“Figure 8” by Paramore

What’s being inferred throughout “Figure 8” is that the addressee is having toxic influence on the vocalist’s wellbeing. The nature of the relationship between them is never specified, but logically it would be a very-close one. And what’s being relayed, in part under heavy-handed metaphors, is that the vocalist knowingly sacrificed her peace of mind, ‘becoming the very thing that she hates’, in the name of pleasing the addressee. And she has been doing so for so long that Hayley likens the whole experience to “spinning in an endless eight”.

A “figure 8”, as commonly understood, is a circular maneuver that ice skaters make. So that would be another way of the songstress putting forth that she became so “lost” it was as if what she was going through felt like it had “no end and no beginning”. That’s the kind of thing that happens when a person has been cast into a predicament for such a lengthy period of the time that they practically forget how life was beforehand.

As further implied in the verses, the vocalist has suffered due to getting caught up in that cycle, i.e. the addressee being someone who sorely mistreats her. But conclusively, it would appear that the matter has yet to be resolved.  In other words, the thesis sentiment does not revolve around Williams breaking free.  Instead, the pre-chorus relays that she “don’t know how to stop”, i.e. once she develops deep feelings for someone, Hayley being the type of person who naturally gives them her all. So if anything, as with the final line of the bridge, she is warning likeminded people to be cautious concerning who they hook up with.

“All for your sake
Became the very thing that I hate
I lost my way
Spinning in an endless figure eight”

Who wrote “Figure 8”?

“Figure 8” was written by the songwriting team of Taylor York alongside Hayley Williams, both of whom are members of Paramore.

Release Date

This song is featured on the band’s eighth studio LP, a project titled “This Is Why” which was put out through Atlantic Records on 10 February 2023.