Ariana Grande’s ‘Ordinary Things’ Has Some Sage Advice About Leaving a Relationship
Nonna knows best. In the closing track of Eternal Sunshine, Ariana Grande includes a recording of her grandmother, Marjorie Grande, sharing wisdom about love, relationships, and happiness that ties the whole album together.
The song is called “ordinary things,” on which Grande muses about the little things in life and in a relationship, favoring the simple moments over extravagant displays of love. “I don’t need no diamonds, just your time,” she sings in the second verse.
At the end of the song, her nonna recalls being head-over-heels in a relationship of her own. “And when he’d come home and I’d see him, when he first gets off that train, it was like God Almighty arrived. It was like seeing daylight,” she said.
She looked back on the rocky times too. “I mean, I could’ve packed up and left a million times, you know? It’s not that we never fought.” But the elder Grande shared her advice on how to overcome those hard moments: “Never go to bed without kissing goodnight. That’s the worst thing to do, don’t ever, ever do that. And if you can’t, and if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you’re in the wrong place. Get out.” One can’t help but wonder if Ariana found solace in these words during her divorce from her ex-husband, Dalton Gomez, whom she was married to from 2021 to 2023.
In her sit-down with Zane Lowe, Grande addressed how the message of “ordinary things” answers the question posed in the first line of the album, which is, “How do I know if I’m in the right relationship?”
“Honestly, I didn’t realize it until I found the voice note,” she said. “I knew ‘ordinary things’ was the end of the album. I was like, ‘This is the last song, but I wonder how I can put that button on it and have it land emotionally the way that I feel it can, and how can I answer the question?’ I always record my nonna when I’m with her, because you never know what she’s going to say, and she’s the most hilarious person in the world. I had this 30-minute voice note of her and her friend, Shirley, talking. It was just right smack in the middle of it, and I said, ‘Oh my God, that’s the answer.’”
Listen to “ordinary things,” and read the full lyrics below, courtesy of Genius.
[Intro]
Hmm[Verse 1]
We could go pop all the champagne in California
We could have omakase in Tokyo if you wanna
Hypothetically, we (We) could do (Do)
Anything that we’d like
We could hit up all the slopes in matching snowsuits
We could hang out at the Louvre all night if you want to
We could spend every dime
But I don’t want (Want) anything (‘Thing)
But more time[Chorus]
No matter what we do
There’s never gonna be an ordinary thing
No ordinary things with you
It’s funny, but it’s true
There’s never gonna be an ordinary thing
As long as I’m with you[Verse 2]
You hit just like the first sip of wine after a long day
You hit like my biggеst fan when I hear what the critiquеs say
You hit just like a green light when I’m stuck runnin’ real late
I don’t need no diamonds, just your time[Chorus]
No matter what we do
There’s never gonna be an ordinary thing
No ordinary things with you
It’s funny, but it’s true
There’s never gonna be an ordinary thing
As long as I’m with you[Bridge]
Ordinary thing, ordinary things with you
Ordinary thing, as long as I’m with you[Outro: Marjorie Grande, a.k.a. Nonna]
And when he’d come home and I’d see him, when he first gets off that train
It was like God Almighty arrived
It was like seein’ daylight
I mean, I could’ve packed up and left a million times
You know? It’s not that we never fought
You can overcome that
You know? It-it’s very easy
And as I told her, never go to bed without kissin’ goodnight
That’s the worst thing to do, don’t ever, ever do that
And if you can’t, and if you don’t feel comfortable doing it
You’re in the wrong place, get out
