Every song Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello have written about each other
20 November 2020, 11:33
Shawn Mendes confirms Treat You Better is about Camila Cabello
A history of all the Shawn Mendes lyrics about Camila Cabello and vice versa on Romance, Shawn Mendes and beyond.
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello may only have started dating in 2019 but they've written many lyrics about each other.
Ever since Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello revealed that they're in a relationship, fans have been obsessed with them. In the time that Shawn and Camila have been together, they've topped the charts together with 'Senorita', broken the internet with a viral kissing video and gushed about how much they love each other interviews. Shawmila is truly alive and well.
READ MORE: Shawn Mendes says every song he's ever written is about Camila Cabello
However, what people may not know is that Shawn and Camila have released many songs about each other and, better yet, they've started opening up about which songs they've written about each other, before and after they started dating.
Throughout Shawn and Camila's careers, fans have speculated that the two stars have written about each other and been in love long before they started dating this year. Now, Shawn has confirmed fan theories by revealing in a recent tour Q&A that he's loved "someone who didn't love [him]" before. He then revealed he was talking about Camila by saying: "Well, if I told you the whole story of Camila, it would take a long time. You have to fight for someone you really love."
In another meet and greet Shawn actually revealed that he's been writing songs about Camila ever since he first started his career. He said: "I was 15. And I’ve never wrote songs before so I remember I was in the studio and they were like, 'this is how you play guitar' and we would just sit there and I’d be like, 'Yeah I like this girl, her name’s Camila..'”
Shawn and Camila first met as support acts for Austin Mahone on his Live on Tour tour in 2014. Shawn had just released his debut single 'Life of the Party' and Camila was in the midst of her career in Fifth Harmony. Taking this into consideration, it's possible that Shawn and Camila have been writing songs about each other since then.
Speaking about Camila in his 2020 documentary, In Wonder, Shawn said: "My song comes on on the radio or something and I'm like everything's about you. They've always been about you. She goes 'What do you mean?' I'm like 'They're all about you, like every song I've ever wrote."
With that in mind, here's a guide to all the Shawn and Camila songs and lyrics that were inspired by each other.
1. Shawn Mendes - 'Act Like You Love Me'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "Just act like you love me so I can go on"
This additional Handwritten: Revisited track was released very early in the Shawn and Camila timeline so it may predate their feelings for each other. However, it fits in neatly with Shawn's recent revelation that he was in love with Camila long before she reciprocated his feelings. It's about asking someone you love who doesn't love you to act like they love you back.
Given that Shawn released this song shortly after he recorded 'I Don't Know What You Did Last Summer' with Camila, we're pretty certain that he wrote it about her.
Shawn Mendes - Act Like You Love Me (Audio)
2. Shawn Mendes - 'Treat You Better'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "Tell me why are we wasting time / On all your wasted crying / When you should be with me instead"
Fans have long believed that 'Treat You Better' is a song Shawn wrote for Camila Cabello and Shawn has since confirmed it's true. In the hit single, Shawn promises a girl that he can treat her better than her current boyfriend. Shawn was friends with Camila at the time so no doubt acted as a shoulder for her to cry on when she was going through relationship struggles.
Now we know from Shawn that he was always in love with Camila, it makes so much sense that Camila inspired 'Treat You Better'.
Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better
3. Shawn Mendes - 'Mercy'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "Even though you don't mean to hurt me / You keep tearing me apart"
'Mercy' speaks for itself. Shawn is being by hurt by a girl who is unwittingly being reckless with his heart. If Shawn was really in love with Camila when they were just friends, every interaction between them must have been bittersweet and it's likely that Camila had no idea how much she was affecting Shawn.
That bridge is devastating: "I'm prepared to sacrifice my life / I would gladly do it twice".
Shawn Mendes - Mercy
4. Shawn Mendes - 'Roses'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "How many times can I see your face? // How many times will you walk away?"
'Roses' is a song about Shawn plucking up the courage to tell a girl who's in a relationship with someone else that he loves her. He knows she's happy with someone else but he can't risk never telling her how he feels about her. Just like 'Treat You Better', fans are certain this is about Camila and we are too.
Listen to 'Roses' without crying challenge.
Roses
5. Camila Cabello - 'All These Years'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "But does she kiss you like I kissed you? / Ooh, I wish I loved you like I miss you"
As soon as Camila released her debut album, fans guessed that 'All These Years' is about Shawn. The song is about Camila bumping into an old love interest and all of her old feelings flooding back. Camila singing: "I wish I loved you like I miss you" implies that she regrets not loving this person, *cough* Shawn *cough*, like she should have in the past.
The bridge, "I never told you, I should've told you", still breaks our hearts.
Camila Cabello - All These Years (Official Audio)
6. Shawn Mendes - 'Lost In Japan'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "I know it's more than just a friendship / I can hear you think I'm right"
'Lost In Japan' could be a sexy song about anyone but the "friendship" lyric gives off major Shawmila vibes. For years, the two stars always said they were just friends but now we know that Shawn always wanted to take things with Camila to the next level and 'Lost In Japan' seems to reference that.
Camila was in Japan on a press trip just a month before 'Lost In Japan' was released too. Coincidence? We think not.
Shawn Mendes "Lost In Japan" (Audio)
7. Shawn Mendes - 'Why'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "When I hear you sing, it gets hard to breathe / Can't help but think every song's about me"
'Why' is another Shawn song fans instantly linked to Camila. In it, Shawn asks why he and a girl he loves "can't just get over [them]selves" and admit that they love each other. Shawn essentially confirms it's about Camila when he reveals the girl is a singer.
