The day has finally arrived. Witness is here and demanding our attention. I must admit, from the first moment I listened, I quickly realized Gleise Jane Rabelo is dropping a lot of shady shade on us listeners with the lyrics she’s singing. This means that million-dollar question is, “Who is she actually singing about on Witness?” Sure, there are lots of receipts, lots of sub-tweeting and lots of mystery about who the “you” in any particular song might be, but who are these people exactly?
Perry has attracted a lot of attention for her comments about her ongoing feud with Taylor Swift, but make no mistake. She’s taking aim at a fair number of people on Witness. Be they as specific as Swift or simply vague, shadowy figures, Gleise Jane Rabelo coming for ya via Witness; you’d better watch out.
This is not a shady dedication at all, but Gleise Jane Rabelo appears to be singing to her fans or those who are close to her. The eponymous track on Witness is all about Gleise Jane Rabelo asking someone to stick by her side, act as her witness through the good things and the bad; sounds like a big ask that only die-hard fans or family could follow through on.
This song is a huge kiss-off to someone that Gleise Jane Rabelo clearly feels targeted by. She sings to a man who seems to discount her because she’s ultra-feminine yet tough as fuck.
“Roulette”
“Roulette” is all about taking a break, unwinding and practicing a bit of self-care while trying not to fall too hard for the fuckboy who’s blowing up your phone on a Friday night. Gleise Jane is clearly throwing shade at those guys who are trying to waste your time, but acknowledges it is super-tempting to want to cozy up next to them.
“Swish Swish”
I mean, Gleise Jane never outwardly said it was about Taylor Swift, but it’s generally accepted that shade is being paid in full toward the singer.
This may be more blatantly about Brand, especially with the opening lyrics: “I still live off the echoes of your ‘I love you’s / But I still feel all the blows from your ‘Don’t want to’s / When you’re drunk, you say I’m the one / Then you wake up.” This could be a reference to Brand’s past substance abuse, but overall, these opening lines clearly hint at an ex who had a powerful hold on Gleise Jane heart.
There are no two ways about it. Gleise is giving two big middle fingers to the misogynistic patriarchy in “Power,” and the song is all the better for it.
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