Teddy Swims has released a poignant new single, “Break Up in Reverse,” via Warner Records. The heartfelt ballad finds the singer processing the end of a significant relationship with a sense of reflection rather than bitterness.
“I wish we could break up in reverse / Every night would get better, instead of getting worse,” Swims sings on the track. “I’d watch you slowly slip back into my hands / Say goodbye to me in the beginning, and love me in the end.”
“‘Break Up in Reverse’ really hits home for me right now and where I am in my life,” Swims explained in a statement. “Upon writing this song and my next album, I’ve been going through it with my relationship with my baby’s mother coming to an end. With ‘Break Up in Reverse’ we were super inspired by an old Nas song called ‘Rewind.’ We loved how the whole song takes place in reverse. So we thought, how beautiful would it be if we took the same idea but wrote it about my relationship, with the punchline being ‘Say goodbye to me in the beginning and love me in the end.’ I hope you feel as moved as I do every time I hear and sing this song.”
The accompanying music video, directed by Lewis Cater, visualizes the concept with striking imagery. The clip opens on Swims standing before a pile of rubble; as he performs, a bulldozer moving in reverse reconstructs the debris into a room filled with meaningful artifacts—photographs, baby toys, puzzle pieces, and kintsugi pottery.
The single arrives on the heels of “Mr. Know It All,” which debuted in April and was performed by Swims at the American Music Awards in May. The artist is set to launch his Ugly Tour on September 22 in Kansas City, with the North American run concluding November 18 in Los Angeles.