If you thought Billie Eilish’s new album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, was going to sound just like its opening track, you’d be in for a surprise by track two. “Lunch” pivots from the opener’s soft, contemplative vibe and dives into a sexy, pulsating number about her insatiable desire for a woman. (It’s like opening the door to a sauna and feeling the heat hit you in the face.) Eilish makes her message clear right from the opening lines: “I could eat that girl for lunch / Yeah she dances on my tongue / Tastes like she might be the one.”
Eilish told Rolling Stone in an April 2024 interview that writing “Lunch” was part of her exploring her sexuality. “That song was actually part of what helped me become who I am, to be real,” she said.
“I wrote some of it before even doing anything with a girl, and then wrote the rest after. I’ve been in love with girls for my whole life, but I just didn’t understand—until, last year, I realized I wanted my face in a vagina. I was never planning on talking about my sexuality ever, in a million years. It’s really frustrating to me that it came up.”
She’s referring, of course, to her “coming out” in a Variety interview last year, her addressing it at the magazine’s Hitmakers event, and then her calling out the publication on Instagram for “outing me on a red carpet.” Looking back, at how it all transpired, Eilish told Rolling Stone, “Who fucking cares? The whole world suddenly decided who I was, and I didn’t get to say anything or control any of it. Nobody should be pressured into being one thing or the other, and I think that there’s a lot of wanting labels all over the place.”
“Lunch” isn’t concerned with labels; it’s about desperately wanting to be with someone (“You need a seat? I’ll volunteer”) and spoil them too. Regarding the latter, in one verse Eilish sings about getting her person a special gift: “Said ‘I bought you something rare / And i left it under ‘Claire.’” Whoever this Claire could be, we’ve yet to find out.
As for the ordering of the track list, Eilish’s brother and writing-producing partner, Finneas, spoke to Rolling Stone about the first two songs on the album.
“What’s funny about starting the album with [the opener] is that it is a total false promise,” he said. “If you’re remembering ‘What Was I Made For?’ and then you hear [it], you go, ‘Oh, OK. I understand this world.’ Then the drums come in [on “Lunch”], and it really is the kill-the-main-character-type beat. It’s like Drew Barrymore being in the first five minutes of Scream and then they kill her. You’re like, ‘They can’t kill Drew. Oh, my God, they killed Drew!’”
Read the lyrics to “Lunch” below.
I could eat that girl for lunch
Yeah she dances on my tongue
Tastes like she might be the oneAnd I could never get enough
I could buy her so much stuff
It’s a craving not a crush“Call me when you’re there”
Said “I bought you something rare
And I left it under ‘Claire’”So now she’s coming up the stairs
So I’m pulling up a chair
And I’m putting up my hairBaby I think you were made for me
Somebody write down the recipe
Been trying hard not to over eat
You’re just so sweetI’ll run a shower for you like you want
Clothes on the counter for you to try ‘em on
If I’m allowed I’ll help you take ‘em offI could eat that girl for lunch
Yeah she dances on my tongue
Tastes like she might be the oneAnd I could never get enough
I could buy her so much stuff
It’s a craving not a crushI just wanna get her off
She’s takin’ pictures in the mirror
Oh my god her skin’s so clear
Tell her “bring that over here”You need a seat? I’ll volunteer
Now she’s smiling ear to ear
She’s the headlights I’m the deerI’ve said it all before but I’ll say it again
I’m interested in more than just being your friend
I don’t wanna break it just want it to bend
Do you know how to bend?I could eat that girl for lunch
She dances on my tongue
I know it’s just a hunch
But she might be the oneI could
Eat that girl for lunch
Yeah she
Tastes like she might be the oneI could
I could
Eat that girl for lunchYeah she
Yeah she
Tastes like she might be the one
