Mac Miller’s team released his new album, Balloonerism, on Jan. 17, 2025. Miller recorded and created the album in 2014 but never released it to the public until recently. Everyone seems to interpret the album differently, so here’s my perspective on a few tracks from the record.
5 Dollar Pony Rides
This song starts the album with an upbeat and hip-hop tone and uses this anonymous “she” character. He uses the lyrics to explain his struggle to find a long-lasting rewarding relationship. The line “Girl, you wastin’ my time. And I am wastin’ your time” explains his commitment to relationships that aren’t fulfilling either of the partner’s needs. The repetition in lyrics at the end represents the continuous cycle of unfulfillment in the relationships and connections.
Friendly Hallucinations
The lyrics in the song start off talking about a girl and compares her view on love with schizophrenic hallucinations. The message behind this song reflects on how love can make you seem as crazy as a hallucinating illness. “Baby, don’t let them tell you what’s real and what’s not” can go both ways, don’t allow people to tell you the love you’re feeling isn’t real and you’re just ‘hallucinating’ it. “It’s only real if it’s real to you” and, “Mom say she believe her, but she always been a bad liar”.
Mrs. Deborah Downer
Mac Miller shows how even though he’s becoming more successful in his career, he’s falling under pressure and losing himself in the process, “Even pills turn to powder, babe”. He explains through his lyrics how no one has helped him through his fame and he had to build himself back up to a better person on his own. He then starts to repeat the lyrics “Whatcha gonna do when the money comin’ slow? And you left out on your own?” These lyrics together really emphasize the loneliness in fame and when you start to fall into depression and become less loved, no one comes around to help you build yourself back up again.
Stoned
Mac Miller starts with a girl who hides herself in her thoughts and throughout you learn that she makes up her personality to hide herself away from others, “She makes up her bed like she makes up her stories”. He then says “Baby let’s get stoned” as a metaphor for providing her a safe place to open up and be herself. Throughout the song, she seems to retreat into her isolation and he brings her back out. He then says the line “Cause she paralyzed from fear that she fantasize, the doctor tried to analyze. They cannot find anything that’s wrong with her” wrapping it back around to ‘Friendly Hallucinations’ along with other lines.
Shangri-La
This song shows how fame takes away the meaning of simple things. “Just how super is a supermodel” metaphorically represents how fame isn’t as luxurious as it seems. He takes trips to fancy rich places and tries luxurious items but none of them seem to be as fulfilling as most view them to be, “I told her that this feeling’ ‘bout as good as it gets”, saying how you expect more from such a hyped up feeling or experience.
Funny Papers
Mac Miller starts off the song with lots of devastating things that can happen to anyone. Throughout the song, he tells you to just slow down in life and enjoy the small things before you end up dying unhappy. He lists tragic things, but adds bittersweet moments into them, such as weddings, Fridays, and music to show that you can find joy in the most unenjoyable experiences. Later in the song, he talks about a woman giving birth and how she brought a baby into such a cruel world. He talks about wanting to help make the world better and not get judged but knows the same world that’s judging him will pressure him back into his bad habits.
Excelsior
The song starts by listing simple things kids are worried about when they’re younger and how they used to be unimportant, “Johnny’s dad got a nicer car than all the other kids” and “Claire always wishes she was as pretty as Julie”, things that are supposed to be just little kid worries but have a deeper meaning, showing that even when you’re young you still care about others opinions and views. He then talks about how getting older ruins your imagination and wants. He then ends the song with magical nostalgic music while repeating the word ‘abracadabra’ to give a kid essence.
Transformations
This 4th to last song, Transformations, constantly switches between high and low tones, representing what constant addiction feels like. In the beginning, he asks for more drinks, trying to fix what he already messed up with more substances that will end up messing him up more. Then, once he starts to rap, he messes up and restarts showing how messed up his mind is, and how deep he’s falling into addiction.
Manakins
A continuation of the last song, Manakins starts with an anxious tone, as Miller lists things that make him nervous. Soon after, the song transcends into a free, hypnotic type tune like he’s falling from the anxiousness, then it starts back up with the anxious tune listing off more things that are messed up. Then again, it ends with harps and calming music, as if he’s falling into a natural state of eternal peace.
Rick’s Piano
This song starts with Mac Miller talking as tambourines play in the background. Then, once he gets to the actual lyrics, the music fades into a slow almost nostalgic type song. He repeats the words “The best is yet to come” and uses examples of people experiencing joyful moments, but not finding any joy in them. I seem to think this song metaphorically represents how Miller views depression and the effect it has on him separately.
Tomorrow Will Never Know
This last song seems to be Mac Miller’s interpretation of what dying feels like. Most people believe that he knew he would end up overdosing, adding in the sent-to voicemail tone throughout the song as if people are trying to find him or reach out to him. Or it could even be an interpretation of people trying to help him before it’s too late. He then has different lines all meaning the same thing: no satisfaction in how you (he) lived your life and regretting it once it all ends.
