Olivia Rodrigo wrote a song that was too political for her breakup album, so she pressed just 500 CDs and sold them at one record store. They sold out in a single night at Analog Music Shop in Tustin, California.
The song is named for a “Handmaid’s Tale” character who wielded power inside a repressive patriarchy, then discovered the system she helped build would come for her too. The song’s hook makes the point: “If they do it to them / They’ll do it to you / If they do it to them / They’re gonna do it to you.”
Rodrigo confirmed the track existed back in June, after fans spotted the title in a studio photo listing 18 songs in the running for her album “You Look Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.” Speaking to Etalk two months ago, she explained why it was left off: “I actually really love it. It didn’t fit on the album. The record was very much a chronicle of a relationship, beginning, middle and end. But I hope that it’ll be a part of something else down the line.”
The release lands days before Daisy Chain Fields, her all-female music festival in Irvine, California. The store said the drop was tied to raising funds for women and girls.
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