‘Nosedive’ by Post Malone & Lainey Wilson - Lyrics & Meaning

When Post Malone unveiled the tracklist for his debut country album, F-1Trillion, it was difficult to wrap our heads around the sheer star-power he'd recruited for the project.

With era-spanning country music trailblazers such as Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Dolly Parton and Tim McGraw and many, many more joining forces with Post Malone, each fan undoubtedly had different tracks that they were most excited to hear first.

Despite being spoiled for choice, we can all agree one of the most highly anticipated link-ups on F-1Trillion was Post Malone's momentous collaboration with the reigning 2023 CMA and 2024 ACM Entertainer of the Year, Lainey Wilson, titled ‘Nosedive’.

Although not officially dropping until F-1Trillion's August 16th release date, we were lucky enough to hear a brief preview of ‘Nosedive’ thanks to a fan sharing a snippet from Post Malone's US nationwide listening parties on Saturday, August 10th. Then, during his emotional Grand Ole Opry debut on August 14th, Posty brought out Lainey Wilson to perform a spellbinding live debut of the full version of ’Nosedive’.

What's been particularly refreshing about Post Malone's country era is how he's managed to showcase his deep-seated love for the genre, while still staying true to the distinctive, reverb-soaked sound that we've come to know and love over the years.

‘Nosedive’ epitomises this, with Post Malone's layered, atmospheric vibrato resonating out across a warm, cushioning guitar sample and a chorus of ethereal backing vocals. Lainey Wilson brings her signature swagger and charisma to the song, with the two artists’ vocals combining seamlessly throughout ‘Nosedive’.

One of the most satisfying aspects of this wistful, philosophical track is how the cadence with which Posty and Lainey deliver the titular lyric mirrors the downward ‘nosedive’ that the two artists are crooning about. They then add an upward, hopeful inflection at the end, aligning rousingly with the optimistic tone of the track.

“I found God looking for the Devil

Chasing a high I couldn't keep forever

It's always worse before the better, I suppose

How far down it's hard to tell

When to buy and when to sell

‘Cause that comedown, it hurts like hell

And every thorn has its rose”

Post Malone opens by wistfully looking back at his wild antics, channelling the same kind of self-reflection we see on another F-1Trillion stand-out, ’Right About You’. He suggests he was trying to raise hell through his nihilistic and hedonistic tendencies, ranging from leaning on alcohol to chasing brief encounters with women. He underlines, though, that the temporary highs these experiences offered were bound to wear out eventually, emphasising how things had to get a lot worse for him to realise just how much he needed to work on himself.

Posty uses the metaphor of the housing market, where the timing of “when to buy and when to sell” is crucial, perhaps hinting that he was close to ‘nosediving’ beyond return, but thankfully he steered his life back on track before it was too late.

He paints an evocative, bittersweet image of a beautiful rose, as he realises that even these wonderful creations have vicious thorns. This conveys how, even though he's faced challenges, these only accentuate the magic of the more positive moments.

“Sometimes you're running

Sometimes you're crawling

Sometimes you're broke

Sometimes you're balling

But there's still beauty in the nosedive”

The core mantra of ’Nosedive’ revolves around the idea that there will be ups and downs in life, but contentment can be found by embracing each part of the rollercoaster ride. The darker moments give the happier times even more verve and vivacity.

Posty explains how sometimes you'll find yourself metaphorically running or crawling, before introducing the contrast between struggling financially (being ‘broke’) and enjoying immense affluence (‘balling’). He concludes that, even when everything seems to be going wrong and you're spiralling downwards, there's still satisfaction to be found in the knowledge that this will make you stronger, and that this ‘nosedive’ will give the recovery an even more intense feeling of joy.

“Sometimes you're driving

Sometimes you're stalling

Sometimes you're flying

Sometimes you're falling

But there's still beauty in the nosedive”

Post Malone adds a further flurry of juxtaposition here, as he outlines how sometimes you'll be ‘driving’ and making good progress, but on other occasions you'll stall the car - a metaphor for making a mistake in life and feeling as though you're stationary. He completes the series of contrasts with another airborne image, comparing ‘flying’ with ‘falling’, and deciding to celebrate it all, rather than complaining and bemoaning the more challenging periods of life.

“I hit a rock and dropped the shovel

Clawed my way out past the rubble

Do my best, stay out of trouble, Heaven knows

Sometimes the picture, it ain't perfect

But there's learning in the hurtin’

Sick of bearing all the burden

Every thorn has its rose”

Lainey Wilson takes the helm here, doubling down on Posty's message of finding hope in the hard times. She employs the powerful image of someone digging for gold, only to strike an impenetrable rock. However, rather than grumbling and seeing this as yet another sign that things are not going her way, she simply drops the shovel, perhaps showing how she has learned to pick her battles for the sake of her own peace of mind. Alternatively, this image could be seen as simply helping to build the down-on-her-luck ambience that opens the verse.

