They said, "We just want to talk with you""We just want to walk you through" oh

Let's paint our nails and keep it real'Cause honey all I know is what I feelI'm still looking for a friend of a friendHe said he'd hook me up, he told me what he had

They say, "Leave your body, leave your mindDon't you know you're out of time?"

In his room, in his bedYou can't hear what he saidLooks like dirt, tastes like trashHoney, I know you could float right past, oh, oh

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Oh, I don't want to see meI wanna be trapped in you

Oh, I don't want to be meBut I'm gonna pretend for you, oh

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The lyrics to Alex G's song "Pretend" convey a sense of internal turmoil and a desire to escape oneself. The opening lines, "Gonna crack a rib when I get home, I'm gonna bury you in my favorite hole," suggest a destructive tendency to self-harm as a way to cope with emotional pain. The following line, "I made a bloody mess in the kitchen sink, I tried to fix myself but I didn't think," reveals a sense of desperation and a failed attempt at finding solace or healing.

The lines, "They said, 'We just want to talk with you,' 'We just want to walk you through,'" hint at the presence of external voices or influences attempting to reach out and offer support. However, the singer's resistance to facing themselves is evident in the repeated phrase, "Oh, I don't want to see me, I wanna be trapped in you. Oh, I don't want to be me, but I'm gonna pretend for you."

The second verse introduces a theme of seeking connection and companionship. The line, "Let's paint our nails and keep it real, 'cause honey all I know is what I feel," suggests a desire for authentic connections, despite the singer's struggle to understand themselves. The mention of a "friend of a friend" and the anticipation of being "hooked up" with something or someone echoes a longing for external validation and escape from their own thoughts and feelings.

The chorus repeats the internal conflict of wanting to escape oneself and pretending for others. The bridge offers a glimpse into a potentially toxic relationship, with the lines, "In his room, in his bed, you can't hear what he said, looks like dirt, tastes like trash. Honey, I know you could float right past." This imagery implies a sense of being trapped, feeling unheard, and a realization that the relationship may not be healthy or fulfilling.