Sometimes a song isn't just a song. It's a public exhale. When Shawn Mendes dropped the it'll be okay lyrics in late 2021, the internet basically stopped moving for a second. We all knew why. Just weeks before the release, Mendes and Camila Cabello had announced their split after two years of being the music industry’s "it" couple. It wasn't just a breakup; it was the end of a very specific era of pop culture romance that felt—at least from the outside—pretty invincible.
Listen to the track. It starts with those soft, pulsing synth pads. It feels cold. Then Shawn’s voice comes in, and he sounds like he’s actually sitting on the floor of a kitchen at 3 AM trying to convince himself that his world isn't ending. He sings about the future we realize we’re not going to have. It’s brutal.
The lyrics hit differently because they don’t lean on anger. Most breakup songs are about betrayal or "I'm better off without you." This isn't that. It’s about the terrifying, quiet realization that you can love someone and still have to let them go. It’s a song about the "after" that no one wants to talk about.
Why the lyrics to It’ll Be Okay felt so personal
Shawn wrote this with Scott Harris, Mike Sabath, and Eddie Benjamin. If you look at the timeline, the ink was barely dry on the breakup announcement when this hit the airwaves. This wasn't a calculated PR move. It felt like a bloodletting. The opening lines talk about the "bleeding" and the "pressure," which honestly sounds more like a medical emergency than a pop song.
He mentions a "future we dreamed of" that is "fading to black." That's a specific kind of pain. It’s the loss of a mental roadmap. When you’re with someone for years, you build a version of 2030 in your head. When they leave, that version of the future just evaporates. You’re left standing in a present that feels empty.
People obsessed over the line about "not having to stay." It felt like a direct response to the rumors. Was there a specific fight? Was there a moment in their shared home in Miami where they just looked at each other and knew? The song suggests that the decision was mutual, or at least understood. It wasn't a blowout. It was a slow, painful fade.
The technicality of the vulnerability
Musically, the song stays in a lower register for a while before Shawn pushes into that falsetto he’s known for. But even the high notes feel strained in a deliberate way. He isn't showing off his range here. He’s using his voice to mimic the cracking of a heart.
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The production is sparse. There are no heavy drums. No big "Senorita" style hooks. It’s just him and the truth. By the time he gets to the bridge, where he repeats "I will love you either way," the listener is usually a mess. It’s an unconditional declaration. Most people can't say that to an ex. Shawn did it on a global stage.
Breaking down the most impactful verses
"Start to imagine a world where we don't both end up together."
That is the core of the it'll be okay lyrics. It’s the imaginative hurdle. For fans who followed "Shawmila" from the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" days in 2015, this line felt like a betrayal of the narrative. We were all invested. But the song forces the listener to sit in the discomfort of reality.
He follows it up with "It's gonna hurt be so bad." No metaphors there. Just plain English. Sometimes the most "human" writing is the simplest. You don't need a thesaurus when your heart is broken. You just need to say it hurts.
The chorus is a mantra.
- If we can't stop the bleeding.
- We don't have to fix it.
- We don't have to stay.
- I will love you either way.
This is actually a very healthy, if devastating, take on relationships. It acknowledges that some things are beyond "fixing." In a culture that tells us to "fight for love" at all costs, Shawn is saying that sometimes the bravest thing is to stop fighting the inevitable.
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The Miami connection
The music video, filmed in Toronto, shows Shawn walking through the snow. It’s a stark contrast to the sun-drenched Miami life he shared with Camila during the 2020 lockdowns. Remember those paparazzi photos of them walking with coffee mugs? They looked like the poster children for "quarantine love." The it'll be okay lyrics serve as the winter to that summer. It’s the cooling off. The freezing over.
Common misconceptions about the song
A lot of people tried to find a "villain" in the lyrics. They looked for clues of cheating or some grand betrayal. They didn't find any. Why? Because the song is about the tragedy of a "good" breakup. Those are almost worse. If someone cheats, you have anger to fuel your exit. If you just grow apart or realize the "click" is gone, you only have sadness.
Some critics called it too "stripped back" or "boring." They missed the point. You don't put a marching band behind a funeral. The minimalism is the message. It reflects the emptiness of the house after the boxes are moved out.
Another misconception is that the song is purely pessimistic. It isn't. The title itself is an affirmation. It'll be okay. It’s a promise to the self. It’s saying that even if the world as you know it is ending, a new world will eventually start. It might be a smaller, quieter world, but it’ll exist.
The impact on Shawn’s career trajectory
Before this track, Shawn was moving toward a very high-energy, stadium-rock vibe with "Wonder." This song pulled him back. It reminded everyone that at his core, he’s a guy with a guitar and a lot of feelings. It humanized him.
It also set the stage for his subsequent hiatus. You can't write lyrics this raw and then just go back to "business as usual." He eventually cancelled his world tour to focus on his mental health. When you look back at the it'll be okay lyrics, the signs were all there. He was exhausted. He was grieving. He was being honest about not being okay, even while repeating the title like a prayer.
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How to process heartbreak through music like this
If you're listening to this song because you're going through it, there are a few things to take away from Shawn’s approach.
- Acknowledge the pain. Don't try to "fix" the feeling immediately. Shawn says, "it's gonna hurt." Let it.
- Release the "forever" narrative. Just because a relationship ends doesn't mean it was a failure. You can love someone "either way" even if you aren't in their life daily.
- Find your mantra. Whether it’s "it’ll be okay" or something else, having a phrase to cling to when the "bleeding" starts is vital.
- Value the silence. Notice how the song uses space. You don't have to fill every second of your day with noise to distract from the loss.
Moving forward from the lyrics
So, what do you do with a song like this? You don't just put it on a workout playlist. You use it as a tool for catharsis. The it'll be okay lyrics are a reminder that even the most famous, successful people in the world get their hearts absolutely wrecked. They feel the same "pressure" and "bleeding" that we do.
If you find yourself stuck on the "future we dreamed of," take a page out of Shawn’s book. Recognize that the dream has changed, but you’re still standing. The song ends on a lingering note, not a definitive resolution. That’s life. It doesn't always tie up with a bow.
The most actionable thing you can do after diving into this track is to give yourself the same grace Shawn gives himself in the lyrics. Stop trying to "fix" the unfixable. If it’s over, it’s over. Accept the hurt, keep the love, and trust that eventually, the title of the song will become your reality.
Take a moment to write down the things you're trying too hard to "fix" right now. If any of them feel like the "bleeding" Shawn describes—something that’s just draining you without any sign of stopping—consider what it would look like to simply stop. To let go. To believe that, despite the immediate pain, you will be okay.
Check out Shawn's live performance of the song from the 2022 Juno Awards if you want to see the raw emotion in real-time. It’s one thing to hear the studio recording; it’s another to see the physical toll of the words on his face. It’s a masterclass in vulnerability.