I still see your face in the white cars, front yards/
Can’t drive past the places we used to go to

Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License” hits on a lot of teenage tropes yet manages to deliver a genuine performance and a memorable song. She talks about several teenage rites of passage, but this song is primarily about getting over your first love. This is an early pick for a “greatest song of all time”–the boldest on this list. Will it stand the test of time? We’ll see.

The bridge contains a lot of the depth: she visits the places where she and her ex used to go together, and the memories haunt the space. She thinks she sees and hears him when he’s clearly not there; she’s still in love.

Notice that the song contains nothing negative or derogatory about her ex—even though he broke her heart. (Perhaps that is a different stage of grief that we’ll get to hear about in a different song).

There are a couple notable things about this song-that make it different than others on this list. For one, it is the first song she released and wrote (I believe). She doesn’t even have an album yet. And she was so young when she wrote it. For a similar story of artists having early success check out Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights, Simon and Garfunkel’s Sound of Silence and anything by Ritchie Valens.

While the universal theme of teenage angst goes far, the song is memorable because of the beautiful melody and Rodrigo’s passionate delivery. Our ability to believe the words and emotions that an artist expresses is one of the most important aspects of making a great song.

I am bullish on Rodrigo; I look forward to hearing her future work. I think she has the potential to grow into her voice and that will go a long way. I also see her moving away from playing the piano live. She’s an adequate piano player but has great stage performance. Stevie Nicks writes on the piano but doesn’t play live. I think that’s the way to go.

Driver’s License Lyrics

I got my driver’s license last week,
Just like we always talked about.
‘Cause you were so excited for me,
To finally drive up to your house.
But today I drove through the suburbs,
Crying ’cause you weren’t around.

And you’re probably with that blonde girl,
Who always made me doubt.
She’s so much older than me,
She’s everything I’m insecure about.
Yeah, today I drove through the suburbs,
‘Cause how could I ever love someone else?

And I know we weren’t perfect but I’ve never felt this way for no one.
And I just can’t imagine how you could be so okay now that I’m gone.
Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me.
‘Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street.

And all my friends are tired
Of hearing how much I miss you, but
I kinda feel sorry for them,
‘Cause they’ll never know you the way that I do. yeah
Today I drove through the suburbs,
And pictured I was driving home to you.

And I know we weren’t perfect,
But I’ve never felt this way for no one. oh
And I just can’t imagine how you could be so okay, now that I’m gone.
I guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me.
‘Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street.

Red lights, stop signs,
I still see your face in the white cars, front yards,
Can’t drive past the places we used to go to.
‘Cause I still fuckin’ love you, babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh).
Sidewalks we crossed,
I still hear your voice in the traffic, we’re laughing
Over all the noise.
God, I’m so blue, know we’re through,
But I still fuckin’ love you, babe (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh).

I know we weren’t perfect but I’ve never felt this way for no one.
And I just can’t imagine how you could be so okay, now that I’m gone.
‘Cause you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me.
‘Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street.
Yeah, you said forever, now I drive alone past your street.

Songwriters: Daniel Nigro / Olivia Rodrigo