Released: 2021
Features: Jonas Brothers
“Leave Before You Love Me” by Marshmello and Jonas Brothers is like a road-trip pop anthem for commitment-phobes. The song kicks off with a rush, drawing a picture of someone who’s always on the move, fleeing from something or, in this case, someone. It’s about finding yourself unable to commit, despite the allure of a romantic connection.
The first lines, “I see you calling / I didn’t wanna leave you like that,” shows the guilt the protagonist feels for leaving but also their inability to respond to the romantic call. Next, “It’s five in the morning, yeah, yeah / A hundred on the dash / ‘Cause my wheels are rolling,” paints us an image: a late-night escape, just one of many.
The chorus, “Dancing on the edge, ’bout to take it too far / It’s messing with my head, how I mess with your heart / If you wake up in your bed, alone in the dark / I’m sorry, gotta leave before you love me,” brings home the theme. It’s this fear of emotional intimacy and the danger it poses – the ‘edge’ here symbolically represents that; they’re messing with emotions they’re not ready for, which could lead to heartbreak. The apology is both a regret for not being able to give what the other deserves and a warning of the heartache that would undoubtedly follow.
The second verse has a self-awareness to it, “I’m so good at knowing / Of when to leave the party behind / Don’t care if they notice, yeah, yeah, no / I’ll just catch a ride.” The protagonist acknowledges their own fickle nature and preference for solitude over getting emotionally entangled with someone.
The line, “Yeah, I’m the type to get naked / Won’t give my heart up for breaking / ‘Cause I’m too gone to be stayin’, stayin’,” really hammers in that this is someone who can’t be tied down. It’s a protective measure, a barrier they put up against the risk of getting their heart broken.
Overall, “Leave Before You Love Me” paints a vivid portrait of a restless soul battling between desire and fear of commitment, leaving us with this hauntingly beautiful pop melody that hits all the right chords of a bittersweet love story.
