BROKEN GIRLS by Saba Lyrics Meaning – Unraveling the Complexities of Intimacy and Dysfunction

Lyrics

I’m in love with broken girls, girls, girls, hey girl, girl, girl, girl
I’m in love with broken girls, girls, girls, girls, girls, girls, hey girl

Really I’m broke myself, and I think she might help
Really I love a story, and I think she might tell
Really I’m not your crutch, really you not my girl
Really she usin’ me, but it’s cool, we use each other
I’m in love with contemplatin’ about the pressure
Conversations about depression
Confrontation ’cause we care too much about each other
We know it ain’t permanent, but temporary
Releasin’ your Issa Rae, insecure
Collect them like Pikachu, Venusaur
We go ’til you done or my penis sore
Sleepin’ with the TV on, then we don’t speak no more
And I know when I’m with you, or maybe when you’re with me
Even if I don’t feel a thing, for a second I feel complete
I still will keep ya in my back pocket
I know that I’m not shit, I know that it’s toxic
I know that a part lives, that is where your heart is

I’m in love with broken girls, girls, girls, hey girl, girl, girl, girl
I’m in love with broken girls, girls, girls, girls, girls, girls, hey girl

Tread light like broken glass
Really I’m not my past
Really I snatched your soul
Really that’s not to brag
Really when I’m alone
Really I’m not to have
Really I know you’re empty
But I think I can fill your glass
Fantasizing all your problems
I wanted you more, since I found out you heartless
Harbourin’ feelings for niggas who hurt you
Know you on the surface, but not on a personal level
I play the game of hearts, missin’ piece, we ain’t apart
Depend on me until I’m bored
I return your heart as quick I return your call
Tables turn quicker, ’cause after a weekend I miss ya
I don’t want you, but I’m conflicted
I know that back and forth yo-yo shit over with
But you gon’ take me back, I’m gon’ convince ya
Pain ain’t never looked so temptin’
Lonely never looked so distant
We just gon’ ignore the tension
You know we both not shit
I know that shit toxic

I’m in love with broken girls, girls, girls, hey girl, girl, girl, girl
I’m in love with broken girls, girls, girls, girls, girls, girls, hey girl

This whole time been obsessed, bein’ sad
She was my quick escape, made me forget
Hear her speak, see her weak, made me feel big
Crowned me (crown(, she downed me, treat me like shit
Second time, round two, what I learn?
She wasn’t mine, that wasn’t love (love), I wasn’t hers
I’m not hurt anymore, took some time
Found a girl, now I’m hers and she mine
And she made me feel whole, heal me
And it’s mutual
And we still in love

Can’t you care for me?
Can’t you care? Can’t you care?
Can’t you care for me?
Can’t you care? Can’t you care?
Can’t you care? Can’t you care?
Can’t you care? Can’t you care?
Can’t you care? Can’t you care?
Can’t you care? Can’t you care?
Can’t you care? Can’t you care?

In a haunting melody that pierces through the fog of contemporary hip-hop, Saba’s ‘BROKEN GIRLS’ stands as a reflective introspection on the paradoxical allure of damaged relationships. The Chicago-based rapper encapsulates a narrative that is as much a self-examination as it is a commentary on the romanticization of brokenness. His poignant lyrics beckon us into the depths of his own vulnerabilities and those of the women he’s entwined with, painting a vivid landscape of mutual dependence and emotional escapism.

Through the track, listeners are guided down a path riddled with the debris of emotional turmoil and fraught connection, where Saba confronts the intricacies of love entangled in trauma. With each line, we are asked to question both the authenticity of these relationships and the sincerity of our attractions to those we perceive as ‘broken’.

A Symphony of Mutual Disorder: The Entanglement of Two ‘Broken’ Souls

At the heart of ‘BROKEN GIRLS’ sits the profound realization that both parties in these troubled relationships are navigating their own shattered realities. Saba does not exempt himself from this narrative of damage; rather, he openly confesses, ‘Really I’m broke myself, and I think she might help.’ This mutual bleakness establishes that the relationship depicted is not one-sided in its dysfunction but is a symbiotic cycle of shortfall and support.

The need for connection becomes a salvation and a crutch all at once—a conundrum Saba paints in achingly relatable hues. The characters within the song stagger between the desire for solace and the reality that they may be mere placeholders in each other’s lives, highlighting the transient nature of such bonds.

The Lure of the Incomplete: A Closer Look at Infatuation with Irreparability

Saba’s recurrent chorus ‘I’m in love with broken girls’ echoes an uncomfortable truth about human attraction; often, it is the fractures in another that draw us in, promising an intimacy that might allow us to ‘fix’ them or offer the chance for shared healing. It’s this vulnerability that becomes an aphrodisiac, the bare and raw edges where Saba finds himself drawn.

The term ‘broken girls’ itself is a double-edged sword—a term that connotes a certain enthrallment with imperfection, yet also flirts dangerously close to objectifying the very subjects of his affection. It’s in this linguistic play that Saba captures the paradox of his own intentions.

The Toxic Tango: Chronicles of Reciprocal Use and Abandonment

‘Really she usin’ me, but it’s cool, we use each other.’ The chiasmus in Saba’s confession speaks to the cyclical patterns that often define toxic relationships. Each person serves as an emotional stopgap for the other, exploiting a momentary sensation of completeness that is designed to fill their void.

The nature of these interactions breeds a certain inevitability of neglect, with both parties aware of the utilitarian essence of their connection. By interrogating this cycle of use and disuse, Saba sheds light on the ephemeral peace procured from broken bonds.

Unveiling the Hidden Meanings: The Search for Self within Another

As ‘BROKEN GIRLS’ unfolds, it becomes evident that these fraught relationships serve not just as an escape, but as a mirror. Each girl’s story, each shared episode of pain, provides Saba a means of avoiding his own narrative of brokenness, while simultaneously crafting a superficial salve for his deeper wounds.

It’s through the iteration ‘Fantasizing all your problems—I wanted you more, since I found out you heartless,’ that we see Saba grappling with the idea that one’s attraction to another’s abyss may be a subconscious diversion from personal voids. The ‘broken girl’ is not just a partner but a distraction from one’s intimate self-analysis.

Memorable Lines: An Exploration of the Song’s Most Piercing Lyrics

‘Pain ain’t never looked so temptin”, Saba muses, capturing the complex irony that those who are hurting can simultaneously seem the most enthralling. And in the volta ‘Lonely never looked so distant,’ he encapsulates the false proximity of closeness that these temporary relationships provide—holding aloneness at bay, but never truly filling the solitary void.

Ultimately, it is ‘Can’t you care for me?’ that haunts the listener—this plaintive plea is a common ground between the speaker and the ‘broken girls,’ each seeking to find solace and care within another who may be just as incapable of providing it. In these words, we find the crux of humanity’s search for connection amid the cacophony of our own discord.