Dennis Gaviola

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Chappell Roan

<div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/woLfAvD5iXI?&amp;list=RDwoLfAvD5iXI&amp;start_radio=1autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>Chappell Roan has finally released her much-anticipated new single, &quot;The Subway,&quot; approximately 14 months after she first debuted the song live at the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City. </p><p>A timeless classic in the making, &quot;The Subway&quot; is a triumph in songwriting, is fantastically performed, and finds Roan at her most vulnerable.</p><p>The aching pop-ballad perfectly encapsulates the fresh, lingering feeling of heartbreak. It&#x27;s about how memories of a former romantic partner can resurface and haunt in the most ordinary places — in this case, a subway station. Thanks largely to Roan and Daniel Nigro&#x27;s songwriting, the song leaves a lasting mark by painting vivid imagery that evokes a strong emotional response. Anyone who&#x27;s had their heart broken can totally relate.</p><p>Roan delivers the verses with such understatement; the melody flows beautifully but almost nonchalantly. Come the chorus, the atmosphere of the song becomes dreamy, with the production layering it with reverb and angelic background vocals. It&#x27;s also worth noting that Roan appears to have stylized her singing with some Alanis Morissette-esque inflections in the chorus.</p><p>Speaking of Morissette, the song is very &#x27;90s/early aughts, very nostalgically appealing for a millennial like myself who listens to the Canadian singer, The Cranberries, and Tori Amos. At first listen, I immediately noticed that the song is reminiscent of some of the work of these musical acts. </p><p>In a verse post-chorus, Roan drops the nonchalant act upon singing, &quot;I made a promise if in four months this feeling ain&#x27;t gone, well, f**k this city, I&#x27;m moving to Saskatchewan.&quot; This portion of the song&#x27;s lyrics has been going viral online since the release of this music video teaser, which shows a truck license plate and a billboard spelling out the name of the Canadian city where Roan dares to move if her heartbreak persists. This is one of the song&#x27;s highlights: rhyming &quot;gone&quot; with &quot;Saskatchewan&quot; is an interesting creative choice... and, dare I say, educational? I didn&#x27;t know the city&#x27;s existence beforehand. I guess I should thank the Midwest Princess for the Canada geography lesson. </p><p>The bridge is where this song truly reaches its peak — Roan cleverly interchanges &quot;she&#x27;s got away&quot; and &quot;she got away,&quot; delivering the lyrics with a vocal performance that is both raw and explosive. Roan belts the aforementioned lyrics, raising the key as she repeats them a couple more times, effectively making me empathize with her pain and yearning. At the same time, this part also makes me feel like I&#x27;m ascending, in awe of her masterful vocal performance. It&#x27;s so affecting that it easily rivals &quot;driver&#x27;s license&quot; for having the best bridge of the decade. </p><p>If I have one note: I wish the outro could have closed in a more understated manner. The song ends with Roan&#x27;s full-throttle, yodel-ish belting. After a highly emotional, sonically loud (but brilliant) bridge, the impact of the story being told could&#x27;ve been more haunting had it ended the way it started: quiet, subtle. Such a version fortunately exists in fan-uploaded online recordings of Roan&#x27;s live performances during her year-long festival run where she always ends the song in a whimper.</p><p>Fans of Roan are yet again spoiled with another song that is equally strong in lyricism and vocal performance. Ironically, the nostalgic vibe of &quot;The Subway&quot; and and its four-minute runtime, which is considered lengthy for the TikTok generation, make it sound fresh compared to many current pop hits that sound rather rushed and uninspired.</p><div> </div><p>Reynaldo Pagsolingan Jr. is a music critic and former television drama researcher. This review was originally published in his column, “<a href="https://www.walphs.com/2025/08/song-review-chappell-roan-the-subway.html">The Reception</a>.”</p>

<p>A timeless classic in the making, 'The Subway' is a triumph in songwriting, is fantastically performed, and finds Roan at her most vulnerable.</p>

A timeless classic in the making, 'The Subway' is a triumph in songwriting, is fantastically performed, and finds Roan at her most vulnerable.

Music review: Chappell Roan finally releases long-awaited ballad ‘The Subway’

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Music review: Chappell Roan finally releases long-awaited ballad ‘The Subway’

Reynaldo Pagsolingan Jr.

Published August 04, 2025 08:20 PM PHT

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