If walls could talk, what would they say? Dua Lipa and Belgian star Pierre de Maere team up to explore the question on their new song “These Walls.” Although Dua knows that the relationship described in the song is nearing its natural end, she can’t help picturing herself receiving a little extra encouragement. “If these walls could talk / (They’d say) “Enough” / (They’d say) ‘Give up,’” she sings on the chorus. Meanwhile, De Maere echoes her sentiment, albeit in French, the language of love, highlighting the true tragedy underlying the breakup.
The original version of “These Walls” appears on Dua Lipa’s recently released album Radical Optimism. If it seems like the album title and the theme of the song don’t exactly jive, listen: Sometimes, you have to face facts as they stand before you can make the choice to embrace optimism that things will turn out okay in the end. This point is completely unrelated to current events.
Dua Lipa recently wound up her Radical Optimism tour in the States, but she’s on the second leg in Oceania and Asia. She also taped her debut on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts and went viral for her unusual cocktail recipe.
You can watch the lyric video for “These Walls” above.