drivers license is the first single and third track on Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR. It is a possible love ode about Rodrigo moving on from her previous relationship with Joshua Bassett, who is now supposedly dating Sabrina Carpenter, by doing the one last thing that she promised him—getting a driver’s license. The song showcases a brilliant balance of unfiltered outpouring and graceful specificity. Its accompanying music video spins a vivid portrait of Rodrigo as she drives aimlessly, longing for an ex–love.

The song was teased several times before its release in January 2021. On July 23, 2020, Olivia posted a snippet of the song on Instagram with the caption “wrote dis the other day. vv close to my heart. gonna call it drivers license I think lol.” She then posted another two snippets in December 2020, captioning them with “soon” and “sooner.” On January 4, 2021, she announced the song as her debut single.

lyrics

I got my driver’s license last week
Just like we always talked about
‘Cause you were so excited for me
To finally drive up to your house
But today, I drove through the suburbs
Crying ’cause you weren’t around

And you’re probably with that blonde girl
Who always made me doubt
She’s so much older than me
She’s everything I’m insecure about
Yeah, today, I drove through the suburbs
‘Cause how could I ever love someone else?

And I know we weren’t perfect
But I’ve never felt this way for no one
And I just can’t imagine
How you could be so okay now that I’m gone
Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me
‘Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street

And all my friends are tired
Of hearing how much I miss you, but
I kinda feel sorry for them
‘Cause they’ll never know you the way that I do
Yeah, today, I drove through the suburbs
And pictured I was driving home to you

And I know we weren’t perfect
But I’ve never felt this way for no one, oh
And I just can’t imagine
How you could be so okay now that I’m gone
I guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me
‘Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street

Red lights, stop signs
I still see your face in the white cars, front yards
Can’t drive past the places we used to go to
‘Cause I still fuckin’ love you, babe
(Ooh, ooh–ooh, ooh, ooh–ooh)
Sidewalks we crossed
I still hear your voice in the traffic, we’re laughing
Over all the noise
God, I’m so blue, know we’re through
But I still fuckin’ love you, babe
(Ooh, ooh–ooh, ooh, ooh–ooh)

I know we weren’t perfect
But I’ve never felt this way for no one
And I just can’t imagine
How you could be so okay now that I’m gone
Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me
‘Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street

Yeah, you said forever,
Now I drive alone past your street

olivia on ‘drivers license’

When I came up with drivers license I was going through a heartbreak that was so confusing to me, so multifaceted… Putting all those feelings into a song made everything seem so much simpler and clearer – and at the end of the day, I think that’s really the whole purpose of songwriting. There’s nothing like sitting at the piano in my bedroom and writing a really sad song. It’s truly my favorite thing in the world.

To me, drivers license was never one of those songs that I would think: ‘It’s a hit song.’ It’s just a little slice of my heart, this really sad song. It was really cool for me to see evidence of how authenticity and vulnerability really connect with people. And everyone always says that, but you really never know. So many grown men will come up to me and be like, ‘Yo, I’m happily married with three kids, but that song brought me back to my high school breakup.’ Which is so cool, to be able to affect not only people who are going through the same thing as you, but to bring them back to a time where they were going through the same thing as you are. That’s just surreal, a songwriter’s dream.

I actually wrote this song after listening to one of my favourite artists’ new EP. Her name is Gracie Abrams and the EP is called minor. It was so great, I was so inspired, I literally just drove around my neighbourhood listening to it for like an hour and I was so moved that I went home and I wrote this song which I really love, and it is very much inspired by her style of songwriting, so thanks, Gracie!

I wrote it about six months ago. I was aimlessly driving around my neighbourhood listening to sad music and bringing up these emotions I hadn’t felt in a while. I’d just got my license, so I was relishing my freedom. When I got home, I sat down at the piano – and I love songs that feel like a diary entry and are confessional – so I took some lyrics from my diary and went from there. I wrote the first two verses and the chorus, then my producer and I wrote the bridge together, which is my favourite part of the song. It was a painless process.

lyric video

music video