Bitter Pill
Bitter Pill is a song I wrote to get a boy out of my system. I had a crush on him, and he made clear to me that he was single and was showing interest in me. We ended up in a one night stand and he ghosted me after. I didn’t understand why and asked for clarification a couple times, … until pictures with his girlfriend started appearing on his Instagram: he had cheated on his girlfriend with me. I was already devastated about the whole situation. But he found a way to make matters worse. We were in the same community and one day we had a group video call… I don’t remember the context but suddenly he said “some people really should know their place, don’t they Josephine??” I was furious. I left the call and spit out this song.
It’s about not allowing someone else to control your narrative and that you can take your power back by coming forward with the truth. and owning up to your actions.
Lyrics
Do you have the guts to let her down
Does she taste me now in your mouth
Told me that I'm next in line when she walks out
But I'm not a fool, I play it cool
Friends don't look at each other the way we do
I'm the one you cheated on your girl with
The night we spent together, you're reliving it
Now you tell me to know my place
While I'm the thought you can't erase
Come and say it to my face
If you wanna leave me, leave me be
Lie to her to clear your name
Wonder what your girl will say
Do you have the guts to let her down, down, down, down, down
I'm a bitter pill to swallow but I taste real sweet now
All I care about is I can wrap you 'round my finger
If I wanted to, I could make it linger
Don't live in the past cause I'm a present
I can smell her despair, she's a depressant
Okay, so now I get your actions
Now I understand why you might need affection
Booze her up to the point where she might sleep with you
Know that otherwise you wouldn't be able to get her to
Such a man but I smell insecurity
Wonder why the universe brought you to me
We don't talk cause you don't have the decency
You're a dick but such a pussy when you were on top of me
Ass, I've got some things to say to you
Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go
I'm the thought you can't erase
Come and say it to my face
If you wanna leave me, leave me be
Lie to her to clear your name
Wonder what your girl would say
Do you have the guts to let her down, down, down, down, down
Said I'm a bitter pill to swallow but I taste real sweet now
I will never ever let someone occasional near
My heart cause they tear it apart
I will never ever let someone occasional near
Till I'm bored cause I always want more
Well, I'm the thought you can't erase
Come and say it to my face
If you wanna leave me, leave me be
Lie to her to clear your name
Wonder what your girl would say
Do you have the guts to let her down
The sound of Bitter Pill
Bitter Pill is a very emotionally charged song, set in an ominous atmosphere. Its evocative lyrics will take you on a journey of vengeance, self-discovery and a bittersweet aftermath. It starts out with a rather menacing hook, making the calm initial verse sound like the clarity in the sky before a thunderstorm hits.
“You will get the commanding vocals you’re used to but it’s definetly more up tempo than e.g. Enemy”
The anthemic chorus will make you feel the seething anger she felt when writing Bitter Pill, the empowerment of having truth on your side. This confidence establishes even more during the second verse as we get ready for a far more playful second chorus.
“probably my favorite part of the song is the vocal motif I made with the ‘hahahaha’ vocals, it’s kind of a 'who’s laughing now’ moment"
The bridge is ruthless, subtly exposing the name of the cheater.
This adorable design was made by @chiimochidesign
Whether it’s a cloud or a pile of blood behind it is for you to decide, probably depends on your mood.
I let you pick the color scheme for this pill on Instagram and the red & black won and became my artwork, but since a lot of people also voted blue & red I bought that artwork as well for future use.
Listen up.
Now that Bitter Pill has been released,
I have some secret clips I’d like to share with you!
Our gratitude goes to…
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@chiimochidesign
chiimochidesign was responsible for the cute artwork which was exactly what we were looking for for the release of Bitter Pill
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Allison Clift-Jennings
Allison is the CTO of Tonic Audio Labs, which we use to collaborate on Josephine’s music, she’s responsible for the mixing and mastering on I Only Trust Myself as well as Bitter Pill and she guided Josephine on mixing Enemy herself.