‘What Don't Belong to Me’ by Post Malone - Lyrics & Meaning

One of just three solo tracks on Post Malone's star-studded debut country album, F-1Trillion, we got a sneak preview of his vulnerable, self-reproaching track, ‘What Don't Belong to Me’, in the week leading up to the full project's release.

Posty shared a snippet of the infectious song alongside a video of him in a cowboy hat, crooning longingly to the camera against the atmospheric backdrop of a bonfire.

Eagle-eyed - or perhaps eagle-eared - fans noticed that this was the same track we heard a brief clip of during the promotional video for Posty's popular ‘A Night in Nashville’ Bud Light event. In those visuals, as the Bud Light truck pulls away, a short snippet of ‘What Don't Belong to Me’ plays across the vehicle's speakers.

F-1Trillion as a whole is highly eclectic, showcasing Post Malone's love of a variety of country sub-genres, spanning country-pop (‘I Had Some Help’, ‘Guy For That’), traditional country (‘Never Love You Again’, ‘Have The Heart’), Southern Rock (‘Wrong Ones’, ‘California Sober’) and even a dose of bluegrass (‘M-E-X-I-C-O’).

Throughout all of this, though, Post Malone stays true to himself and laces each track with his signature, reverb-drenched vibrato and the ambient, cushioning instrumentals that pervaded his previous album, AUSTIN. This is epitomised on ‘What Don't Belong to Me’, which finds Posty crooning forlornly across an intricate guitar riff, before he launches into the uptempo, synth-driven hook.

Although undoubtedly grounded in country, ‘What Don't Belong to Me’ takes on a late-‘70s disco feel for the chorus, which is accentuated by the electronic backing vocals.

“I can wrap a rope around the moon

Tie it up and drag it down to you

Honey, if you ask me to

You know I'd try it

I can put some diamonds 'round your neck

Dancin' in a ruby red sunset

Girl, if you don't wanna land this jet

Let's keep on flyin'

Every string, every chord

My guitar, I give you everything in the world

But my heart”

Post Malone heartbreakingly lists all the things he'd gladly do for his lover, including trying to lasso the moon and gleefully slow-dancing in their living room against a crimson, sunset-filled backdrop. He describes how they're up in the sky on his private jet, before using this as a metaphor for the ‘high’ he feels when he's with her.

“‘Cause I gave half to them halfway lovers

I left some to them too-drunk summers

Left a piece in the bar with the keys to my car

I know I'm never gettin' it back

I lost a lot to that whiskey sippin'

I gave the rest to that rockstar livin'

Take all of me, but there's one thing missin'

Baby, I can't give you what don't belong to me”

Over the course of the earworm hook, Post Malone despondently recalls all the times a chunk of his heart was broken off, including all the nights spent with people he “halfway” loved and the alcohol-fuelled summers that only left him feeling cold.

He reminisces on how, on one particular drunken evening, he forgot the keys to his beloved car in the bar, and he admits that he left a part of his heart with it. Posty again references his past dependence on alcohol, before making a subtle but satisfying nod to his Diamond-certified rap single, ‘rockstar’, explaining how the luxurious, 100mph lifestyle he describes on that song ended up doing him more harm than good.

This inclusion feels particularly apt, because ‘rockstar’ has been one of the key points of comparison between Post Malone's rap and country eras, with ‘rockstar’ fuelled by empty hedonism while F-1Trillion is underpinned by a deep sense of joy.

Post Malone emphasises to his lover that he's willing to give her his all, but he simply can't offer her his heart. He's given so many pieces of it away, as he highlights in the preceding lines, that he views his heart as no longer being his own. This could also be seen as conveying how he puts his heart and soul into everything he does.

“And I wish I could give you the best

‘Cause you deserve much more than this hole in my chest”

Throughout ‘What Don't Belong to Me’, Post Malone opens up about his low sense of self-worth and his feeling of being ‘damaged goods’. On the track, the ‘Pour Me a Drink’ singer-songwriter appears to be addressing to his fiancée, whose identity remains under wraps, with Posty underlining that he desperately wants to give her “the best” of him. However, his heart has become so emotionally battered and bruised over the years that he's been left with a “hole in my chest”.

Post Malone has not spoken about ‘What Don't Belong to Me’ specifically just yet, but the New York native has touched more broadly on how welcoming the country music community has been to him since he announced his foray into the genre.

In an interview with Anthony Mason for CBS in Nashville, the ‘Chemical’ singer-songwriter shared, “Everyone here was so accepting and kind”. When Mason described this as a testament to Post Malone's genial, warm character, Posty immediately responded with an endearing dismissal, “I disagree. I think it's a testament to them”.

“I can wrap a rope around the moon

Tie it up and drag it down to you

Honey, if you ask me to

You know I'd try it

I can put some diamonds 'round your neck

Dancin' in a ruby red sunset

Girl, if you don't wanna land this jet

Let's keep on flyin'

-

Every string, every chord

My guitar, I give you everything in the world

But my heart

-

‘Cause I gave half to them halfway lovers

I left some to them too-drunk summers

Left a piece in the bar with the keys to my car

I know I'm never gettin' it back

I lost a lot to that whiskey sippin'

I gave the rest to that rockstar livin'

Take all of me, but there's one thing missin'

Baby, I can't give you what don't belong to me

-

What don't belong to me

What don't bеlong to me (What don't belong to me)

What don't bеlong to me (Oh, yeah)

What don't belong to me

-

I could lay you down, I could change your life

Maybe not forever, no, but baby, for tonight

If I knew I need you one day

I wouldn't ever gave it all away

-

And I wish I could give you the best

'Cause you deserve much more than this hole in my chest

-

‘Cause I gave half to them halfway lovers

I left some to them too-drunk summers

Left a piece in the bar with the keys to my car

I know I'm never gettin' it back

I lost a lot to that whiskey sippin'

I gave the rest to that rockstar livin'

Take all of me, but there's one thing missin'

Baby, I can't give you what don't belong to me

-

What don't belong to me

What don't bеlong to me (What don't belong to me)

What don't bеlong to me (Oh, yeah)

What don't belong to me

-

Yeah, you keep holdin' on, but it's gone when it's gone

And you can't replace it

Baby, let's just face it

Baby, let's just face it

-

‘Cause I gave half to them halfway lovers

I left some to them too-drunk summers

Left a piece in the bar with the keys to my car

I know I'm never gettin' it back

I lost a lot to that whiskey sippin'

I gave the rest to that rockstar livin'

Take all of me, but there's one thing missin'

Baby, I can't give you what don't belong to me

-

What don't belong to me

What don't belong to me (No, what don't belong to me)

What don't belong to me

What don't belong to me (Yeah, what don't belong to me)

What don't belong to me

What don't belong to me (What don't belong to me)

What don't belong to me

What don't belong to me

Of what don't belong to me”

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