by Olivia Dean · 2024
The song “A Couple Minutes” by Olivia Dean is about a brief, bittersweet reunion with an ex, reflecting on past love, lingering care, and accepting moving on while cherishing the meaningful connection they once shared.
This song has been Shazamed over 81,455 times. As of this writing, A Couple Minutes is ranked 145
‘A Couple Minutes’ by Olivia Dean is a soulful song about meeting someone from your past and feeling all the emotions come rushing back. We’re going to look at what makes this song special and what Olivia Dean is really saying in her lyrics. ⬇️
The atmosphere is wistful, gentle, and tinged with nostalgia, as if you’re peeking into a quiet, late-night conversation. Dean sketches a fleeting reunion between two people who once shared a deep connection but now must face the reality of moving on.
️ The chorus is like the emotional heartbeat of the song, pulsing with bittersweet acceptance and gentle vulnerability. “Back on your sofa / Of course I still care / Love’s never wasted when it’s shared”—these lines ache with recognition that love, though over, still lingers warmly in the heart. We’re reminded that some feelings never truly leave, even when we’re forced to return to “real life” and let go all over again.
In the verses, Dean paints tiny portraits of change—“Since when are you smoking now?”—and reveals how time has shifted both herself and her former love. The line, “If I’m being real, no, it ain’t been the same,” crackles with honesty, exposing the raw aftermath of heartbreak and the subtle hope found in acceptance. There’s beauty in the pause, the silence, the way she says, “I think I’m fine with the silence,” as if she’s convincing herself as much as us.
The bridge pulses with release: “In your heart, every part of me, we’ll let go and let it start to be.” Here, Dean isn’t just saying goodbye; she’s giving permission for the memory to settle, to become a gentle presence instead of a sharp ache, letting love transform instead of disappear.
The heart of ‘A Couple Minutes’ is that sometimes, the most meaningful goodbyes are the ones that quietly honor what was, cherishing love not as something lost but as something that shaped us—just for a couple minutes, and maybe forever.
Writer(s) of A Couple Minutes:
