The Meaning Behind Sabrina Carpenter's "Manchild" Song: "A Loving Eye Roll"
SNL's October 18 Host and Musical Guest has said her entire new album is about "laughing at yourself and your poor choices as everything is falling apart."
Singer and actress Sabrina Carpenter landed a Best New Artist nom at the 2025 Grammys — which, to reference the title of one of her hits, is "Nonsense," because she's got seven studio albums under her belt. And Carpenter's most recent release, Man's Best Friend, delivered her second Billboard No. 1 with the song "Manchild." nb
On October 18, Carpenter returns to Saturday Night Live to notch her second stint as Musical Guest and her first as Host. While she most recently popped into Studio 8H for SNL50 and to help Quinta Brunson with her Season 50 monologue, it'll be Carpenter's first SNL appearance since Man's Best Friend dropped in August. It's a cheeky yet biting piece of work with 12 tracks that require multiple listens, if only to catch all the jokes and innuendo.
RELATED: Sabrina Carpenter Goes Full Carrie Bradshaw in SNL's New Promo
While Carpenter performed "Espresso" and a medley of "Feather" and "Nonsense" during her musical debut in the Season 49 finale, "Manchild" is among the new tracks getting buzz these days.
Below, learn more about the meaning of the "Manchild" lyrics, and find out who fans speculate it may be about.
What are Sabrina Carpenter's "Manchild" song lyrics about?
Carpenter explained the song's origins on Instagram on June 5, the day it was released. Her words evoked both the meaning of the lyrics, and the vibe the production meant to convey.
"I wrote 'Manchild' on a random Tuesday with Amy [Allen] and Jack [Antonoff] not too long after finishing short n’ sweet and it ended up being the best random Tuesday of my life," she wrote. "Not only was it so fun to write, but this song became to me something I can look back on that will score the mental montage to the very confusing and fun young adult years of life."
"It sounds like the song embodiment of a loving eye roll and it feels like a never ending road trip in the summer," she continued. "Hence why I wanted to give it to you now—so you can stick your head out the car window and scream it all summer long! Thank you always and forever for listening and thank you men for testing me!!"
Lead single "Manchild" gave fans a first taste of Carpenter's new era, with a song about dating a man who may be hot, but refuses to grow up. "Why so sexy if so dumb?" asks the second verse. "And how survive the earth so long? If I'm not there, it won't get done. I choose to blame your mom."
Of course, it's not actually a song about blaming mothers for their sons' actions. Carpenter admits to being attracted to immature partners in the lyrics, and she's finding ways to excuse their behavior.
"Oh, I like my boys playing hard to get, and I like my men all incompetent," she sings. "And I swear, they choose me, I'm not choosing them. Amen."
RELATED: Every Host of Saturday Night Live Season 51 for 2025-2026
Sabrina Carpenter called her new album "a real party for heartbreak"
Carpenter celebrated her new album's release on August 29, 2025 with a heartfelt Instagram post that offered some insight into its creation, and celebrated her collaboration with writers Jack Antonoff, Amy Allen, and John Ryan.
"How special to make something out of pure inspiration and zero pressure," she wrote. "I don't think I've had greater memories making something before...God damn we had so much fun! And you can hear it!"
"It's a real party for heartbreak, a celebration of disappointment! It's laughing at yourself and your poor choices as everything is falling apart," Carpenter continued. "It's wondering how loyalty and love always gets you back to third wheeling, spoken sarcastically like a true 25 year old!"
Fans speculated the "Manchild" lyrics are about ex Barry Keoghan
Carpenter dated Irish actor Barry Keoghan from around December 2023 to December 2024. She definitely referenced his "white jacket" and "thick accent" in the lyrics of the song "Bed Chem" from the 2024 album short n' sweet, and Keoghan co-starred in the music video for "Please Please Please."
But the singer hasn't publicly commented on whether any one real person, Keoghan or otherwise, inspired the lyrics to "Manchild."
Plus, Carpenter wrote on Instagram that she wrote the song "not too long after finishing short n' sweet," which came out in August 2024. She reportedly didn't break up with Keoghan until December 2024, so that timeline arguably busts fan speculation that the song is specifically about any of her real exes at all.
RELATED: Every Celebrity Who Pulled SNL "Double Duty" as Host AND Musical Guest
RELATED: Sabrina Carpenter & Paul Simon's "Homeward Bound" SNL50 Duet Was Harmonizing Gold
RELATED: Andy Samberg, Sabrina Carpenter & Pedro Pascal Joined the "Domingo" Universe on SNL50
The "Manchild" music video captures its forever-summer vibe
While videos like "Please Please Please" focus on one potentially disappointing love interest, "Manchild" features dozens of (questionable) men, all taking Carpenter on an endless desert road trip. As soon as one journey ends, another car pulls up so a new one can start, all while Carpenter is rolling her eyes at the various embarrassing ways her companions are trying to impress her, or not.
It's an absurd, surreal adventure that not everyone survives, but it's no surprise to see a guy or two careening over a cliff in a car. At the end of the music video for "Tears," the second single from Man's Best Friend, Carpenter explains to her confused date: "It's a thing. Someone has to die every video. I'm sorry. We'll always remember you, though...We have to give the people what they want."
RELATED: Every Host of SNL Season 51 for 2025-2026
RELATED: Get to Know Every Musical Guest for Saturday Night Live Season 51
Watch Sabrina Carpenter pull double duty on Saturday Night Live on October 18, at 11:30 ET/10:30 CT/8:30 PT on NBC and Peacock, streaming next-day on Peacock.
