Is Camila's New Song "Bam Bam" About Shawn? The Lyrics Mention A Breakup
"You said you hated the ocean, but you're surfin' now."
Camila Cabello is celebrating her 25th birthday with new music. On March 3, aka the star’s birthday, she revealed that her third studio album, Familia, will arrive on April 8. The following day, she dropped a new single with Ed Sheeran, “Bam Bam.” The track marks Cabello’s first release since she announced her breakup with Shawn Mendes in November of last year. Because lyrics in her new hint at the end of a relationship, fans are convinced they’re a reference to her famous ex.
After being friends and collaborators for years, Cabello and Mendes’s relationship turned romantic in July 2019. The couple went on to date for two years before confirming their breakup on Instagram last year.
On March 4, the day Cabello dropped “Bam Bam,” she revealed during an interview with Apple Music 1’ s Zane Lowe that she and Mendes had grown apart due to their priorities shifting.
Though Cabello doesn’t mention Mendes on the track, she seems to reference a breakup in the first half of the song. “You said you hated the ocean, but you're surfin' now / I said I'd love you for life, but I just sold our house,” she sings at the beginning of the track.
Of course, this could be about anybody or even just fictional lyrics, but it’s worth noting that Mendes did post on Instagram in November a photo of himself holding a surfboard. Also, according to an E! report from December, Cabello recently sold her Los Angeles home.
In “Bam Bam,” Cabello also sings, “We were kids at the start, I guess we're grown-ups now / Couldn't never imagine even havin' doubts, but not everything works out, no.” These lyrics definitely seem to be about two people going their separate ways.
But that’s not all she alludes to. During her song’s pre-chorus, the star also seems to mention she thinks about an ex from time to time. “Now I'm out dancin' with strangers. You could be casually datin’,” she sings. “Damn, it's all changin' so fast.”
So, speculation and lyrical interpretation aside, what has Cabello said about the meaning behind the song? In a Instagram post on March 4, the singer said the lyrics are about overcoming hardship.
“This is one of my favorite songs we’ve ever written. Your life doesn’t have to be perfect for you to allow yourself joy,” she wrote. “Even through the heartache, and the confusion, and the messiness…. we keep dancing.”
While the song could have been partly inspired by her relationship with Mendes, it’s clear “Bam Bam” is a song to help listeners get through any difficult situation.
Both “Bam Bam” and Cabello’s previous single “Don’t Go Yet” appear on her upcoming album Familia, which is officially due out on April 8.
