Moral Of The Story

**Producer(s)** | Conrad, O'Connell

**Moral Of The Story** is a song by Ashe and is the tenth track on her album *Ashlyn*. The version featuring Niall Horan (known as "Remix") is the bonus fourteenth track on the album.

The song is a "divorce ballad" that builds from plaintive piano balladry to a grandly swelling finale.

It contains explicit lyrics.

## Background

Described as "sobering love ballad with attention-grabbing lyrics", "[evoking] strong emotions", with a "chorus designed to soothe brokenhearted people as they piece together the wreckage of their personal lives[...]sounding both intimate and epic", and as a "track you should not miss"; written with "captivating satire and vulnerability".

In 2018, Ashe wrote "Moral Of The Story" after filing for divorce, in an attempt to try and make sense of why the relationship failed, saying:

> It's hard to accept when you've made a mistake in love or life. But realizing all those mistakes have made you who you are and have helped shape the life you're in you puts a different light on things.
>
>

The song also became popular on the video-sharing platform TikTok, where it has been used in millions of videos.

About the feeling of writing the song Ashe has said: "I think it was cathartic at first to write the song. And then when you listen back to it, listening back to the demo, you’re going, “Holy shit. I just put my marriage on blast. I just went through the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in my life and then I wrote a song about it, and now I’m telling the whole world.” It’s one thing to tell the world, going through a hard time and recently got a divorce and you know, I’m okay. It’s one thing to share that story. It’s a whole another to go into a conversation you had with your divorce attorney, and sing about it".

## Gallery

### Single Cover

Original/Solo Version Cover ArtNiall Horan Version Cover Art (known as "Remix")
## Meaning

This song is about a realization from Ashe regarding her past relationship, and she admits her mistakes in confusing what she had as love.

### What is "The Moral Of The Story"?

According to Ashe, the "moral of the story" is: "'I’ve been through all the phases of grieving, the denial, the anger, the trying to get back together with a person, all of those phases that are, I mean, healthy to go through, but that final acceptance moment is a really cool place to be in.' And yeah, just realizing, 'Hey, I needed to go through what I needed to go through, and as shitty as it was, I know that I’m better for it'".

Moreover, in another interview she added: "The 'moral of the story' was to trust your life and journey, not worrying and letting go. I'm still figuring it out".

## Lyrics

### Original/Solo Version

[Verse 1]

So I never really knew you

God, I really tried to

Blindsided, addicted

Thought we could really do this

But really, I was foolish

Hindsight, it's obvious

[Pre-Chorus]

Talking with my lawyer

She said, "Where’d you find this guy?"

I said, "Young people fall in love

With the wrong people sometimes"

[Chorus]

Some mistakes get made

That's alright, that's okay

You can think that you’re in love

When you're really just in pain

Some mistakes get made

That's alright, that's okay

In the end, it's better for me

That's the moral of the story, babe

[Post-Chorus]

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

[Verse 2]

It's funny how a memory

Turns into a bad dream

When running wild turns volatile

Remember how we painted our house

Just like my grandparents did

So romantic, but we fought the whole time

Should've seen the signs, yeah

[Pre-Chorus]

Talking with my mother

She said, "Where’d you find this guy?"

Said, "Some people fall in love

With the wrong people sometimes"

[Chorus]

Some mistakes get made

That’s alright, that's okay

You can think that you’re in love

When you're really just in pain

Some mistakes get made

That's alright, that's okay

In the end, it’s better for me

That's the moral of the story, babe

[Post-Chorus]

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

[Bridge]

They say it's better to have loved and lost

Than never to have loved at all

That could be a load of shit

But I just need to tell you all

[Chorus]

Some mistakes get made

That's alright, that's okay

You can think that you're in love

When you're really just engaged

Some mistakes get made

That's alright, that's okay

In the end, it's better for me

That's the moral of the story

Some mistakes get made

That's alright, that's okay

You can think that you're in love

When you're really just in pain

Some mistakes get made

That's alright, that's okay

In the end, it's better for me

That's the moral of the story, babe

[Outro]

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

### Featuring Niall Horan Version

[Intro: Ashe & Niall Horan, *Niall Horan*]

(Oh-oh, oh-oh) *Ooh*

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

[Verse 1: Ashe]

So I never really knew you

God, I really tried to

Blindsided, addicted

Thought we could really do this

But really, I was foolish

Hindsight, it's obvious

[Pre-Chorus: Ashe]

Talking with my lawyer

She said, "Where'd you find this guy?"

