Fairytale
Gabby Sophia Lyrics

Another villain defeated in the story
Just another instance of the common trope in fairy tales where the bad guy is ultimately vanquished

Another hero who needs to get his glory
There's always a hero in the tale, who sometimes goes out of his way to ensure he's recognized as such

So he took it on himself to conquer him by morning
The hero decides it's up to him, and him alone, to defeat the villain quickly and efficiently

But what if he's not the bad guy?
What if the villain isn't really a villain after all?

The voice was taken from the mermaid
A nod to 'The Little Mermaid' where Ariel loses her voice and, as a result, her freedom

But what if she stole it in the first place
Though the mermaid is made out to be an innocent victim, what if she actually took the voice from someone else?

And they believed her because of her pretty face
The mermaid gets away with her deception because she's physically attractive, and people tend to believe good-looking individuals

Maybe she's the one to blame
Perhaps, after all, the mermaid is at fault for her own predicament

What if the bad guy wasn't the bad guy?
The song raises the possibility of the villain not actually being villainous

What if the hero wasn't really good?
Similarly, what if the hero, who's typically portrayed as heroic, isn't really all that good?

What if the damsel in distress was living her life
What if the damsel in distress was actually doing just fine and didn't need saving in the first place?

And he took her away from the one she loved?
The hero swoops in and steals the damsel away, potentially causing heartbreak for her previous love interest

And what if prince charming poisoned sleeping beauty
A hypothetical situation where the prince turns out to be a villain who poisons a helpless Sleeping Beauty

And what if fairytales don't have happy endings
An important question - are fairy tales always supposed to have happy endings?

What if they end up in war?
A potential consequence if the 'good' and 'bad' characters don't get along, suggesting there's always history, conflict and violence between groups of people

I guess the beast ended up alright in the end
A reference to Beauty and the Beast, where the Beast ultimately transforms into a prince and lives happily ever after

But what if the enchantress messed with their heads?
But what if the enchantress who turned him into a beast had ulterior motives and played mind games with the characters involved?

Maybe she made them all hate him
Maybe the enchantress manipulated those around the Beast to make them hate him

What if he was always kind?
What if the Beast was actually always kind, and the characters and readers were wrong to judge him so harshly?

And it was just their state of mind?
Perhaps, if they had been more open-minded and not so quick to judge, they might have seen the Beast's true nature sooner

What if the bad guy wasn't the bad guy?
The same question as before, reflecting the song's theme of challenging the simplistic nature of character and plot archetypes

What if the hero wasn't really good?
Yet again, the song's theme that our assumptions about characters can often be too simplistic

What if the damsel in distress was living her life
Again, a challenging of a story arc that is so central to many fairy tales

And he took her away from the one she loved?
The same idea as before, suggesting that the hero might not always be who we should root for

And what if prince charming poisoned sleeping beauty
The same 'what if' question as before: what if the prince wasn't all he seemed?

And what if fairytales don't have happy endings
The same question as before, continuing to ask whether happy endings are a universal requirement in fairy tales

What if they end up in war?
The same reflection on conflict as before - how necessary is it in fairy tales?

What if the bad guy wasn't the bad guy?
A repetition of the same key idea throughout the song

(Oh he wasn't so bad)
Suggests a more optimistic approach to the villains in fairy tales - perhaps they're not as bad as they're made out to be?

What if the hero wasn't really good?
A repetition of the question of whether heroes are always heroic after all

(He wasn't really good)
A negative answer to the question, suggesting there is grey enough that sometimes the hero might be more of a villain

What if the damsel in distress was living her life
The same challenge to a narrative trope as previous times this line has been used

(She was living her life)
A positive acknowledgement that a female character was, for once, not completely helpless

And he took her away from the one she loved?
A restatement of an earlier refrain - what if the hero's actions were not always heroic?

(From the one that she loved)
A call for acknowledging a supporting character who has been wrongfully overlooked due to tropes about the importance of the hero

What if prince charming poisoned sleeping beauty
The same disturbing question, exploring the idea that fairy tales are not always as simple and as happy as typically presented

Cuz she rejected him a moment before?
An additional implication of the prince's evil nature - that he has issues with rejection and lashes out as a result

And what if fairytales don't have happy endings
The same challenging of a stereotypical ending

(No happy endings)
A bleak statement, suggesting that sometimes life doesn't turn out the way we want it to, and sometimes stories are no different

What if they end up in war?
The same reflection on the potential for war in stories that don't end happily

War
A somber reminder of the darker side of human history and conflict, and a call for empathy and understanding in situations where there might not be an obvious 'good guy' or 'bad guy'