BENEE – Cinnamon. Lyrics Meaning: The Sweet Sting of Pretending You’re Okay

Ever had one of those days? The kind where your world feels like it’s just imploded, but you still have to face everyone and everything. You put on your best smile, you crack a joke, you act like you’re totally fine… but inside, you’re a swirling mess of hurt, confusion, and maybe a little bit of anger. You’re just trying to hold it all together. It’s a feeling that’s all too familiar for so many of us.

Well, buckle up, because we’re about to dive deep into a song that’s basically the anthem for this exact feeling. It’s a track that sounds so chill and vibey on the surface, but its lyrics tell a story of quiet heartbreak and fragile resilience. Let’s unwrap the bittersweet layers of this pop gem.

The Bittersweet Symphony of “Cinnamon” by BENEE

The song kicks off not with a slow burn, but with an immediate gut punch. BENEE lays out the source of her pain right away, and it’s a brutal, public betrayal. There’s no ambiguity here; she’s been wronged in a big way.

• BENEE – Off The Rails : Embracing the Beautiful Chaos of a Mental Spiral
• BENEE – Cinnamon : The Sweet Sting of Pretending You’re Okay

Where about’s did you go?
Not what I had imagined
I wouldn’t stoop so low
But you went out and screwed all of LA

Ouch. You can almost feel the sting of that discovery. It’s that stomach-dropping moment when you realize the person you trusted has done something unthinkable. Her reaction isn’t explosive rage, though. It’s a sense of exhaustion and disbelief. She just wants to check out, to disappear from the situation because it’s too much to process. The lines “I think I’ll call it a day / I think I might get lost” perfectly capture that desire to just… stop.

A Mind in Turmoil

As the verse progresses, the internal chaos starts to bubble up. The betrayal isn’t just an external event; it has latched onto her mind, becoming a persistent, painful thought. She describes the person as “a leech on my brain” and the pain as “a Band-Aid ripped off.” These are such powerful, visceral images. It’s not a clean break; it’s a parasitic attachment and a sudden, sharp wound.

This leads her into a state of jealousy and uncertainty, a place she calls the “danger zone.” It’s that messy, emotional space after a breakup where your thoughts race, you overthink everything, and you feel completely unmoored. She doesn’t know where to go, physically or emotionally, and that feeling of being lost is terrifying.

Staying Sweet in a Sour World

And then we get to the chorus, the heart of the song. This is where BENEE reveals her coping mechanism, her personal mantra for survival. It’s a promise she makes to herself, a way to navigate the pain without letting it completely consume her.

This is so brilliant. She acknowledges her profound sadness—the feeling that she might never feel genuine joy again. But instead of lashing out or becoming bitter, she resolves to “stay sweet like cinnamon.” Cinnamon is a fascinating spice; it’s warm, comforting, and sweet, but it also has a little kick, a bit of a bite. It’s not just plain sugar. This isn’t about being a doormat; it’s about maintaining her own essence, her own warmth, despite the sour situation. It’s a defense mechanism. She’s putting on a sweet exterior to protect a broken interior.

And let’s be real, who can’t relate to “I’ll stay asleep till 3pm”? Sometimes, the only escape from overwhelming pain is to literally sleep through it. It’s an honest and vulnerable admission of how she’s just trying to get through the day.

The Craving for Simple Adoration

The song paints a vivid picture of her vulnerability when she sings about her lowest moments. Waking up on the floor isn’t just a literal image; it’s a metaphor for hitting rock bottom. She feels broken and discarded.

I’ll wake up on the floor
Not asking much, to be adored
They reel me in, then it gets dark
A broken B, I fall apart

That line, “Not asking much, to be adored,” is heartbreakingly simple. At the end of the day, after all the drama and betrayal, all she really wanted was to be loved and valued. It’s a fundamental human desire. The “broken B” is a clever play on her own name (BENEE), symbolizing how this experience has literally shattered a part of her identity.

The second verse shows her trying to get answers, to understand what went wrong, but hitting a wall of “obstacles.” The frustration is palpable, leading her into a self-destructive spiral of “drinking / Surfing and sinking.” She’s trying to stay afloat but keeps getting pulled under by the weight of it all.

You know, there’s a quiet strength in this song. It’s not about a dramatic comeback or a fiery revenge plot. It’s about the small, difficult, and often messy ways we try to heal. It’s about the promise you make to yourself to not let someone else’s bitterness turn you bitter, too. Choosing to “stay sweet like cinnamon” is an act of self-preservation. It’s a way of saying, “You might have hurt me, but you don’t get to destroy my spirit.” It’s about finding a way, any way, to survive the heartache until you can genuinely laugh again.

The journey through “Cinnamon” is a rollercoaster of raw emotion, from shock and jealousy to a fragile resolution to keep going. BENEE captures the complexity of heartbreak in a way that feels incredibly real and relatable. But what do you think? Does “staying sweet like cinnamon” resonate with you as a coping mechanism? I’d love to hear your take on what this beautiful song means to you.