Camila Explained The Inspiration Behind "First Man" In An Emotional Twitter Post
There wasn't a dry eye in the house after Camila Cabello performed her moving love song, "First Man," at the Grammys on Jan. 26. Based on the title, one might assume the track is a romantic one. But upon listening, it's easy to tell the song is actually about her relationship with her dad. Still, the song is pretty complex, and might leave you wondering if Camilla Cabello's "First Man" is about Shawn Mendes, too. Let me break it down for you.
Cabello's love ballad "First Man" is from her sophomore solo album, Romance, and it emotionally details how her relationship with her father, Alejandro Cabello, changed when she fell in love for the first time. During her Grammys performance, she sang directly to him while home videos of her and him throughout her childhood played in the background. Needless to say, Alejandro was in tears the entire time.
On Jan. 27, Cabello shared the particular moment that led to her writing the song on Twitter. "A year ago last October I was in Nashville while on tour and I wanted to get in the studio and write because I hadn't had the chance for quite awhile," she started. "I came in with a bunch of ideas but suddenly I just started thinking about my dad and missing him and thinking about how much he means to me."
She went on to share how tough it was for her to write the song, let alone sing it.
"I had to go to the bathroom and just sob every 10 minutes writing this song, I could barely get through it and almost didn't tonight.. " she tweeted. "Thank you to my dad for showing me what it is to love someone selflessly, for making me always laugh when I cry, for being my constant safety and arms to fall into."
While the song is clearly about Cabello's father, it can also be interpreted to be about the man she's falling in love with. Perhaps, her current bae, Shawn Mendes? In the single, Cabello sings about her new love to her father:
Yes I'm gonna stay with him tonight / I'll see you in the mornin' / No of course, he won't drink and drive / Can you say bye to mom for me? / Oh you'll like him, he's really kind / And he's funny like you sometimes / And I found someone I really like / Maybe for the first time
At the end of the single, Cabello envisions a wedding with the love of her life, but ultimately thanks her dad for being the "first man" that really loved her.
It's hard to know for sure if Cabello was writing about her relationship Mendes when she wrote "First Man" for her father, but based on the timeline of their relationship and when her album dropped, it's certainly possible.
Even if the song is sort of about Mendes, it's mostly about her dad. But I'm crying either way.
Watch her moving performance below:
