The Meaning Behind “Ceilings” by Lizzy McAlpine and Social Media’s Obsession With Its Plot Twist

TikTok’s algorithms made Lizzy McAlpine famous. Though grateful for her audience, she soon had to navigate a sudden career without being forever locked into the TikTok ecosystem.

Her song “Ceilings” is the soundtrack to countless rain-soaked videos on the social media app. McAlpine’s popularity had surged during the pandemic, turning a period of collective isolation into a global connection.

The song appears on her second studio album Five Seconds Flat. Her latest, Older, arrived this past April. Though she said she has a love/hate relationship with TikTok, McAlpine understands the power and reach of the platform.

Following the fast and random success of “Ceilings,” McAlpine is settling into her fame. However, she moved “Ceilings” to the encore portion of her set after noticing large portions of the crowd exiting following her performance of the viral hit.

Feels Like a Movie

“Ceilings” is a daydream about a romantic partner. It takes place within the blissful heights of the butterflies-in-the-stomach phase of dating. McAlpine told People she’d broken up with a partner and left for London to escape. The song is McAlpine reflecting on the old relationship—centered on the closeness and uncertainty of falling in love.

Ceilings, plaster
Can’t you just make it move faster?
Lovely to be sitting here with you
You’re kinda cute but it’s raining harder
My shoes are now full of water
Lovely to be rained on with you
It’s kinda cute but it’s so short

For most of the song, the relationship is idyllic. But you get the sense this won’t end well. The singer is hesitant to admit her feelings. However, her devotion slips out on a drive home.

But it’s over
Then you’re driving me home
And it kinda comes out as I get up to go
You kiss me in your car
And it feels like the start of a movie I’ve seen before

Plot Twist

Does the end of the song reveal just a dream or was the relationship real but over?

But it’s not real
And you don’t exist
And I can’t recall the last time I was kissed

The plot twist went viral on TikTok. Girls danced outside to “Ceilings,” sometimes in the rain. It was only a dream, a fantasy. With increased drama, “Ceilings” went viral on TikTok nearly a year after Five Seconds Flat was released. It has been streamed more than half a billion times on Spotify.

“Ceilings” also reached No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100.

High Praise

Sara Bareilles had high praise for McAlpine’s songwriting. “As a writer, she has a great capacity to make very mundane experiences interesting and has an exceptionally detailed perspective,” Bareilles told Billboard. “It’s the great trick of great writing; specificity is universal.”

Born and raised in the Philadelphia suburbs, McAlpine began writing songs on piano at age 12. Soon, she migrated to the guitar. After two years studying at Berklee College of Music, McAlpine dropped out to pursue music full-time.

She debuted with Give Me a Minute in 2020. When the pandemic forced everyone home, McAlpine stayed busy by live-streaming videos on Instagram and TikTok. A clip of “You Ruined the 1975” went viral and her audience grew.

“I couldn’t quite understand fully the gravity of it,” she said to Billboard. “I was just in my room alone. All I could see was a screen with a bunch of people saying, ‘Oh, this is so good.’”

Sad Girl

McAlpine fits with artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker. But she doesn’t mind the “sad girl” association.

There’s power in sadness, she says. Whether “Ceilings” is interpreted as real or make-believe, either way, it’s a sad ending to something once beautiful.

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Photo by Daniel DeSlover/Shutterstock