
Peak
3
Weeks
13
Score
1,325
Chart Year
2025
Roan was seen filming a music video, believed to be for “The Subway”, on July 7, 2025, in New York City. She wore a red, "Rapunzel-esque" outfit while gazing out from above a fire escape.[27] In the video, Roan, wearing a large red wig, walks through busy New York City streets where she notices a woman whose face is obscured by large green hair. Upon making eye contact, Roan begins chasing the woman through the streets and into the subway. Sequences on the subway show Roan appearing to search for the green-haired woman, intercut with visions of her. The narrative then shifts to an intimate fire escape scene overlooking the city, where Roan wears a shimmery hair bullet bra and skirt. In a later sequence set in a yellow taxi, Roan catches sight of what she believes to be the green-haired woman's silhouette. As she tries to exit, her long red hair becomes caught in the taxi door, pulling her away. Throughout the video, flashbacks to the fire escape and subway carriage are shown alongside a dance sequence on a subway train, where Roan wears a jacket and skirt made from hair. Additional scenes depict Roan riding a bicycle through the city with her hair trailing behind and collecting debris, floating in the Washington Square Park fountain, and appearing in business attire with short hair while surrounded by swirling wind and rubbish. The storyline culminates with Roan seeing the green-haired woman embraced by another red-haired woman, followed by Roan climbing a large pillar of green hair suspended over the city. The video ends with her sitting beside a fountain eating pizza, before cutting to a final shot of her waking up on the subway.[28] Amber Grace Johnson directed the music video, shooting on 35 mm film.[29] Roan was styled by Genesis Webb, with hair by Lacy Redway and makeup by Andrew Dahling.[30] The opening chase sequence features large textured red and green sculptural hair costumes created by French hair designer Charlie Le Mindu.[31] A shimmer cone bra and skirt ensemble crafted from human hair, accented with rhinestone undergarments, was designed by Australian fashion designer Connor O'Grady. This look appears in the fire escape scene overlooking the city.[32] A hair jacket and skirt, constructed from human hair bundles, lace closures and wigs, inspired by Maison Margiela's 2009 hair coats, was collaboratively designed by hairstylist John Novotny and designer Todd Thomas. This outfit is worn in the subway dance sequence.[33] A grey oversized suit and tie designed by James Nguyen and AC Gottlieb is worn during the taxi scene in which Roan is dragged by her hair.[34] The video features a cameo from Elizabeth Eaton Rosenthal, also known as the "Green Lady of Brooklyn"
"The Subway" is what happens when heartbreak catches the 6 train and refuses to get off. Chappell Roan's power-pop ballad turns an everyday run-in with an ex on the subway into a full-blown emotional spiral. Chappell Roan co-wrote "The Subway" with longtime collaborator Dan Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo's producer-in-chief and Roan's creative partner since her Atlantic Records days). Nigro and Roan first started working together in 2018, shortly after she moved to Los Angeles and before we got to hear future favorites like "Pink Pony Club." Roan debuted "The Subway" live at the Governors Ball on June 9, 2024. A week later at Bonnaroo, she performed it again, calling the song a "cousin" to her no-holds-barred breakup anthem "Casual." It lingered in her live set for months, becoming a fan favorite, but Roan hesitated to release a studio version, feeling the track thrived best in a raw, stage-lit context. Eventually, she relented, releasing it as a single on August 1, 2025. There's no definitive confirmation from Chappell Roan that "Casual" and "The Subway" were inspired by the same ill-fated romance, but if they aren't about the same person, then fate owes her an apology for sending her two heartbreaks so eerily similar. "Casual" is all sharp ache and emotional limbo, capturing the misery of pretending not to care when your heart's doing cartwheels. "The Subway" adds a new layer to the torment: the brutal randomness of bumping into an ex in a public space you used to share, and trying very hard not to fall apart in front