As it progresses, though, we get a chink of light shining through, as Lainey Wilson describes crawling her way up through the metaphorical rubble of life's obstacles and hardships.

She decides to embrace her journey's imperfections and let go of any lingering troubles from her past that have been weighing her down for too long. Then Lainey reiterates the emotive image of a rose emerging triumphantly in the midst of thorns.

“On my descent

The turbulence

Is my best friend

Buckle up and enjoy the ride

I cut my line

Through pale blue sky

To remind me I'm alive”

Post Malone extends the airplane-inspired imagery of a ‘nosedive’ - which is a steep and usually unplanned plunge - by describing how he chooses to enjoy the turbulence and disruption that accompanies his sudden bumpy descent. The turbulence on an aircraft is usually portrayed as being uncomfortable and unwanted by passengers, but Posty paints this turmoil as his “best friend”. He then doubles down on his overarching mission to “buckle up and enjoy the ride” of his life.

Given how a large portion of Posty's pre-country discography was devoted to lamenting his battles with anxiety, loneliness and alcoholism, the resolute jubilance of ’Nosedive’ is made all the more inspiring and stirring. Heartwarmingly, this broader evolution reflects the cri-de-coeur of the song, with the low-points in Post Malone's life making his present-day happiness all the more fulfilling.

In a 2024 interview with Baylen Leonard for Absolute Radio Country, Lainey Wilson explained how her ‘Nosedive’ session with Post Malone came about, “The day after the CMA Awards, he called and was like, ‘Hey do you wanna come write?’ So we wrote for like sixteen hours, I think - we wrote through the night. That's the first write that I had ever done through the night. I was trying to hang...I was trying to be cool, I was like, ‘Yeah, we're gonna get through it, we're gonna get through it’”.

The Louisiana native candidly expanded, “[He] likes to write really, really late at night - and I can’t do that three nights in a row. I can do that one night. I can start about 5pm, but starting at 10pm - that’s rough...”, before revealing two fellow country pioneers, Brad Paisley and Ashley Gorley, were part of the Nashville studio session.

Lainey recalled, “It was so cool...I was like, ‘This is a random combination!’ but so much fun”. Brad Paisley collaborated with Post Malone for ‘Goes Without Saying’ on F-1Trillion.

Endearingly, Lainey Wilson made a point of paying tribute to the warmth Post Malone exudes, as well as hinting there may be more to come from the duo, “You hear things about people and you're like, ‘I hope they are what people say they are’ - and when I tell you he is a good person, just the way that he treats people, he treats a bartender just like he would treat a CEO. And I love being friends with folks like that...We wrote multiple [songs] and it was so much fun, just to see how they work too, you know?...It was an experience that I'd never had, but a lot of fun”.

During his Grand Ole Opry debut on August 14th, while introducing the live debut of ‘Nosedive’ alongside Lainey Wilson, Posty explained, “So we've been here in Nashville for a couple of months - six or seven months - and I have made so many beautiful friends along the way, and I am so honoured to be able to work with my friends”.

He then gushed about how much he cherishes his friendship with Lainey in particular, “This next person I'd like to bring up, we made a song together, and I don't know if anybody's heard this song before, but she is honestly one of the most stunning people I have ever met in my entire life. Her heart is bigger than her hat, and her writing ability is out of control, and she is just a hell of a singer and so talented, and I am so honoured to bring up on stage Lainey Wilson, ladies and gentlemen”.

“I found God looking for the Devil

Chasing a high I couldn't keep forever

It's always worse before the better, I suppose

How far down it's hard to tell

When to buy and when to sell

‘Cause that comedown, it hurts like hell

And every thorn has its rose

-

Sometimes you're driving

Sometimes you're stalling

Sometimes you're flying

Sometimes you're falling

But there's still beauty in the nosedive

-

Sometimes you're running

Sometimes you're crawling

Sometimes you're broke

Sometimes you're balling

But there's still beauty in the nosedive

-

I hit a rock and dropped the shovel

Clawed my way out past the rubble

Do my best, stay out of trouble, Heaven knows

Sometimes the picture, it ain't perfect

But there's learning in the hurtin’

Sick of bearing all the burden

Every thorn has its rose

-

Sometimes you're driving

Sometimes you're stalling

Sometimes you're flying

Sometimes you're falling

But there's still beauty in the nosedive

-

Sometimes you're running

Sometimes you're crawling

Sometimes you're broke

Sometimes you're balling

But there's still beauty in the nosedive

-

On my descent

The turbulence

Is my best friend

Buckle up and enjoy the ride

I cut my line

Through pale blue sky

To remind me I'm alive

-

Sometimes you're driving

Sometimes you're stalling

Sometimes you're flying

Sometimes you're falling

But there's still beauty in the nosedive

-

Sometimes you're running

Sometimes you're crawling

Sometimes you're broke

Sometimes you're balling

But there's still beauty in the nosedive

-

Sometimes you're driving

Sometimes you're stalling

Somtimes you're flying

Sometimes you're falling

But there's still beauty in the nosedive”

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