Five days ago, I was sitting on a beautiful beach with my toes in the sand.  I was surrounded by friends, my love, the beauty of nature… and, ok, maybe a lot of rum was surrounding me as well!

I sat in my beach chair – my body throbbing from a day of surfing – and I proclaimed myself the DJ.

DJ Robbie-Rob is my alias DJ name (no, I don’t have any DJ experience…but I like to think I have great taste in music!)

The sun had gone down, replaced by beautiful moonlight and the sound of waves crashing on the shoreline.  As the night progressed and the rum slowly disappeared, the waves were gradually drowned out as DJ Robbie Rob kicked the music up a notch.

As I replaced the mellow beach tunes with some party time, I started with a little LMFAO “Party Rock Anthem”.  It always gets the blood flowing!

I followed it up with “Galway Girl” by Ed Sheeran,  then, somehow, “Getting’ Jiggy With It” made DJ Robbie Rob’s cut (maybe not my best work).

Later, as the rum was replaced by beer, and the party mellowed out, I started to bring the music down.  I began with “Senorita” by Justin Timberlake, followed by “No Diggity” by Black Street.  And, then, the next song I had a tremendous desire to hear is a new song by, Dua Lipa, called “New Rules”.

You’ve probably heard it…I mean, it has 600+ million views on YouTube!

I was almost positive my friend loved the song.  But, to my dismay, he had no idea what it was, and proceeded to tell me it was a little girly for me to like, which was echoed by pretty much everyone on the beach.

I stood my ground, and I stand my ground to this day.  I like Dua Lipa!  But, I digress…

As I sat there in my beach chair, listening to the song, it suddenly had a whole new meaning to me.  It made so much sense as I heard those lyrics travel over the sound of the waves on that dark beach.

I began to realize – the entire song is about a battle against debt.

So, let’s go over Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” of debt!

Here is the lyric video.  The music video is embedded at the bottom (I don’t want to distract you from the article with the music video 😉 ).

Dua Lipa’s New Rules

The song “New Rules” portrays Dua Lipa in a battle between logic and emotion.  She has someone she loves; someone who makes her feel like “nobody else”.

Yet, she knows, logically, this person doesn’t love her.  It is the battle over logic and emotion that is all too familiar to us – which may be why the song is so popular.

In order to battle emotion so her logic prevails, she creates her “New Rules”.  These rules are a playbook for her logical sense.

This whole dilemma between logic and emotion is no different than the battle that plays out between us when we intersect with the option to use debt.  Our logical brain tells us not to use debt, yet our emotional brain makes us crave for whatever it is that debt will allow us to possess.

It is because of these two similarities that Dua Lipa’s rules may actually benefit us against the emotional charms of debt.

Let’s break down the lyrics so you can see the similarities.

The Pre-Chorus and Chorus

Read the chorus below, then, discover how it reads after I replace the words “he’s” and “him” with the word “debt”.

 

Pre-Chorus

One, don’t pick up the phone
You know he’s only calling ’cause he’s drunk and alone
Two, don’t let him in
You’ll have to kick him out again
Three, don’t be his friend
You know you’re gonna wake up in his bed in the morning
And if you’re under him, you ain’t getting over him

This is how it reads when I replace the words “him” and “he’s” with the word “debt”.

One, don’t pick up the phone
You know debts only calling ’cause debts drunk and alone
Two, don’t let debt in
You’ll have to kick debt out again
Three, don’t be debt’s friend
You know you’re gonna wake up in debt’s bed in the morning
And if you’re under debt, you ain’t getting over debt

Source: Genius.com

It works PERFECTLY!

I mean, really, is there a better way to refer to debt than a guy who’s “only calling ’cause he’s drunk and alone”?  What describes debt better than some lonesome drunk guy?!

The irony is, as time goes on, you realize you are that lonesome drunk guy (or girl).

You feel the need to have something you can’t afford – that you think will make you a better version of yourself – when really it won’t.  And you get drunk on debt.

The second rule reveals how debt is a bad mama jama and cautions you by saying, “Don’t let him in”.

The third rule seals debt off ever further by stating, “Don’t be his friend”.  Just look at debt and be like, “Screw you debt, you ain’t my friend!”

If you let debt in, and you end up being his friend, “You know you’re gonna wake up in his bed in the morning.”  Once you’re in his bed, you’re under his trance.  And just like she says if you’re “under him, you ain’t getting over him”.  