of strangers. Taken together, the songs form a kind of emotional sequel: first the slow death of the almost-relationship, then the ghostly aftershocks that hit you months later in a subway car. Whether or not they're about the same person, they live in the same neighborhood of heartbreak: aching, raw, and terribly relatable. In the music video, directed by Amber Grace Johnson (Rihanna, Jorja Smith), Roan appears as a crimson-haired Rapunzel figure in downtown Manhattan, dragging a never-ending strand of scarlet hair through subways, sidewalks, and litter-strewn city corners. The hair represents the emotional baggage she can't quite shake. The video includes a cameo by the "Green Lady of Brooklyn" (real name Elizabeth Eaton Rosenthal), a local fashion icon known for her head-to-toe monochromatic green outfits. Chappell Roan's musical persona is a case of dual citizenship: one foot in the glittering kingdom of camp, the other firmly planted in the soggy terrain of heartbreak. On one side, there's the winking, provocatively queer showgirl: songs like "Femininomenon," "Hot To Go!" "My Kink Is Karma," "Pink Pony Club," "Red Wine Supernova," and "The Giver" are all sequins, struts, and sexual bravado: glamorous, surreal, and knowingly outrageous. These are the glitter bombs of her catalog, often laced with humor and a touch of theatrical self-awareness. Then there's the other Chappell Roan, the earnest, emotionally bare balladeer who writes like she's just been handed a journal and a bottle of wine. Tracks like "Casual" and "Good Luck, Babe!" are little melodramas, full of longing, self-doubt, and the aching clarity of hindsight. This is Roan at her most vulnerable, embracing main-character energy with a trembling heart and a sharp pen. "The Subway" is another bruised addition to her emotional balladry, a power-pop elegy about running into an ex on public transport and unraveling in real time. "The Subway" debuted at #1 in the UK, becoming Chappell Roan's second UK chart-topping single, following "Pink Pony Club." In "The Subway," Chappell Roan sings, "Well, f--k this city! I'm movin' to Saskatchewan" as a way of expressing her desire to escape heartbreak, even though she has never actually visited the Canadian province. She admitted to Apple Music's Zane Lowe she "just liked that it rhymed." Once Roan discovered the capital was called Regina, she was sold.
I saw your green hair Beauty mark next to your mouth There on the subway I nearly had a breakdown A few weeks later Somebody wore your perfume It almost killed me I had to leave the room It's just another day And it's not over 'til it's over It's never over It's just another day And it's not over 'til it's over It's never over 'Til I don't look for you on the staircase Or wish you thought that we were still soulmates But I'm still counting down all of the days 'Til you're just another girl on the subway Made you the villain Evil for just moving on I see your shadow I see it even with the lights off I made a promise, if in four months this feeling ain't gone Well, fuck this city, I'm movin' to Saskatchewan It's just another day And it's not over 'til it's over Oh, 'til it's over It's just another day And it's not over 'til it's over It's never over 'Til I can break routine during foreplay And trust myself that I won't say your name But I'm still counting down all of the days 'Til you're just another girl on the subway She's got, she's got a way She's got a way, she's got a way And she got, she got away She got away, she got away She's got, she's got a way She's got a way, she's got a way She got, she got away She got away, she got away (She's got, she's got a way) (She's got a way, she's got a way) she got away She got, she got away She got away, she got away She's got, she's got a way She's got a way, she's got a way And she got, she got away She got away, she got away
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 16, 2025 | 3 | 123 |
| 2 | Aug 23, 2025 | 16 | 110 |
| 3 | Aug 30, 2025 | 28 | 98 |
| 4 | Sep 6, 2025 | 36 | 90 |
| 5 | Sep 13, 2025 | 50 | 76 |
| 6 | Sep 20, 2025 | 58 | 68 |
| 7 | Sep 27, 2025 | 63 | 63 |
| 8 | Oct 4, 2025 | 75 | 51 |
| 9 | Oct 11, 2025 | 77 | 49 |
| 10 | Oct 18, 2025 | 90 | 36 |
| 11 | Oct 25, 2025 | 82 | 44 |
| 12 | Nov 1, 2025 | 68 | 58 |
| 13 | Nov 8, 2025 | 95 | 31 |