What does "Hideaway" by Grace Vanderwaal mean?
“Hideaway” Lyrics Meaning
In an interview with “ET Live”, Grace Vanderwaal explained the theme of the song she created for the movie Wonder Park.“The whole thing [Wonder Park] was staying true to your innocence while still growing up and maturing. And I feel like ‘Hideaway is really about that. Like, you know, you don’t have to ‘grow up’ to cope with life.”
“I’ll never grow up”
The lyrics of “Hideaway” seem to be written from the perspective of one person on the edge of growing up to another child in the same position. Grace Vanderwaal encourages the idea of holding onto the spark of innocence and imagination even as we grow as people and face the strains placed on us by life.
Verse 1:
Let's wrap a blanket around us
And go flyin' into outer space
We could be famous
Speak a different language
Make our great escape
The first verse of “Hideaway” calls to the wistful imagination of a child, and begs for the dreams not to be forgotten. The potential futures are exciting. They “could be famous”, or learn to “speak a different language”. The “great escape” she sings of is likely an escape from the pressures of society to ‘act your age’ and and as a result, lose that imaginative, hopeful spark children have.
Pre-Chorus
I'll chase the stars inside your eyes
And follow you into the great unknown
We'll be alone
She illustrates the child-like intimacy between her and her companion in the Pre-Chorus. “The stars inside [their] eyes” give her something beautiful to chase. They have that spirit of adventure that leads her ‘into the great unknown”, to that secret place where the two can be alone and act like children.
Chorus
So let's just play pretend
And find a secret place
When the world around us says
That we should act our age
The day is gonna come
When there's no time left to waste
But we'll never grow up
I say we hide away
She presents the central theme here. Even though the “world around us says / That we should act our age”, instead they should “play pretend / And find a secret place”. The idea of hanging on to innocence while still growing and facing life is hinted at with the lines “The day is gonna come / When there’s no time left to waste / But we’ll never grow up.” This means that even though as they grow up they will be faced with important choices and heavy consequences, they don’t need to let that steal their child-likeness. Instead, they can “hide away” their spark, and keep it protected in order to preserve their innocence even as they take on the responsibilities of adulthood.
Verse 2:
And build a city
Something out of nothing
Make this place our home
Our home
Stay in make-believe
And we'll go disappearing
Who would ever know?
In the second verse, she continues this narrative of maintaining that creative spark. They can ‘build a city” out of pure inspiration and make “something out of nothing.” By creating this world of their own in this secret place, the two of them can “make this place [their] home.” When life’s pressures intensify they can still recover their child-like innocence in this place where they’ll “go disappearing. The line “who would ever know?” gives an air of mystery, implying this place is a long-kept secret of life.
Pre-Chorus
We'll never be too far apart
'Cause in the end, you and I both know
There's somewhere we can go
This bittersweet Pre-Chorus indicates that life may physically separate these two kindred spirits. But, no matter how physically far away they are from one another, they’ll “never be too far apart / ‘Cause in the end, [they] both know / There’s somewhere [they] can go.” They will always have the worlds they built together to unite their spirits.
Bridge
Just want to hide away
Hide away, hide away
Hide away, hide away
I'll never grow up
Just want to hide away
Hide away, hide away
Hide away, hide away
She pleads with her companion to join with her in hiding away from the demands of the world. She desperately wants her friend to know what she has discovered, that maturing doesn’t need to come at the cost of child-likeness or pureness of heart.
Deeper Meaning of “Hideaway” by Grace Vanderwaal
The message of “Hideaway” is a beautifully sweet one, and it’s not often I see songs with this tone. So frequently, when younger artists sing about growing up, their attitudes are jaded or they appear eager to shed their childhood persona. It’s refreshing to see a fifteen-year-old artist singing about her love for that child’s spark. I can empathize with her desire to hang onto that sense of wonder and imagination as those around me try to grow up too fast. Imagination, creativity, and a sense of awe for the world around us aren’t just for children. They are good qualities to be found in any individual, of any age. If we could be perfect, growing with grace would look like this: learning to use that imagination, wonder, and spark in a way that inspires beauty and makes the world a better place. Like Vanderwaal says in her interview, maturing is not at the cost of that spark. Maturing is “staying true to that innocence” while growing in wisdom.
Grace Vanderwaal’s Interview With ET Live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcIRg_HMt3o
