“Can’t Catch Me Now”: New Olivia Rodrigo Single for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Samantha Kavich ‘25 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

“Can’t Catch Me Now,” a new single by pop artist Olivia Rodrigo for the new movie The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes released on November 3rd, 2023. Similarly Taylor Swift’s commission to write songs for the original The Hunger Games movie in 2012, “Can’t Catch Me Now” is Rodrigo’s contribution to the latest installment for the end credits of the film.

It’s an emotional piece. “Can’t Catch Me Now” features Rodrigo’s softer, hushed, and harmonized vocals that she also utilizes in “Lacy” off her Guts album. Towards the climax of the song, Rodrigo’s vocals pick up, becoming stronger and provoking a more frenetic energy fitting of the desperation the song conveys. The prominent acoustic guitar gives the pop singer’s song a folk-y feel that fits well with the rest of the movie’s soundtrack. 

Those familiar with the story of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will immediately draw connections between the lyrics of the song and the female protagonist of the story Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler in the film adaptation. Without spoiling Lucy Gray Baird’s arc, the verses of the song convey feelings of anger and betrayal. 

The chorus “But I’m in the trees, I’m in the breeze/ My footsteps on the ground/ You’ll see my face in every place/ But you can’t catch me now/ Through wading grass, the months will pass/ You’ll feel it all around/ I’m here, I’m there, I’m everywhere/ But you can’t catch me now/ No, you can’t catch me now” indicates not only freedom from the people who have wronged her, but also being able to live in peace now having had the last word in a toxic and manipulative relationship. The lyrics of the song invoke the same feeling as a ghost story, which is a major theme from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. 

With “Can’t Catch Me Now,” Rodrigo masterfully captures the heart of the movie in a song that also stands wonderfully on its own for those who aren’t interested in The Hunger Games franchise and is one of Rodrigo’s best singles yet.