Released on May 16, 2025, Lola Young’s One Thing doesn’t ease you in—it grabs you.
But before this bold new chapter, there was Messy. That breakout single catapulted Young into the spotlight in 2024, thanks to a viral TikTok moment and a BRITs performance that blurred the line between emotional unraveling and performance art.
Raw, restless, and defiant, Messy captured a generation’s contradictions—and marked Lola as a Gen Z voice unwilling to be tidied up.
Now, with One Thing, she steps from emotional chaos into cool control. From the very first line, she lets us know she’s not here to whisper.
She opens with a bold invitation—“I wanna take you on a little ride”—and you already sense this isn’t a ballad about tender longing.
It’s immediate, unfiltered, and brutally self-assured. Think more bedroom confession than metaphor-laden love song.
The groove rides on a minimalist guitar loop, letting her vocal presence sit front and centre.
The sound isn’t overly dressed—it doesn’t need to be. The understated production by Solomonophonic and Carter Lang gives her voice space to pull off its balancing act: flirty, forceful, and sarcastically sweet.
“I wanna kiss you slow, wanna f*** you rough / I wanna eat you up, I wanna cook you lunch”
This line isn’t just about juxtaposing romance and lust—it’s about collapsing the boundary between them.
There’s a delicious contradiction in wanting to nourish and devour, a sly recognition that desire doesn’t follow polite binaries. The track simmers in that playful yet confrontational spirit.
“I don’t even want your number / Don’t care if you got another”
Here’s where things really flip. She’s not singing about love; she’s asserting control. This isn’t about being chosen—it’s about choosing.
The chorus turns what could’ve been a yearning hook into a manifesto: “I’m your only lover… and I’mma give you that one thing.” But it’s a gift on her terms.
The pre-chorus—“Can you just live a little, let your hair down?”—delivers a kind of disarming charm.
It’s seductive without being submissive. She’s not asking for commitment, just honesty. It’s giving chaotic sensuality—like if Lily Allen grew up watching Fleabag.
“You look so cute with no clothes on / It feels so right when I’m acting so wrong”
Verse two leans cheeky and clever. The irony is layered. She’s fully aware of the performance, even in the rawness.
She’s not lost in the moment; she’s directing it. The boxing imagery in the Dave Meyers-directed video isn’t just metaphorical—this is sex as a sparring match, desire as something to swing at.
When she sings, “Save that big-d*** energy for my mouth,” it’s not shock value—it’s strategy. It dares you to assume she’s being provocative for your benefit.
“All my life, all my life / Been waiting for you all my life”
By the outro, she dips into something more ambiguous. Is this a return to sincerity or a parody of it?
It’s almost Lana Del Rey-esque in its blurred lines between performance and truth.
It could be genuine, or it could be a smirk behind the mic. Maybe both. She’s doing camp—but with libido.
The beauty of One Thing is that it knows it’s not just about sex, even though it never pretends otherwise.
As Lola said herself: “It’s a song that on first listen sounds like I’m talking about one thing. Sex. Which I am, of course. However sex in itself is never about one thing.”
And this track? It’s not just one thing either—it’s swagger, satire, and soul. All rolled into one bedroom anthem that’s far cleverer than its chorus lets on.
If this is the lead-up to her next album, we’re not just shaking ass—we’re stepping into a story where power, pleasure, and play all get equal airtime.
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Lola Young One Thing Lyrics
Verse 1
Oh, hi
I wanna take you on a little ride
I wanna make you feel so nice
I wanna make you feel appreciated when you’re deep up in me
When you’re deep up inside
I wanna show you just what I like
I wanna kiss you slow, wanna fuck you rough
I wanna eat you up, I wanna cook you lunch, I wanna love you, babe
Pre-Chorus
You know where I wanna be, I want you right under me
Can you just live a little, let your hair down?
I’m screaming for you, I can’t breathe, turn the light off, I’ma wet the sheets
There’s plenty enough for me to go ’round
Chorus
Break your bed and then the sofa
I wanna pull you closer
Everybody wants to know ya
But me, I only want one thing
I don’t even want your number
Don’t care if you got another
‘Cause tonight, I’m your only lover
And I’ma give you that one thing
I’ma give you that one thing (Uh)
Verse 2
You look so cute with no clothes on
It feels so right when I’m acting so wrong
No small talk, that shit’s too long
And you’re breakin’ my back, you’re so, so strong
And I want you so bad, like “OMG”
Turnin’ off my phone to DND
And a couple little hours is all I need
Panties still on, you can go in between me, and
Pre-Chorus
You know how I wanna be, I want you right under me
Can you just live a little and let your hair down?
Nobody will ever know, we can put on our own little show
Save that big-dick energy for my mouth, yeah
Chorus
Break your bed and then the sofa
I wanna pull you closer
Everybody wants to know ya
But me, I only want one thing
I don’t even want your number
Don’t care if you got another
‘Cause tonight, I’m your only lover
And I’ma give you that one thing (Yeah)
I’ma give you that one thing, that one thing, that one thing, that one thing, ah
I’ma give you that one thing (All night)
Outro
All my life, all my life
Been waitin’ for you all my life
Gonna do me right, do me right
Oh, boy, you’re gonna do me, do me, do me
All my life, all my life
Been waitin’ for you all my life
Gonna do me right, do me right
Oh, boy, you’re gonna do me, do me, do me
All my life, all my life
Been waitin’ for you all my life
Gonna do me right, do me right
Oh, boy, you’re gonna do me, do me, do me
Yeah, yeah, yeah