Lily Allen isn’t the first musician to deliver fans with a scathing breakup album and she won’t be the last, but she may have given us what sounds like the most literal.
From the opening title track, ‘West End Girl’ to the heartbreaking earworm that is ‘Tennis’ each song on Allen’s new album sounds like the post-breakup retelling you’d hear from a friend. It’s raw, honest and shockingly candid. it also has everyone frantically googling her recent split from David Harbour.
So, should everything Allen sings about be taken literally?
Lily Allen & David Harbour’s Break Up
Lily Allen and David Harbour tied the knot in a Las Vegas ceremony in 2020 before calling it quits some four years later in early 2025. Rumors of infidelity and alleged ‘boundary-breaking’ on Harbour’s part are allegedly what led to the split, with Allen reportedly seeking treatment to cope with the emotional fallout.
Following the split and headlines, Harbour told GQ that commenting on it “won’t serve anyone or anything other than encouraging ‘a salacious shitshow of humiliation.’”
Fans have also speculated that Allen’s recent music reflects the heartbreak and personal struggles of the breakup, particularly in the tracks ‘Tennis’, ‘Sleepwalking’, ‘Madeline’ and ‘Dallas Major’.
Which Lily Allen Songs Are About David Harbour?
Speaking with The Times ahead of West End Girl’s release, Allen spoke about the messiness of intimacy – a central theme to the album, it seems.
“There are usually agreed-upon boundaries in relationships,” she said. “But whether those boundaries are adhered to or not is becoming a grey area all of a sudden. Dating apps make people disposable and that leads to the idea that if you are not happy, there’s so much more to choose from — right in your pocket.”
While the musician hasn’t specified which, if any, of the songs are about her recent split, many fans have speculated and drawn parallels to the breakup based on the lyrics.
Lily Allen’s ‘Madeline’ Lyrics
If there’s one track that’s drummed up speculation more than others it would be, ‘Madeline’, with many asking who is the mystery woman. Well, Allen did, in fact, tell The Times: “A fictional character.”
When pressed further and asked if Madleine is “she a construct of others”, she answered simply, “yes.”
The lyrics to‘ the track ‘Madeline’ go as follows:
“Saw your text, that’s how I found out, tell me the truth and his motives
I can’t trust anything that comes out of his mouth
We had an arrangement
Be discreet and don’t be blatant
There had to be payment
It had to be with strangers
But you’re not a stranger, Madeline“
Lily Allen ‘Tennis’ Lyrics
The name Madeline pops up once again on the track, ‘Tennis’, which also seemingly explores the devastation of discovering the man you love is having an affair – and that affair is about more than sex. The song goes:
“So I read your text, and now I regret it
I can’t get my head ’round how you’ve been playing tennis
If it was just sex, I wouldn’t be jealous
You won’t play with me
And who’s Madeline?“
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
