Conan Gray released his fourth studio album, Wishbone, in the summer of 2025. It was an incredible album, highlighting a secret romance and Gray’s growth and trauma from his past.
Near the end of March, Gray announced Wishbone Deluxe. In the caption of his Instagram post announcing the album, he stated that the deluxe tracks aren’t songs that didn’t make the album; they’re songs that he has written amidst his tour of the Wishbone album. They’re the feelings that he wasn’t able to express when he wrote Wishbone because, as Gray puts it,“I was still very much in the middle of the storm that inspired it.”
There are five deluxe tracks, mainly highlighting the pain of this secret romance.
“Do I Dare”
This is the first deluxe track, which is mainly about considering whether or not he dares to reach out to his past relationship. The beginning of the song states, “But when some cynical thing happens to me / You’re still the very first name I’d like to reach to tell / ‘Cause only you’d find it funny.” He’s constantly wanting to reach out to this past relationship, constantly wanting to keep them informed.
While it’s a very repetitive song, I think that the repetition throughout the song, stating, “Do I dare / Do I dare / Do I dare / Repair?” shows how often Gray debates reaching out. In the bridge of the song, Gray asks if his past relationship even wants to hear from him to say the words that they were never able to say. This entire song shows the pain of waiting and wondering what could happen if he reaches out.
“House That Always Rains”
The second deluxe track opens with the lyrics talking about how Gray grew up on Texas streets in the dirt and in church, and how his past relationship grew up in private school and was born city-slick. These lyrics relate back to the lyric in “Connell,” one of the tracks in the original Wishbone album. “Connell” states, “I knew we weren’t meant to be / I’m from Texas skies, you’re from London streets.” These lyrics show the insecurity that Gray had in the relationship because of the differences in their lives.
“House That Always Rains” is full of many references to Gray’s other songs, including the lyric “If I could do one thing over again / I would be less of a lover to you, and more of a friend.” Gray states in many different songs that the worst part of losing someone in a relationship is mainly losing them as a friend. He no longer has someone to tell everything to.
“Door”
While “Door” may be my least favorite of the deluxe tracks, it’s still an incredible song that is so, so gut-wrenching. Throughout the song, he repeats “I just need to close this door,” and talks about how he continues leaving the door open for his past love. He shows that he would do anything to be with them again.
Many of the songs in Wishbone mention how different his past love is compared to when they were in a relationship, and it is highlighted again in “Door” by stating, “You were never even good to me / Falling for the person you could be / But he doesn’t exist.” The entire song talks about knowing he needs to close the door and move on, but it is impossible to do that.
“Moths”
This is the fourth deluxe track and is probably my favorite. This song opens with the line, “The door is closed, but the window’s open,” immediately connecting back to “Door.” It shows that he managed to slightly move on, but that he will always be there for his ex.
Gray sings the words, “I will always be your friend,” once again connecting back to all of the times he has talked about how much he misses having a friend.
The entire final chorus of this song is probably the most astonishing thing I have ever heard, and I don’t believe that this is an overstatement. I distinctly remember texting my friends about “Moths,” and the exact words that I said were, “This is so perfect, and I want to die.” The final chorus genuinely makes me nauseous in the best way every time I hear it.
“The Best”
This is the last deluxe track and was an early release. It was released a week after Gray announced the deluxe album, and immediately showed how heartbreaking the deluxe tracks were going to be.
Like many of the other deluxe tracks, Gray shows how much he wants to reach out, wondering if that would fix everything. He shows all his regrets from their relationship, wondering if it even meant anything. The line that stuck out to me most in this song was, “Sometimes, I wonder, were we ever even friends?” It relates to all of the times he talked about losing their relationship, and truly shows how much he has been overthinking it.
The new deluxe tracks on Wishbone Deluxe give much deeper insight into Gray’s previous relationship and display many more issues from it. They show Gray’s overthinking in the relationship and show how much he wants it all to be good again. It’s an incredible and devastating album that is truly heart-wrenching to listen to.
