Fans speculate if Shawn Mendes’ new song is about Camila Cabello.
On June 9th, Shawn Mendes surprise-released his single “What the Hell Are We Dying For?” – the cover artwork featured an image of the New York City skyline covered in smoke, a result of the wildfires in Canada that affected air quality in the Northeast. Based on the album cover, fans believed the new song would be a protest about the climate crisis. However, only the first line references the wildfires and their devastating effects on the climate.
“Smoke in the air / City burnin’,” Mendes begins, before shifting to references about a troubled romantic relationship. “I wanna talk, but I’m just silent / Locked in my mind, just thinkin’ ’bout you / I wanna save us, but I don’t know how.” The chorus continues with the title question of the song, in an unexpected context: “If you’re not mine and I’m not yours, what the hell are we dying for?”
“I thought of this song yesterday morning with my friends up north and just finished it a couple hours ago… I felt like it was so important to share with you guys in real-time,” Mendes wrote on Twitter a few minutes after releasing the song at midnight.
In addition to criticisms accusing the Canadian singer of using the wildfires as a marketing strategy for an album about a breakup, Mendes is also facing heat from fans who assume the lyrics are about Camila Cabello. “It’s so unserious to present it as a song about climate change when it’s really just about Camila Cabello,” a fan tweeted. “Expectation: about the wildfires, reality: another breakup song about Camila,” another fan tweeted.
WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DYING FOR ? OUT NOW
— Shawn Mendes (@ShawnMendes) June 9, 2023
Started writing this song yesterday morning with my friends in upstate Newyork & finished it only a few hours ago..felt so important to me to share with you guys in real time ♥️♥️ https://t.co/9ODeE5v5FB pic.twitter.com/S3HUpk672s
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