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elcome back to the final edition of the Fall semester’s song of the week. This week’s song is “Can’t Catch Me Now” by American singer-songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo. Released Nov. 3, 2023, as the second single for the soundtrack to the Francis Lawrence movie, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” “Can’t Catch Me Now” is a song about Lucy Gray Baird, the deuteragonist of the movie. Shortly after the release of her second studio album, Olivia Rodrigo was approached by Francis Lawrence and Lionsgate Films to write a song for the movie. They wanted Rodrigo to write a song that was reflective of who Lucy Gray Baird is. The song is a reflection of the effect of Coriolanus Snow on Lucy Gray Baird.

Born in Murrieta, California, Olivia Isabel Rodrigo is a widely popular American singer-songwriter and actress. She started her rise to fame as a child actress in commercials until she moved to star in hit Disney shows including the hit show, “Bizaardvark.” Rodrigo left acting after the third season of the Disney Plus show “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” to focus on her music career. She is a highly decorated artist, winning awards like a Recording Academy’s Grammy, a Billboard Music Awards, an American Music Award and many more.

As stated in previous editions of the Song of the Week, lyricism is an important aspect of any son, which Olivia Rodrigo understood when writing “Can’t Catch Me Now.” In the song, she utilizes film references and pathos to narrate the story of Lucy Gray Baird. My favorite lyric in the entire song is:

“But I’m in the trees, I’m in the breeze.

My footsteps on the ground

You’ll see my face in every place.

But you can’t catch me now.

Through wading grass, the months will pass.

You’ll feel it all around

I’m here, I’m there, I‘m everywhere.

But you can’t catch me now.

No, you can’t catch me now.”

Expressing her feelings through music is a recurring theme in Olivia Rodrigo’s discography but in “Can’t Catch Me Now” she expresses the feelings of Lucy Gray Baird. In “Can’t Catch Me Now,” she sings about how Lucy Gray Baird escaped Coriolanus Snow and her life in Panam. Rodrigo created a song about vengeance, retribution, pain and freedom, and it is a great listen with a powerful message.