Undoubtedly one of the most buzzed-about songs on Phoebe Bridgers’ 2026 album, Lost Weekend, ‘The Governor's Waltz’ sparked fan speculation ahead of its release due to a leaked lyric, which many believe to be a thinly veiled dig at Gracie Abrams.

‘The Governor's Waltz’, which arrives as Track No. 4, is generally rumoured to be delving into a time when Bridgers was with her old flame, Paul Mescal - more specifically when Bridgers performed at The Governor's Ball Festival in New York City 2021. Bridgers and Mescal were reportedly together between 2020 and 2022.

It's the lyric towards the end of the song - “And she can pretend to be me / Since she took my place in my bed on that stage / I have not lost any sleep” - that has caught fans’ attention. It's believed to be a dig at Abrams, Mescal's current partner.

The “she took my place in my bed on that stage” line has a lot of speculated lore behind it, but we'll break it down. Abrams cited Bridgers as a key influence on her during her early career, even releasing a cover of Bridgers’ ‘Waiting Room’ when she was 13.

In 2017, after the duo had seemingly become friends, Abrams bought “rocket” bedsheets and shared them on Instagram, with Bridgers commenting, “I HAVE THE SAME SHEETS”, and Bridgers having previously shared photos of herself with those bedsheets.

Then, because Abrams blew up during COVID-19 by performing from her bedroom, she paid homage to this by recreating her bedroom on-stage during her subsequent tour - right down to the detail of the rocket bedsheets. As a result, Bridgers’ line in ‘The Governor's Waltz’ has been interpreted by many fans as a jab at Abrams, with some commentators suggesting that Bridgers is saying Abrams is trying to replace her, both in terms of her musical career and in her relationship. It's worth stressing, though, that this is all mere conjecture at this point.

‘The Governor's Waltz’ explores a more stripped-back, intimate ambience compared to the rock-infused aesthetic of ‘Bobby’ or the electronic vocal modulation of ‘The Outside’. It finds Bridgers singing gently across an undulating guitar riff, with the instrumental gradually building out as she approaches the crescendo.

‘The Governor's Waltz’ seemingly revolves around Bridgers’ performance at The Governor's Ball Festival in New York in 2021, when she was reportedly dating Paul Mescal. The song is read by many as a meditation on her break-up with Mescal, with the narrator describing how and why a relationship came to its conclusion.

Aside from the supposed Abrams-related lyrics which we broke down earlier, the key verse in ‘The Governor's Waltz’ feels like: “Two kids in a trenchcoat / Living alone / I was too happy to feel at home / Dancing ourselves clean, late New Year's Eve / You deserved better, you wanted me”. Bridgers appears to construct the classic and comedic cartoon scene where two children are standing on top of one another in a trenchcoat, in order to make themselves look like an adult.

It perhaps symbolises how this past relationship felt like an appealing but false chance to ‘play house’, so to speak, with Bridgers remarking that she was “too happy to feel at home”. However, she hints at a key moment on New Year's Eve, where something goes wrong and the facade of their supposed domestic bliss comes crashing down.

“I was the belle of The Governor's Ball
Hiding in the bathroom like Shelley Duvall
You had a nosebleed, you were in my way
And you didn't remind me of anything
-
So, let's see how long we can go without touching
Why don't you sing me to sleep?
I know you never actually think about jumping
But do it for me
-
Two kids in a trenchcoat
Living alone
I was too happy to feel at home
Dancing ourselves clean, late New Year's Eve
You deserved better, you wanted me
-
So, let's see how long we can go without talking
Watch me pretending to sleep
I'm next to you, you're next to nothing
You promised that you'd never leave
But maybe you'll do it for me
-
Now, let's see how far I can run without stopping
And she can pretend to be me
Since she took my place in my bed on that stage
I have not lost any sleep
Being myself wasn't easy
Do it for me”

Explore Phoebe Bridgers

Songs, albums, news, tours and more

Enter the artist hub