"Lose Control" by Teddy Swims: Song Analysis & Interpretation

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The meaning of the hit song, in Teddy Swims's own words

Co-authored by Dev Murphy, MA

Last Updated: November 26, 2025 Fact Checked

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Song Meaning

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Lyrics Analyzed

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Song Origins

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Critical Reception

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Other Song Analyses

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Video

Unless you're living under a rock, you've probably heard (and loved) Teddy Swims's 2023 soul hit "Lose Control." But with lyrics like "Feels like the walls are all closing in / And the devil's knocking at my door" and "When I'm with you, I'm an addict," you might be wondering what Swims is actually singing about. We're here to help: we took a deep dive into the meaning of "Lose Control," including what Teddy Swims himself has to say about why he wrote the song. Keep reading for the full scoop!

What is "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims about?

According to Teddy Swims, "Lose Control" is about being in a toxic relationship: "Being in love can be like an addiction sometimes—always chasing the highs from the lows." It's also about Swims's and his ex-partner's real-life experience with drug addiction: "We were enabling each other in a lot of ways to not grow."

Section 1 of 5:

"Lose Control" Song Meaning

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"Lose Control" is about Swims's toxic relationship and substance addiction. "I was going through a really rough time…with a person," Teddy Swims explained to Genius. "The song itself is just kind of about [how the] substances we were kind of on became kind of the substance of our relationship…. We were enabling each other in a lot of ways to not grow. You could love somebody so much, but sometimes that's just what happens in a relationship."^{[1]
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- Essentially, the song is about being in a codependent relationship in which you feel addicted to your partner—but it also explores Swims's and his ex-partner's real-life struggles with substance abuse and how that affected their relationship.
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Some fans interpret the song as just being about a toxic relationship. Swims has told us that the allusions to addiction in the song are literal as well as metaphorical, but without that context, many listeners have understandably interpreted the song as being about a toxic relationship more generally. Swims seems to accept this less-literal interpretation of the song, saying, "Being in love can be like an addiction sometimes—always chasing the highs from the lows."^{[2]
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- He adds: "[The song is] about losing yourself and losing control when it all starts to cave in and thinking that the only way out is through being with that person, chasing that feeling over and over again."^{[3]
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Section 2 of 5:

"Lose Control" Lyrical Analysis

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The narrator is codependent and afraid of being by himself. Swims opens the song with the lines, "Something's got a hold of me lately, / No, I don't know myself anymore"—immediately introducing one of the song's major themes: losing yourself completely in a codependent and unhealthy relationship.
- "How many times / Did I tell you I'm no good at being alone?" A few lines later, we hear this description of the narrator's fear of loneliness.
- "Yeah, it's taking a toll on me, trying my best to keep / From tearing the skin off my bones" equates the narrator's feelings for his partner to an addiction, and being away from her to withdrawal.
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The chorus emphasizes his unhealthy addiction to his relationship. Swims sings, "I lose control / When you're not next to me. / I'm falling apart right in front of you, / Can't you see?" The narrator doesn't know how to be without his partner—which might sound romantic on the surface, but it's really an indication that this relationship is deeply unhealthy and akin to an addiction.
- The next verse furthers this comparison with lyrics like, "Problem is I want your body like a fiend, like a bad habit."
- The line that follows—"Bad habit's hard to break when I'm with you"—suggests the two are enabling one another's unhealthy behavior, and that while they may care for one another, they aren't encouraging growth in each other.
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The narrator feels helpless to overcome his addiction. The comparison of the relationship to an addiction continues in the final verse: "Problem is, when I'm with you, I'm an addict / And I need some relief, my skin in your teeth." The lyric that follows—"Can't see the forest through the trees"—suggests that the narrator is so consumed with his addiction, he can't see the bigger picture, and doesn't have faith that he can escape from the trap he's in. With "Got me down on my knees, darling, please," he shows us how enslaved he feels to his relationship.
- The song's lyrics read totally metaphorically, but we know, based on what Swims has said about the song's origins, that references to addiction are also rooted in his real-life struggles with substance abuse.

Section 3 of 5:

"Lose Control" Creation

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Swims wrote the song to process his toxic relationship. As the title of the album (I've Tried Everything but Therapy) implies, "Lose Control" was sort of Swims's way of working through his unhealthy relationship, which officially ended as the album was released. As Swims told the Associated Press: "Our lives were very intertwined. And so, it’s quite nuts to have this [album] come out at the same time this is all happening, and it’s all even more real to me now than it was when I was writing it, which is quite insane."^{[4]
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- He goes on: "We weren’t great together … toxic sh–, substance abuse, and alcohol. So, it’s a lot of my journey through that, and my journey to also recover [from] how I treated myself and [how I] felt like I was unlovable."
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"Lose Control" was released on June 23, 2023. It's the second single from Teddy Swims's September 2023 album I've Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1). The song was co-written by Teddy Swims with Joshua Coleman, Marco Rodriguez, Mikky Ekko, and Julian Bunetta, and was produced by Bunetta and Ammo.
- Swims went on to release I've Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 2) in January 2025. Happily, this album explores Swims's personal growth, his experience overcoming codependency, and his healthy relationship with fellow musician Raiche Wright: "Being in love now is super helpful to write love songs," Swims says. "But…even all the happier songs have this kind of tinge of someone learning to accept love, and love again."^{[5]
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Section 4 of 5:

"Lose Control" Critical Reception

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"Lose Control" soared to the top of the charts upon its release. After it came out in June 2023, the song not only earned the number one spot on Billboard's Hot 100 in March 2024, but it marked the longest ascent to the top for a solo male artist in the Hot 100's 65-year history.^{[6]
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