Olivia Rodrigo explains deeper meaning behind her Maggots for Brains lyrics
13 June 2026, 11:26 | Updated: 13 June 2026, 11:31
What are Olivia Rodrigo's 'Maggots for Brains' lyrics about? Here's what she's said about the song and how it relates to Miranda and Steve from Sex and the City.
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If you've listened to Olivia Rodrigo's 'Maggots for Brains', you might be wondering what the lyrics have to do with Sex and the City. Well, thankfully Olivia has explained exactly how Miranda and Steve inspired the track.
It's no secret that Olivia is a massive Sex and the City fan. Appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Olivia revealed that multiple songs on her you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love were inspired by both Miranda and Steve. She said: "It's my favourite show. I love Sex and the City. I think I've watched every episode three times."
Now, her new album is out, Olivia has opened up about her 'Maggots for Brains' lyrics and the meaning behind them.
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What are Olivia Rodrigo's 'Maggots for Brains' lyrics about?
What does 'Maggots for Brains' mean?
The term 'maggots for brains' is a direct spin on the idiom 'worms for brains'. If you have 'maggots for brains', you act foolishly and irrationally. In the song, Olivia says she has 'maggots for brains' when her "baby is away". By switching the word 'worms' for 'maggots', Olivia appears to be emphasise exactly how much her behaviour changes.
In verse two, Olivia sings: Everything feels mouldy like the fruit that's in my fridge / And everything that's funny, I wish I could tell to him / And sometimes, at a low point, I even wish for tragedy / 'Causе I know he'd come over and takе real good care of me.
Describing the Sex and the City link, Olivia told Jimmy Fallon: "When Miranda and Steve are getting back together, she's crying and she's like, 'Steve anytime something funny happens, I just want to tell you'."
She added: "I remember watching that and being like, 'Oh my God. I have to write a song about it.'"
Discussing the song on the New York Times' Popcast, Olivia said that it's one of her "favourite songs" on the album: "I think that when we made that one, sonically, I was like, 'Oh, yeah, this feels right and this feels like the point in time that I’m at.'"
She said that it's her alternative take on rock music: "Making that song was like, 'Okay, I kind of figured out what I wanted the sound to be or what was gonna be different about this record.'"
Olivia Rodrigo - 'Maggots for Brains' lyrics
VERSE 1
My day is so mundane, I don't think I left the house
Drank a pot of coffee, tried to write, nothing came out
Somehow, it's the weekend, I'm still bored out of my skull
And I went to the party but only on principle
PRE-CHORUS
Empty, who can leave?
CHORUS
I'm a zombie in my body, I'm a train off of the track
I feel dirty, I feel rotten, and the colors are all flat
I'm a sad shell of a woman, and I've got maggots for brains
But that's just a thing that happens
When my, when my baby goes away
POST-CHORUS
When my baby goes away
He goes away
VERSE 2
Everything feels moldy like the fruit that's in my fridge
And everything that's funny, I wish I could tell to him
And sometimes, at a low point, I even wish for tragedy
'Causе I know he'd come over and takе real good care of me
PRE-CHORUS
It's so weird (Oh), he's not here (Oh)
CHORUS
I'm a zombie in my body, I'm a train off of the track
I feel dirty, I feel rotten, and the colors are all flat
I'm a sad shell of a woman, and I've got maggots for brains
But that's just a thing that happens
When my, when my baby goes away
POST-CHORUS
When my baby goes away
He goes away, oh
BRIDGE
What can I do but think of you?
But think of you? (But think of you?)
What can I do but think of you? (What can I do?)
But think of you? (But think of)
CHORUS
I'm a zombie in my body, I'm a train off of the track
I feel dirty, I feel rotten, and the colors are all flat
I'm a sad shell of a woman, and I've got maggots for brains
But that's just a thing that happens
When my, when my baby goes away
POST-CHORUS
What can I do (When my baby goes away) but think of you?
But think of you? (Away, when my baby goes away)
What can I do (When my baby goes away) but think of you?
But think of you? (Away)
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