Perhaps, truer words have never been spoken about debt.  These three rules are a great way to view debt – that debt is a bad-boy who is going to hurt you.  In order to prevent that bad-boy from hurting you, you need to adopt these “new rules”.  Just keep saying to yourself what Dua Lipa repeats in the chorus.:

Chorus

I got new rules, I count ’em
I got new rules, I count ’em
I gotta tell them to myself
I got new rules, I count ’em
I gotta tell them to myself

If you keep counting your “new rules“, you can prevent debt from his dirty tricks!

Now, let’s go over the verses and bridge, because they also work perfectly!

Verses and bridge

Verse 1

Talkin’ in my sleep at night
Makin’ myself crazy
(Out of my mind, out of my mind)
Wrote it down and read it out
Hopin’ it would save me
(Too many times, too many times)
My love, he makes me feel like nobody else
Nobody else
But my love, he doesn’t love me, so I tell myself
I tell myself

Verse 2

I keep pushin’ forwards, but he keeps pullin’ me backwards
(Nowhere to turn) no way
(Nowhere to turn) no
Now I’m standing back from it, I finally see the pattern
(I never learn, I never learn)
But my love, he doesn’t love me, so I tell myself
I tell myself
I do, I do, I do

Bridge 

Practice makes perfect
I’m still tryna’ learn it by heart
(I got new rules, I count ’em)
Eat, sleep, and breathe it
Rehearse and repeat it, ’cause I
(I got new, I got new, I…)

“Talkin’ in my sleep at night, makin’ myself crazy” – isn’t this exactly what debt does to you?!  It sits there in the back of your mind, driving you crazy – you easily lose sleep over it.

“Wrote it down and read it out hoping it would save me” – this is where she is speaking about writing down her “new rules” and hoping the “new rules” will help her logical mind beat her emotions and save her from debt.

“My love, he makes me feel like nobody else” – think about what debt gives you – what it allows you to have.  It can make you feel like nobody else.  It can help you buy your expensive luxury car and your way over-sized house.  It makes you “feel like nobody else” – like you are somebody else.

But, in the end, debt doesn’t love you.  Debt doesn’t care about you.  Just like she says, “But my love, he doesn’t love me.”  No. No.  You are right.  Debt doesn’t love you.  Debt doesn’t care about you.  You care about it, but he just treats you like crap. 

How about the next verse. 

“I keep pushin’ forwards but he keeps pullin’ me backwards.”  WOW.  So true.  This is exactly what debt does to you.  As you keep trying to get ahead, it just keeps pulling you back, and back, and back.  It pulls you back until there is “Nowhere to turn“, and it’s not until you are “standing back from it“, that you “finally see the pattern“. 

You finally admit to yourself that debt “doesn’t love me“.  That it doesn’t care.  And it is you fault you keep letting it in.

So, how about develop those new rules towards debt, “let practice make perfect“, and start “tryna’ learn it by heart“.  

When it comes to the “new rules”, you should “eat, sleep, and breath it…rehearse and repeat it“.

Related – You may enjoy reading my student loan debt articles!

Outro

Don’t let him in, don’t let him in
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t
Don’t be his friend, don’t be his friend
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t
Don’t let him in, don’t let him in
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t
Don’t be his friend, don’t be his friend
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t
You gettin’ over him

In the end of the song, she closes by repeating the sentence “don’t let him in“.

As we know, this is what the new rules are designed to do; they are designed to not let debt in.  If you stick with the rules, if you don’t pick up the phone and call that credit card company to open that new card.  If you don’t let the banker in when she wants to give you that new loan.  Put simply, if you “don’t be his friend“, then you won’t succumb to debt’s tricks.

If you follow these new rules, you won’t “wake up in his bed in the morning“, and you won’t ever need to worry about “getting over him“.  Your logic will prevail in its battle over emotion – you will have won the battle against debt, and you will be thanking Dua Lipa for her “New Rules”.

Thanks for reading!

 

Here is the music video for the song.  I personally love it!

 

Photo Credit – Justin Higuchi – Dua Lipa 04/19/2017 #45

Disclaimer: These are the ideas and opinions of the author.  The author is not responsible for the actions of those who read the posts on this blog.  Each individual reader has a unique situation and unique needs.  This blog is not intended to solve those unique situations of the readers.  This blog is not liable for decisions made by the readers of this blog.

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