I said, "Young people fall in love

With the wrong people sometimes"

[Chorus: Ashe]

Some mistakes get made

That's alright, that's okay

You can think that you're in love

When you're really just in pain

Some mistakes get made

That's alright, that's okay

In the end, it's better for me

That's the moral of the story, babe

[Post-Chorus: Ashe]

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

[Verse 2: Niall Horan]

It's funny how a memory

Turns into a bad dream

When running wild turns volatile

It's not funny how it changes

Ended up like strangers

And we burned down our paper house

[Pre-Chorus: Niall Horan]

Talking with your father

He said that you could be mine

But some people fall in love

With the wrong people sometimes

[Chorus: Ashe & Niall Horan]

Some mistakes get made

That's alright, that's okay

You can think that you're in love

When you're really just in pain

Some mistakes get made

That's alright, that's okay

In the end, it's better for me

That's the moral of the story, babe

[Post-Chorus: Ashe & Niall Horan]

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

[Bridge: Ashe & Niall Horan]

They say it's better to have loved and lost

Than never to have loved at all

That could be a load of shit

But I just need to tell you all

[Chorus: Ashe, *Niall Horan*, **Both**]

Some mistakes get made

That's alright, that's okay

You can think that you're in love

When you're really just engaged

*Some mistakes get made*

*That's alright, that's okay*

*In the end, it's better for me*

*That's the moral of the story*

**Some mistakes get made**

**That's alright, that's okay**

**You can think that you're in love**

**When you're really just in pain**

**Some mistakes get made**

**That's alright, that's okay**

**In the end, it's better for me**

**That's the moral of the story, babe**

[Outro: Ashe & Niall Horan, *Niall Horan* & **Ashe**]

(Oh-oh, oh-oh) *You can think that you're in love*

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh) **Oh, that's the moral of the story, that's the moral**

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

(Oh-oh, oh-oh)

## Trivia

* Ashe wrote the song on the same day she filed for divorce in 2017.
	+ According to Ashe, the song was written in about 3 hours.
	+ The fact that the original/solo version was released on Valentine's Day 2019 is ironic, given that the song was spawned out of Ashe's divorce.

* The song went viral after it’s use in the soundtrack for the Netflix Original movie *To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You*.

* "Moral Of The Story" has two lyric changes:
	+ Firstly, the line "When you're really just in pain" becomes "When you're really just engaged" in the final chorus.
		- Billy Eilish (FINNEAS' sister) suggested this uncredited lyric change.
	+ Secondly, the line "Young people fall in love" becomes "Some people fall in love" in the second pre-chorus.
	+ Lyric switches are prevalent throughout *Ashlyn*, and are also found in: "Till Forever Falls Apart", "Love Is Not Enough", "Save Myself", "Taylor", and "Always".
	+ And on *Rae* can be found in: "Another Man's Jeans" and "Angry Woman".

* The song references Ashe's ex-husband in the lines "Talking with my mother/She said, "Where’d you find this guy?"/Said, "Some people fall in love/With the wrong people sometimes"".
	+ She also does in these other *Ashlyn* songs: "Love Is Not Enough", "When I'm Older", "Me Without You", "Save Myself", and "Not Mad Anymore".
	+ And from *Rae*: "Another Man's Jeans", "Hope You're Not Happy", "It Can't Be You", and "Loose Ends".

* FINNEAS (producer/writer) and Ashe have also worked together on "Till Forever Falls Apart".

* Ashe and Niall Horan did not meet until they performed the song live together in late 2020, after the release of the remix/feature version of the song was released.
	+ Meaning, the feature cover artwork is a composite.

* Horan's incorporation of his own lyrics in the second verse make reference to his own song "Paper Houses" from his debut album *Flicker**.*

* Ashe first teased the remix on June 12, 2020 when she posted a screenshot of her and the mystery feature on a FaceTime call to her social medias. The next day, after a plethora of fan speculation, she confirmed the feature was, in fact, Niall Horan.

* "Moral Of The Story" (both versions) is one of three explicit songs on *Ashlyn*, the others are: "Till Forever Falls Apart", and "Not Mad Anymore".

## Navigation

 Ashlyn Tracklist

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.stereogum.com/2147101/ashe-ashlyn-album-review/columns/the-week-in-pop/
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://earmilk.com/2019/02/20/ashe-moral-of-the-story-video-castel/
3. ↑ https://ftpunks.com/ashlyn-the-breakup-album-everyone-needs/
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://ghsexplosion.com/5424/reviews/ashlyn-ashe/
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.onestowatch.com/blog/ashe-reflects-on-a-messy-divorce-in-the
6. ↑ https://earmilk.com/2019/08/28/ashe-gives-us-a-track-by-track-breakdown-of-her-moral-of-the-story-chapter-1-2/
7. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/Moral-of-the-Story-6793091579272759298
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://genius.com/Ashe-moral-of-the-story-lyrics
9. ↑ https://genius.com/19324563
10. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JddMS\_MG6O4
11. ↑ https://www.insider.com/ashe-ashlyn-debut-album-interview-2021-5
12. ↑ https://lancerledger.com/5900/entertainment/review-on-ashlyn-by-ashe-a-must-hear-album/
13. ↑ https://twitter.com/ashemusic/status/1271532485038374913?s=20
14. ↑ https://twitter.com/ashemusic/status/1271835676539928581?s=20