‘Chemistry’ by Gigi Perez - Lyrics & Meaning

It's safe to say this one has been a long time coming. Gigi Perez first started teasing ‘Chemistry’ in 2022, but thankfully, on February 28th, 2025, she finally gifted the track to fans.

It finds the indie-folk prodigy doubling down on the enchantingly enigmatic lyricism she explores on ‘Sailor Song’ and ‘Fable’, with Perez delving into the internal struggles that accompany newfound love through a range of visceral imagery and metaphors.

‘Chemistry’ is expected to join ‘Sailor Song’, ‘Fable’, ‘Please Be Rude’ and ‘Normalcy’ on the New Jersey native's sophomore album, which will hopefully be dropping later in 2025.

‘Chemistry’ opens with an ethereal, haunting synth, mirroring the unease that the protagonist feels throughout much of the narrative. Then, Gigi Perez's distinctive vocals cut through the haze, initially accompanied by a sparse acoustic guitar, before the emphatic, thunderous drums send a jolt of energy fizzling through the song.

The driving beat combines with Gigi Perez's impassioned delivery to build the sense of drama and gravitas, with the synth backing giving ‘Chemistry’ a warm, retro ambience.

The layered vocals that are introduced during the latter portion of ‘Chemistry’ help to accentuate the emotional weight of the track, with the intensity swelling stirringly as Perez approaches the crescendo. She then strips it all away again for the moving final lyrics.

“Oh, chemistry is rare
You fucked me on the stairs
For once in my life, I didn't care that I was scared
Who would see the beast livin' inside me?
It's creepin' up, I'm sweepin' up
All of these things that I have done
Things that I have done
Things that I have done
Oh, oh-oh, ooh”

When Gigi Perez first shared a snippet of ‘Chemistry’ in 2022, this opening verse featured alternative lyrics: “For once in my life, I swear I didn't care / Who I think I am / Why do I stress the plans? / When everything that's ever been good / Slips my hands”.

Gigi Perez has repeatedly underlined to fans how ‘Chemistry’ has evolved and grown as she has, with the final version looking considerably different to the original demo. The first verse sets up the core narrative of the track, with the protagonist revealing that she made love on the stairs, toasting the freedom it made her feel.

Then, she touches on some form of dark secret or perhaps an uncomfortable feeling that emerges within her, which Gigi Perez frames as a “beast livin’ inside me”. She goes on to reference all the “Things that I have done”, with this theme of concealing some part of herself from the outside world recurring throughout the track.

“Oh, I am well aware, with that burning stare
If this stands like all things do, I have come prepared
I have clipped a leash and left it by the tree
And in the yard, you're keepin' guard
You're right where you need to be, oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh”

We then get a powerful metaphorical image of the narrator chaining her secret to a tree, with her new lover guarding it for her. This suggests she has confided in her girlfriend, and some fans have speculated that perhaps this secret is supposed to be the sapphic love they share, with the couple keeping their romance from the world. Alternatively, it could simply be a secret from her past that still haunts her.

“Don't you feel a little stuck
Every time we're out of touch?
I will dig up what you hide
Crying doesn't suit you well
Don't you know I'll never tell a soul

About our secret life
Secret life
Secret life
Secret life”

Here, the protagonist appears to assure her partner that she will keep any secrets that she wishes to share with her, underlining that she will “dig up what you hide”. She emphasises how lost she feels whenever they're apart, describing the sense of being ‘stuck’ in a limbo when the couple are forced to spend time “out of touch”.

The reference to a “secret life” perhaps reinforces the theory that the narrator is singing about a forbidden sapphic romance, with the couple living out their love story in private. Gigi Perez touches on this theme in her viral 2024 break-out hit, ‘Sailor Song’.

“Oh, inside of the house
The cat chases the mouse
Your mother looks and says
"Some things we just don't talk about"
You better watch your mouth
Don't let yourself get proud
Don't let yourself forget the message left inside the ground”

Here, we get a stronger sense that ‘Chemistry’ is linked to the same narrative as ‘Sailor Song’, with Gigi Perez utilising similar phrasing to convey the feeling of their love being frowned upon by some factions of society, particularly traditional religious groups.

