What does "Break My Heart" by Dua Lipa mean?

“Break My Heart” Lyrics Meaning

Dua Lipa told Apple Music that she wrote “Break My Heart” about “finally being in a happy place and knowing this new person is amazing. But then thinking: ‘Nothing else compares to this, and what if this ends and it breaks my heart?’ It’s the whole thing of being scared to be too happy, like when your day is going really well and you think, ‘What’s the one thing that’s going to f**k it up?’” 

“Are you falling?” 

The lyrics of “Break My Heart” paint a picture of someone just beginning to get serious in a relationship. As Dua Lipa has a revelation of how much she cares for this person, the doubts and fears come crashing in. She wonders if something this good can last, and if he’s falling for her as much as she is for him. As she lets him into her life and her heart, she considers how easily and deeply he could hurt her. Although she says in the lyrics that she has been in serious relationships before, she believes that breaking up with him would break her heart in ways she hasn’t yet experienced. 

(Note: While this post will be referring to Dua Lipa, many artists use their creative freedom to write songs that do not 100% reflect how they think or feel, and instead embody a character. That’s part of the beauty of music. In this case, it’s clear that she has a personal connection to the song, so it’s likely that most if not all of the lyrics do ring true for her, but we still want to be respectful of the privacy of a real person’s emotions. Sp when this post refers to Dua Lipa, it is only in the context of what she is singing in the lyrics.)

Verse 1

I've always been the one to say the first goodbye
Had to love and lose a hundred million times
Had to get it wrong to know just what I like
Now I'm falling
You say my name like I have never heard before
I'm indecisive, but, this time, I know for sure
I hope I'm not the only one that feels it all
Are you falling?

She sets the scene by letting us know that this isn’t her first relationship. She’s “had to love and lose” romantic partners many times in the past. Something about them never fully clicked for her, and she believes she had to “get it wrong to know” what she likes in a relationship. In the past, she was the one to “say the first goodbye” and end things. Now, that’s the last thing she wants. She’s uncertain about other things in her life, but she has no doubts about her feelings for him. 

Pre-Chorus

Center of attention
You know you can get whatever you want from me
Whenever you want it, baby
It's you in my reflection
I'm afraid of all the things it could do to me
If I would've known it, baby

“Center of attention” could mean that he’s a popular person, but it likely means that he is the center of her attention. She would give him anything he wants or needs. “It’s you in my reflection” is an interesting line, and it can be taken a couple different ways. Symbolically, it can mean that she sees herself in him, and that they have very similar personalities. Literally, she could be describing how when she gets ready in the morning, she can see him in the mirror beside her. She can feel the way he’s taken hold of her heart and she’s “afraid of all the things it could do” to her if they part ways. 

Chorus

I would've stayed at home
‘Cause I was doing better alone
But when you said, "Hello"
I knew that was the end of it all
I should've stayed at home
'Cause now there ain't no letting you go
Am I falling in love with the one that could break my heart?

Here, we see Dua Lipa’s battling emotions as she entertains the idea that being alone would be better than worrying about losing him. While it’s clear she doesn’t mean it, she says she “should have stayed at home” the day she met him, because from the first time he spoke, she knew she wouldn’t be able to go on with her life as it was before. Now, there’s “no letting [him] go,” which makes her feel vulnerable. Because of the intensity and depth of her connection with him, she asks herself if she’s falling in love with someone who could truly break her heart. 

Verse 2

I wonder, when you go, if I stay on your mind
Two can play that game, but you win me every time
Everyone before you was a waste of time
Yeah, you got me

She wonders if he has the same thoughts and feelings that she does. They both might be capable of pretending like they aren’t falling for each other, but she knows she won’t be able to do it for long before her true affection comes to the surface. It doesn’t seem like pretending is something they do often in their relationship based on the way she describes it in the rest of the lyrics. The fact that she says that he “wins [her]” when she lets her true feelings out, implies that he feels the same way she does. 

Deeper Meaning of “Break My Heart” by Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa’s “Break My Heart” is about vulnerability and love. Loving someone and realizing that they can hurt you is a scary thing, especially when you have something incredible with them that you don’t want to lose. The upbeat undertone of this song indicates that despite the worry that can come with a relationship getting serious, it’s worth it.