My interpretation of the lyrics

Billie Eilish commented on “xanny”, saying her motivation to write it came her never doing drugs. She said in an interview with The Guardian: “I have never done drugs, I’ve never got high, I’ve never smoked anything in my life. … It’s just not interesting to me. I have other things to do. I know people around you doing that stuff makes you want to, but you don’t have to. I don’t want my friends to die any more.”

LYRICS:

[Verse 1]

What is it about them?

I must be missing something

They just keep doing nothing

Too intoxicated to be scared

Better off without them

They're nothing but unstable

Bring ashtrays to the table

And that's about the only thing they share

[Chorus]

I'm in their secondhand smoke

Still just drinking canned Coke

I don't need a Xanny to feel better

On designated drives home

Only one who's not stoned

Don't give me a Xanny, now or ever

[Interlude]

Can you check your Uber rating? Oh my god

(And it's like, wait, like, when?)

[Verse 2]

Wakin' up at sundown (Ooh)

They're late to every party (Ooh)

Nobody's ever sorry (Ooh)

Too inebriated now to dance

Morning as they come down (Come down)

Their pretty heads are hurting (Hurting)

They're awfully bad at learning (Learning)

Make the same mistakes, blame circumstance

[Chorus]

I'm in their secondhand smoke

Still just drinking canned Coke

I don't need a Xanny to feel better

On designated drives home

Only one who's not stoned

Don't give me a Xanny, now or ever

[Bridge]

Please don't try to kiss me on the sidewalk

On your cigarette break

I can't afford to love someone

Who isn't dying by mistake in Silver Lake

[Outro]

What is it about them?

I must be missing something

They just keep doin' nothing

Too intoxicated to be scared

Hmm, hmm

Hmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm

Come down

Hurting

Learning

VERSE 1:

I feel that Billie hooks the audience in by asking the vague question, “What is it about them?”. It becomes clear she is asking this because feels she “must be missing something”, since she doesn’t understand why her friends aren’t trying to escape their drug addiction. Rather than get help. She knows that she is “better off without them” shows that she thinks she is better off without drugs and those type of people in her life. They can no longer have normal friendships and are “nothing but unstable”. Everything they are involved in is related to drugs, and outside of that world, they don’t know how to stop and have fun without the use of drugs, or make Billie feel included. This is shown in, "bring ashtrays to the table, and that's about the only thing they share". Showing that she feels that is the only thing their friendship offers.

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CHORUS:

When Billie says, “I’m in their second hand smoke”, Billie illustrates that their behavior is having a negative impact on her even though she wants no part in their unhealthy lifestyle. (Second hand smoke is smoke inhaled involuntarily by a non-smoking person. Long and repeated exposure to secondhand smoke can even cause cancer in a person who has never smoked.) Rather than give into the peer pressure, she continues to drink “canned Coke” as opposed to using the drugs or smoking. She states that she doesn't need a "xanny to feel better", showing that she feels just fine without feeling the need to use drugs. (Xanny is a slang word for the pleasure street drug, Xanax, which was created to provide temporary mood improvement, but is also highly addictive and dangerous when abused.) In the lyrics, "On designated drives home, only one who's not stoned", shows how all her friends are out of their right minds, which could mean that she is the only one who is able to drive everyone home.

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VERSE 2:

The second verse is used to show an image of what life is like for her "intoxicated" friends. They are waking up late in the afternoon and don't care about keeping others waiting. "Morning as they come down" shows that by the time they finally sober up, it's already morning, and the "come down" causes them headaches. By saying, "they're awfully bad at learning/Make the same mistakes, blame circumstance", she shows that even though this is a common occurence for her friends to be waking up late and have a headache after they sober up, they still do the same at every party since they think it's acceptable for them to get inebriated at every party, since it's seen as normal.

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BRIDGE:

In the bridge, Billie speaks directly to one of her friends, as she stated in her interview. The unromantic image she paints in the listener's head is an unnatractive image of drug usage. She rejected this friend due to his lifestyle, that consisted of constant smoking and drug use, shown in the lyrics "I can't afford to love someone, who isn't dying by mistake, in silver lake". Silver Lake is a residential neighborhood in Los Angeles, and is also close to Billie’s hometown, which is another indication that the person she talks about in these lyrics was one of her friends.