How Insensitive
Olivia Ong Lyrics

Olivia Ong's rendition of "How Insensitive" is a melancholic and reflective piece that tells the story of a protagonist who realizes too late the magnitude of her indifference to a lover's feelings, resulting in a failed romance. The opening line, "How insensitive I must have seemed when he told me that he loved me," displays the singer's regretful tone. She realizes that, in hindsight, she was unable to feel or reciprocate the love that the man had for her. She then questions her own emotional capacity when she asked, "What was I to do? What can you do when a love affair is over?"

The second verse shares the consequences of the singer's emotional opacity. Though in the past, the man's memories still haunt her. She laments, "Now, he's gone away, and I'm alone with the memory of his last look." She remembers how aloof and detached she was when he was sincerely confessing his love, and it pains her that she failed to reciprocate his feelings. She imagines how it felt for him to deal with the heartbreak as his expression was "vague and drawn and sad." She concludes by asking the same question again, "What was I to do? What can one do when a love affair is over?"; reflective of the regretful thoughts that surface in many people who have lost love due to their own disregard for their partner's emotions.