XO
Kelsea Ballerini Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

You might be sitting there holding my hand
You might be acting like you're my man
While we listen to the cover band,
Thinking you're a rockstar,
Singing my favorite song
Trying to cover up the fact that the girl from your past
Hasn't been here all along
You're still in love with your ex, oh
And I ain't one to be nobody's second best, no
Stop holding onto me when the truth is you can't let go
I think we both know
I'm looking in your eyes and I can see just what you're doing
Baby, I'm the one you're losing, you can't help it
You keep choosing your ex, oh

Well I might be platinum blond, but I ain't dumb
Baby, I see you're here with me, but you ain't moved on
Sitting in the middle of a flame still burning,
Boy, I ain't your match
You can stop all the pretending 'cause when this night's ending
You're still gonna want her back

You're still in love with your ex, oh
And I ain't one to be nobody's second best, no
Stop holding onto me when the truth is you can't let go
I think we both know
I'm looking in your eyes and I can see just what you're doing
Baby, I'm the one you're losing, you can't help it
You keep choosing your ex, oh

You're still in love with your

Yeah, you're still in love with your ex, oh
And I ain't one to be nobody's second best, no
Stop holding onto me when the truth is you can't let go
I think we both know
Yeah, I think we both know

You're still in love with your ex, oh
And I ain't one to be nobody's second best, no
Stop holding onto me when the truth is you can't let go
I think we both know
I'm looking in your eyes and I can see just what you're doing
Baby, I'm the one you're losing, you can't help it
You keep choosing your ex, oh

You're still in love with your ex




You're still in love with your ex
You're still in love with your ex

Overall Meaning

The song "XO" by Kelsea Ballerini talks about being in a relationship with someone who is still in love with their ex, but continues to hold onto the current relationship. The song starts by saying, "You might be sitting there holding my hand, You might be acting like you're my man" which portrays the fact that the current relationship is going on, but the love and feelings of the other person are for someone else. In the next verse, Ballerini mentions, "Trying to cover up the fact that the girl from your past, hasn't been here all along" meaning that trying to forget the past and cover it up by being in a new relationship isn't the solution, as the old feelings still persist.


In the chorus, the tone of the song changes, and she sings, "You're still in love with your ex, oh, And I ain't one to be nobody's second best, no, Stop holding onto me when the truth is you can't let go, I think we both know..." which makes it clear that she knows what's going on and isn't willing to be a rebound or a second option. The song ends with Ballerini stating that the person is still in love with their ex and that they keep choosing them, which means that she is ready to move on and let go of the relationship.


Overall, the song "XO" is about the pain of feeling like the second option and how one can't force themselves to feel things they don't. It depicts an emotional dilemma that's relatable to many people, making it a popular country song.


Line by Line Meaning

You might be sitting there holding my hand
You are physically here with me, but emotionally you are somewhere else


You might be acting like you're my man
You are pretending to be committed to me, but your heart is with someone else


While we listen to the cover band,
We may be surrounded by music and a crowd, but it doesn't change our underlying emotions


Thinking you're a rockstar,
You might feel confident and in control, but deep down you know you're not really happy


Singing my favorite song
You're trying to please me and show affection, but it's not authentic


Trying to cover up the fact that the girl from your past
You're trying to hide the truth from me that you're still in love with someone else


Hasn't been here all along
The girl you really love has not been by your side, but she's still in your heart


You're still in love with your ex, oh
You haven't moved on from your past love


And I ain't one to be nobody's second best, no
I won't settle for being a substitute or an afterthought


Stop holding onto me when the truth is you can't let go
It's selfish of you to hold onto me when you know you're not fully committed


I think we both know
We both understand the reality of the situation


I'm looking in your eyes and I can see just what you're doing
I can read your body language and see through your actions


Baby, I'm the one you're losing, you can't help it
You're losing me because you can't control your true feelings


You keep choosing your ex, oh
You keep making the wrong decision to prioritize your past love


Well I might be platinum blond, but I ain't dumb
I may have a certain appearance, but I'm not oblivious or ignorant


Baby, I see you're here with me, but you ain't moved on
You're physically here, but emotionally you're still attached to someone else


Sitting in the middle of a flame still burning,
We're surrounded by passion and desire, but it's not enough to keep us together


Boy, I ain't your match
I'm not the right person for you and we're not meant to be together


You can stop all the pretending 'cause when this night's ending
We can't keep pretending because eventually the truth will come out


You're still gonna want her back
You'll realize that you still love your ex and want to be with her




Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Catt Gravitt, Gerald O'brien, Kelsea Ballerini

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

James

You might be sitting there holding my hand
You might be acting like you're my man
While we listen to the cover band,
Thinking you're a rockstar,
Singing my favorite song
Trying to cover up the fact that the girl from your past
Hasn't been here all along
You're still in love with your ex, oh
And I ain't one to be nobody's second best, no
Stop holding onto me when the truth is you can't let go
I think we both know
I'm looking in your eyes and I can see just what you're doing
Baby, I'm the one you're losing, you can't help it
You keep choosing your ex, oh
Well I might be platinum blond, but I ain't dumb
Baby, I see you're here with me, but you ain't moved on
Sitting in the middle of a flame still burning,
Boy, I ain't your match
You can stop all the pretending 'cause when this night's ending
You're still gonna want her back
You're still in love with your ex, oh
And I ain't one to be nobody's second best, no
Stop holding onto me when the truth is you can't let go
I think we both know
I'm looking in your eyes and I can see just what you're doing
Baby, I'm the one you're losing, you can't help it
You keep choosing your ex, oh
You're still in love with your
Yeah, you're still in love with your ex, oh
And I ain't one to be nobody's second best, no
Stop holding onto me when the truth is you can't let go
I think we both know
Yeah, I think we both know
You're still in love with your ex, oh
And I ain't one to be nobody's second best, no
Stop holding onto me when the truth is you can't let go
I think we both know
I'm looking in your eyes and I can see just what you're doing
Baby, I'm the one you're losing, you can't help it
You keep choosing your ex, oh
You're still in love with your ex
You're still in love with your ex
You're still in love with your ex



All comments from YouTube:

Shannon Crosby

I love this song. Definitely different that what Kelsea's been doing but an AWESOME different. This is my favorite song from her whole album. By far

SummerWest VEVO

This will shoit ger into the pop scene!

Samantha Jane

better then any rap song

Curtis Grant

The micro aggression and obsession is insane

Kareyonna Davidson

@Bethany and Echo especially mumble rap

Samantha Jane

@123rockfan yo that comment was from 4 years wgo

123rockfan

Well that’s pretty narrow minded

Kareyonna Davidson

I wish my class would think this too

2 More Replies...

Elizabeth Slater

heard this song in concert and its been stuck in my head since

M's Tracy

@_Alexi17 _ .........................................................................
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