Growing Pains

## Music video

* Music Video
* Lyric Video

"**Growing Pains**" is the lead single and the first track from Alessia Cara's sophomore studio album, *The Pains of Growing*. Written solely by Cara and produced by Pop & Oak, the track explores the challenges of entering adulthood. It was released to digital retailers on June 15, 2018 through Def Jam Recordings and serviced to American hot adult contemporary radio on June 25, 2018. Its official music video received a nomination for Best Cinematography at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.

## Background and Release

On June 1, 2018, Cara posted a teaser video after an entire week of vague and cryptic tweets. Following this, she posted lyrics of the song in different social media posts for her fans to piece together. The song's cover and the title were announced by Cara on June 11, four days before its release as a prize to her fans for piecing together the lyrics. It discusses the struggle of growing up and a loss of innocence.

## Composition

"Growing Pains" is a pop song with influences of R&B. Lyrically, the song discusses a loss of innocence and the "inevitable struggle of growing up."

## Lyrics

You're on your own, kid

You are

Make my way through the motions, I try to ignore it

But home's looking farther the closer I get

Don't know why I can't see the end

Is it over yet? Hmm

A short leash and a short fuse don't match

They tell me it ain't that bad, now don't you overreact

So I just hold my breath, don't know why

I can't see the sun when young should be fun

And I guess the bad can get better

Gotta be wrong before it's right

Every happy phrase engraved in my mind

And I've always been a go-getter

There's truth in every word I write

But still, the growing pains, growing pains

They're keeping me up at night

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

And I can't hide 'cause growing pains are keeping me up at night

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey

And I can't hide 'cause growing pains are keeping me up at night

Try to mend what's left of my content incomprehension

As I take on the stress of the mess that I've made

Don’t know if I even care for "grown" if it's just alone, yeah

And I guess the bad can get better

Gotta be wrong before it's right

Every happy phrase engraved in my mind

I've always been a go-getter

There's truth in every word I write

But still, the growing pains, growing pains

They're keeping me up at night

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

And I can't hide 'cause growing pains are keeping me up at night

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey, yeah

Hey, hey, hey, yeah, hey

And I can't hide 'cause growing pains are keeping me up at night

Starting to look like Ms. Know-it-all

Can't take her own advice

Can't find pieces of my peace of mind

I cry more than I want to admit

But I can't lie to myself, to anyone

'Cause phoning it in isn't any fun

Can't run back to my youth the way I want to

The days my brother was quicker to fool

AM radio, not much to do

Used monsters as an excuse to lie awake

Now the monsters are the ones that I have to face

No band-aids for the growing pains

Hey, hey, hey yeah, hey yeah (oh yeah)

Hey, hey, hey yeah, hey yeah

Hey, hey, hey yeah, hey yeah (no, no)

Hey (no band-aids for the growing pains)

## Music video

An accompanying music video directed by Alan Masferrer premiered June 20, 2018. It is set in a dystopian environment meant to represent the oppression of others' influences. Cara begins the video in an oversized shirt before being pushed around by suit- and mask-wearing adult figures and being forced into an oversized grey suit herself. Lilly Milman of *Billboard* wrote that the video finds Cara "navigating an obstacle course of adulthood."

## Live performances

Cara debuted the song on *The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon* on June 18, 2018. An acoustic version of the song was released via Cara's YouTube channel on June 27.

## Videos

The making of growing painsAlessia Cara- Growing Pains (Acoustic)Alessia Cara- Growing Pains (Behind The Scenes Part 1)Alessia Cara- Growing Pains (Behind The Scenes) Part 2Growing Pains Official Video BTS CLIP (360 VIRTUAL REALITY)Alessia Cara "Growing Pains" Official Lyrics & Meaning Verified
### Performances

Alessia Cara - Growing Pains (Live From iHeartRADIO MMVAs 2018)Alessia Cara - Growing Pains Official Live Performance (Vevo X)Alessia Cara Performs 'Growing Pains'Alessia Cara- Growing Pains (Live at Austin City Limits)Alessia Cara - "Growing Pains" (MTV Jammin' performance)Alessia Cara - Growing Pains (Live in Australia)Alessia Cara - "Growing Pains" Acoustic Elvis Duran LiveAlessia Cara 'Growing Pains' Live at KiSS 92.5

## References

1. ↑ "Alessia Cara Talks 'Growing Pains,' Self-Care and New Music"
2. ↑ "Alessia Cara Turns Her "Growing Pains" Into Pop Perfection"
3. ↑ "See Alessia Cara Debut New Song 'Growing Pains' on 'Fallon'"
4. ↑ "Alessia Cara Fumbles Into Adulthood in New 'Growing Pains' Video"
5. ↑ "Alessia Cara Drops Dystopian 'Growing Pains' Music Video: Watch"
6. ↑ "Alessia Cara Performs 'Growing Pains,' Talks Pranking Her Crew on 'Tonight Show': Watch"