepened when they are called violet (much like maroon is a deeper shade of red, so in Maroon, Taylor is saying her love was more passionate than just any love).

It’s also worth noting that violet roses are not natural, but are instead of products of artificial selection. Gregor Mendel anyone?

This could mean that whatever is violet is shallow, not real, or a farce.

So let’s begin, verse by verse. Chorus by chorus.

Double vision, ceiling spinning
When I heard you calling
And I thought, “why’d you kiss so soft?”
Only saw it ain’t you when we lay down
But his T-shirt smelled something like summer roses
Just like you, just like you

Immediately we are thrown into a scene. The narrator is shaken by a call from the person she refers as ‘you.’ The kiss of the subject is on the narrator’s mind, yet they turn to the side to find that they are not, in fact, lying next to them. Instead, the narrator is cahoots with someone else. Said person smells like the muse. The use of ‘summer roses’ is interesting here, because instead of being painted via color they are instead attributed to a particular season of the year. Youth and joy are traits attached to summer.

It wasn’t me, it was these bubbles in my bottle
Darling, oh, Don Julio is a bad guy, I can’t lie
And the tears fall when I come back crawling
Say it’s cool, I need you

The narrator deflects from their discretion by blaming alcohol. When they begin crying under the influence, they submit to their feelings for the muse.

I cry at the funeral for my heart
Violet roses and thorns in the rain
‘Cause I die every time that we’re apart
Violet roses just remind me of thе pain

Roses are commonly used in funerals. The violet roses with thorns represent the faith the narrator held towards the muse — they are in the rain getting soaked and ruined. The narrator’s lack of faithfulness, the violet rose, is a source of pain for them. Interestingly, the song so far seems to center their feelings rather than the muse’s.

Don’t say goodbye
My thorns won’t cut you twice
Don’t say goodbye

The narrator promises that if their muse does not leave, then the infantility will be no more.

Hanging on еvery word you said like a noose ’round my neck
Shoot to kill when you tell me I ain’t worth the war we fight
Punch a wall, burn it all, I’m a dead man walking
I am unfixable
Chemicals in my blood flying into rages
Everything I say, keep diggin’ my grave
Diggin’ my grave, save me
You used to tell me wild things don’t belong in cages
I am unfixable

The muse’s past words would be met with the narrator being emotionally distressed by them every second. Emotional and physical abuse is alluded to. The narrator calling themselves a ‘dead man walking,’ could be them referencing the supposed domestic aggression, or could be foreshadowing the funeral mentioned in the chorus; they’d be dead at the funeral for their heart.

Substance abuse is tied to the narrator’s psyche with the second reference to alcohol, which causes them to not only rage but to be unfaithful. Everything they say only furthers the future funeral for their heart.

‘Wild things don’t belong in cages’ is an interesting line, because it can refer to multiple things. First, the narrator could be described as “wild.” Second, the wild things could be the roses themselves, as they are technically wild things of nature. Either way, the narrator is said to be a wild thing, so roses and rain fit their canon.

Summary

To me, Violet Roses reads as a song about someone in an emotionally and (possibly) physically abusive relationship, with a little bit of infidelity from their side added in. Despite being unfaithful, they are still ashamed of their mistakes.

Personally, I have never cheated in a relationship nor have I been cheated on, so I don’t have an exact parallel story to this song. However, I do relate to the lines detailing emotional turbulence and a devastating sinking feeling I could only project onto nature…anyways.

In my opinion, this is a discography highlight (okay, that’s not saying much considering the short list of Cruel Youth songs) and I hope it is one day officially released. Outside of lyrical content, which paints a rich and somber picture, the instrumental itself is airy yet depressingly attention-grabbing. It’s a beautiful track, and I really hope it’s on ‘CY1.’ Teddy if you’re reading this, please release it!! (Shut up, let me dream.)