Rexha released two additional EPs in 2017, All Your Fault: Pt. 1 and All Your Fault: Pt. 2, which again saw the moderate success of the singles "I Got You" and "The Way I Are (Dance with Somebody)". Rexha has also seen success with several collaborations including "Hey Mama" with David Guetta, Nicki Minaj and Afrojack, "Me, Myself & I" with G-Eazy, "In the Name of Love" with Martin Garrix, and "Meant to Be" with Florida Georgia Line, the latter of which had large success as a country crossover single, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. Rexha's debut studio album, Expectations (2018), reached number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States and saw the success of its lead single, "I'm a Mess", and brought Rexha two nominations for Best New Artist and Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 61st Grammy Awards. Rexha released her second studio album, Better Mistakes, in 2021.
Sweet Beginnings
Bebe Rexha Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
First date, pretty face but he's dumb as hell
He's dumb as hell
It's like choking on a LifeSaver
Like a firehouse burning to the ground
Burning to the ground
And I keep running, running circles, circles tryna understand
And I keep running, running circles, circles tryna figure out
Why this life is not what I thought it'd be
I wanna go back to the sweet beginnings
When I was young and full of innocence
I wanna go back to complete surrender of you
The sweet beginnings
It's like you're allergic to your medication
Meant to make you better, but it makes you worse
It makes you worse
It's like dying in your own living room
Like a U-Haul following behind a hearse
We all turn to dirt
And I keep running, running circles, tryna understand
Why this life is not what I thought it'd be
I wanna go back to the sweet beginnings
When I was young and full of innocence
I wanna go back to complete surrender of you
The sweet beginnings
The sweet beginnings
The sweet beginnings
Surrender of you
Surrender of you
I wanna go back to the sweet beginnings
When I was young and full of innocence
I wanna go back to complete surrender of you
The sweet beginnings
I wanna go back to the sweet beginnings
When I was young and full of innocence
I wanna go back to complete surrender of you
The sweet beginnings
The sweet beginnings
The sweet beginnings
The sweet beginnings
The opening lyrics of "Sweet Beginnings" by Bebe Rexha liken a failed relationship to "bed bugs in a 5 star hotel"; uncomfortable and uninvited. The song describes a relationship that started off with promise but ended in disappointment, with lyrics like "First date, pretty face but he's dumb as hell," and "It's like choking on a LifeSaver." Throughout the song, Rexha vocalizes her confusion and disappointment about the direction her life has taken, with lyrics like "Why the dreams I die for are now killin' me" and "Why this life is not what I thought it'd be." The chorus hook emphasizes her desire to go back to the "sweet beginnings," when she was young and innocent and the world seemed full of promise.
Rexha's lyrics highlight both the pain of a failed relationship and the disillusionment that many people feel as they navigate adulthood. The repeated image of "running circles" emphasizes the feeling of being stuck and unable to move forward. The desire to return to a time when things were simpler and less complicated is a common theme in popular music, and here it functions as a call to the listener to remember that, despite their own struggles, they too once had "sweet beginnings."
Line by Line Meaning
It's like bed bugs in a 5 star hotel
Something looks amazing but as you dig deeper, you find major flaws
First date, pretty face but he's dumb as hell
Physical attraction is not enough when the other person lacks intelligence
It's like choking on a LifeSaver
When something meant to save your life only makes it worse
Like a firehouse burning to the ground
Even an institution meant to save people can fail miserably
And I keep running, running circles, circles tryna understand
Why the dreams I die for are now killin' me
Trying to make sense of why pursuing her dreams is causing her harm
And I keep running, running circles, circles tryna figure out
Why this life is not what I thought it'd be
Trying to understand why life has not turned out the way she envisioned
I wanna go back to the sweet beginnings
When I was young and full of innocence
I wanna go back to complete surrender of you
The sweet beginnings
Longing for a time when life was simpler, and she felt safe giving herself fully to someone she loved
It's like you're allergic to your medication
Meant to make you better, but it makes you worse
It makes you worse
The very thing that is meant to help can cause more harm than good
It's like dying in your own living room
Like a U-Haul following behind a hearse
We all turn to dirt
Death can catch us off-guard no matter where we are or what we're doing
Contributed by Kaitlyn I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.