The line “Oh, inside of the house / The cat chases the mouse” feels like a reference to the ‘Sailor Song’ lyric, “And we can run away to the walls inside your house / I can be the cat, baby, you can be the mouse”, which suggests both tracks are exploring the same relationship. The fact that the narrator frames herself as the ‘cat’ and her lover as the ‘mouse’ hints at an imbalanced power dynamic within the relationship, with the cat usually attempting to catch and trap the mouse. This juxtaposes the familiarity and safety implied by being “inside of the house”.

Even the line about the protagonist's mother attempting to brush any thorny topics under the rug - “Some things we just don't talk about” - could well be a nod to the ‘Sailor Song’ hook (“My mom says that she's worried, but I'm covered in this favor”).

“Oh, down the drain you go
You poor, unfortunate soul
You got yourself involved with someone you didn't really know
Oh, what I'd like to do
Is make a deal with you
Make a deal with you
Make a deal with you
Make a deal with you
Make a deal with you
Make a deal with you
With you, with you, with you, with you
Oh, ooh-ooh”

There's an ominous undercurrent that pervades ‘Chemistry’, particularly with the repeated references to some kind of shared secret, and the imagery of the cat chasing the mouse.

This comes to a head in the final verse, with the protagonist seemingly depicting their lover being flushed down the drain, and then chastising them for starting a relationship with someone else (“Oh, down the drain you go / You poor, unfortunate soul / You got yourself involved with someone you didn't really know”).

An alternative interpretation of these lines is that the narrator is addressing the ‘beast’ that she introduces in the opening verse, with the line “Oh what I'd like to do / Is make a deal with you” potentially a reference to making a deal with the devil, with the ‘devil’ being equated to this mysterious ‘beast’ that torments her. Perhaps the protagonist has finally overcome this ‘beast’ that resides within her through her love.

Gigi Perez has been teasing ‘Chemistry’ for the best part of three years, with the ‘Fable’ singer-songwriter taking to TikTok to offer fans an insight into the creative process behind it.

Perez has joked about how lengthy the creative process behind the track has been, “I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat thinking i need to cut vocals for this song”. She went on, “And yes we changed the tempo and key fifty times”.

When unveiling the ‘Chemistry’ release date, Perez offered a brief summary of what the track means to her, “I wrote this song 3 years ago maybe 4, about the rarity of chemistry”.

“Oh, chemistry is rare
You fucked me on the stairs
For once in my life, I didn't care that I was scared
Who would see the beast livin' inside me?
It's creepin' up, I'm sweepin' up
All of these things that I have done
Things that I have done
Things that I have done
Oh, oh-oh, ooh

-

Oh, I am well aware, with that burning stare
If this stands like all things do, I have come prepared
I have clipped a leash and left it by the tree
And in the yard, you're keepin' guard
You're right where you need to be, oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh

-

Don't you feel a little stuck
Every time we're out of touch?
I will dig up what you hide
Crying doesn't suit you well
Don't you know I'll never tell a soul

-

About our secret life
Secret life
Secret life
Secret life

-

Oh, inside of the house
The cat chases the mouse
Your mother looks and says
"Some things we just don't talk about"
You better watch your mouth
Don't let yourself get proud
Don't let yourself forget the message left inside the ground

-

Don't you feel a little stuck
Every time we're out of touch?
I will dig up what you hide
Crying doesn't suit you well
Don't you know I'll never tell a soul

-

About our secret life
Secret life
Secret life
Secret life

-

Oh, down the drain you go
You poor, unfortunate soul
You got yourself involved with someone you didn't really know
Oh, what I'd like to do
Is make a deal with you
Make a deal with you
Make a deal with you
Make a deal with you
Make a deal with you
Make a deal with you
With you, with you, with you, with you
Oh, ooh-ooh

-

Woah-oh
Woah-oh-oh-oh
Woah-oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh
Oh, ooh-ooh, woah-ooh-ooh
Woah-ooh-ooh
Ah-ah-ah

-

Chemistry is rare
Chemistry is rare, oh, yes, it is
Chemistry is rare”

For more on Gigi Perez, see below: