Chappell Roan Explains Why She Cut "The Giver" Bridge's Lyrics

Chappell Roan may be in a giving mood, but she was a bit stingy with one fan-favorite element of her latest single. The pop star finally released her country-tinged jam “The Giver” on March 14, four months after she debuted the WLW anthem on Saturday Night Live last fall. However, one important aspect of the song is missing from the recorded version: the iconic spoken-word bridge.

When Roan surprise-premiered “The Giver” during her Saturday Night Live stint on Nov. 2, she sent a confident message to cocky “country boys” in the song’s bridge. Over the “na na na” background vocals, Roan spoke a two-line bar:

All you country boys saying you know how to treat a woman right / Well, only a woman knows how to treat a woman right

Fans were surprised when these lyrics were absent from the song’s official release months later. Instead of Roan’s short but effective speech, the single’s bridge features only backing vocals.

Immediately, Roan’s fans who had connected to the bridge in the four months of listening to the SNL version mourned the loss of the memorable lyrics.

Thankfully, Roan did offer up an explanation for removing her part from the bridge during a talkback with fans on her Discord channel.

“We tried a lot of different things for the bridge, but it was so f*cking annoying, nothing was working. So I left it blank,” Roan said in a comment. She added an exciting tease, though, saying she has something planned for that part of the song at future performances: “I have a surprise for when I do it live.”

While Roan shared that she doesn’t think she can “legally” ever release the version of “The Giver” with the SNL-specific lyrics, she did state that she’s considered the idea of changing up the words to the bridge at different concerts. From that remark, it sounds like Roan’s “The Giver” bridge could become the new Sabrina Carpenter “Nonsense” outros — which means you’re not going to want to miss Roan’s next tour.