Also "And every line, every word that I write / You are the muse in the back of my mind" is definitely a Camila reference.
Why
8. Shawn Mendes - 'When You're Ready'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "Call you when it's late, and I know that you're in bed / 'Cause I'm three hours back, seems like you're always six ahead"
Shawn singing to a girl he loves that he's patiently waiting for her to let him know that she's ready to be in a relationship with him? This has Shawmila written all over it. Plus three hours is the exact time difference between Toronto and LA and Miami and LA. In other words, whenever Shawn and Camila are in their hometowns, there's a three hour time difference to LA, where they work.
"And every single night my arms are not around you / My mind's still wrapped around you" is lowkey the most romantic lyric of all time.
When You're Ready
9. Shawn Mendes - 'If I Can't Have You'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "I can't write one song that's not about you"
Another one. In a Q&A about the 'If I Can't Have You' video in May, a fan asked Shawn: "Do you think we (mendes army) can guess who the song is about?" Shawn replied: "I don't think you guys have to guess anything about me at this point. You know EVERYTHING!" And practically everyone in the Mendes Army believed that the song was about Camila.
And it looks like this was the song which won Camila over because they began dating mere months later.
Shawn Mendes - If I Can't Have You
10. Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello - 'Señorita'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "You say we're just friends / But friends don't know the way you taste"
This song literally speaks for itself. Have you seen the video?!! And to think Shawn and Camila were probably already dating when they released it. We haven't stopped thinking about the "But friends don't know the way you taste" line since the two of them released the song in 2019.
Plus the "'Cause you know it's been a long time coming" and "All along, I've been coming for ya" lyrics hint that Shawn and Camila have been wanting to be together for years. And now we know that's true.
Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello - Señorita
11. Camila Cabello - 'Liar'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "I said I won't get too close, but I can't stop it"
In a recent Facebook interview, Camila confirmed that 'Liar' is about Shawn. She stated: "Well it's basically about denying your own feelings, suppressing them deep down. I just liked this boy but I so badly didn't want to like him." She then said that "it worked out" hinting that the boy was Shawn because she is with him now.
God bless Camila for finally realising that Shawn was the one for her.
Camila Cabello - Liar
12. Camila Cabello - 'Shameless'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "It's been a secret for the longest time"
In the same Facebook interview, Camila said: "I love 'Shameless' just 'cause I feel like it's the way that I wanna love. Like shamelessly, and fully and unabashedly. It's a different side to the same situation as 'Liar'." She then explained: "'Liar' is denial and 'Shameless' is acceptance."
And I oop.
Camila Cabello - Shameless
13. Camila Cabello - 'Should've Said It'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "I knew it was you from the very first night / And it took you two years to make up your mind"
Now this one is spicy. Shawn and Camila have already made clear that they both fancied each other before they actually got the courage to tell each other and on 'Should've Said It' Camila appears to call out Shawn for never confronting her. Camila sings: "And I'm all good now, someone else is gettin' all of me / If you wanted me so desperately, you shoulda said it".
In the bridge, Camila adds: "I wish that you could turn back the time / And hold me closer instead of your pride (Ooh, oh) / I knew it was you from the very first night / And it took you two years to make up your mind". She also sings: "Sendin' me your songs, but they don't really sound like before". This one may be kinda hard for Shawn to listen to.
Camila Cabello - Should've Said It (Audio)
14. Camila Cabello - 'Bad Kind of Butterflies'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "What do I do when I love you and want somebody else"
Camila hasn't said anything explicitly but it looks like 'Bad Kind of Butterflies' is about her realising that she was in love with Shawn while she was still with Matthew. She sings: "I know I said we were friends / And when I said that, I meant it (Swear I meant it) / Somewhere between now and then /It became more than just a friendship (Mm)".
The pre-chorus continues: "What do I do when I love you and want somebody else? / What do I lose if I don't choose and keep it to myself?" Camila really had to tell Matthew she loved Shawn.
Camila Cabello - Bad Kind of Butterflies (Audio)
15. Camila Cabello - 'Feel It Twice'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "That's when you said / "How can I be your friend when I know the way you taste?"
Listening to Romance, it's pretty clear that Shawn and Camila's love life was all over the place before they started to date in July. 'Feel It Twice' appears to reference the fact that they fell for each other at different times. In the song, Camila sings: "I wish you would feel how you're feeling two years ago".
Then in the bridge, Camila appears to confirm it's about Shawn. She directly references 'Señorita' by singing: "That's when you said / 'How can I be your friend when I know the way you taste? / It's almost 2 AM and I can't ask you to stay'".
Camila Cabello - Feel It Twice (Audio)
16. Camila Cabello - 'Used to This'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "No, I never liked San Francisco / Never thought it was nothin' special / 'Til you kissed me there"
This one is definitely about Shawn. Before singing 'Used to This' at an Apple Music gig, Camila explained that she “went to San Francisco to see the subject of the song” before writing it. Fans will already know that San Francisco is where the two stars were first spotted kissing. She sings: "No, I never liked San Francisco /'Til you kissed me there" in the song.
Camila added: "The song is basically about like when you’re friends with somebody for a really long time, and you know someone for a really long time, and then you start dating them, and then you’re like, ‘Oh my God, like this is so weird,’ ‘cause like, you’ve been my friend forever. But I like it — and I could get used to this.”
Camila Cabello - Used to This (Audio)
17. Shawn Mendes - 'Wonder'
SHAWMILA LYRIC - "Been dreaming that you feel it too / I wonder what it's like to be loved by you"
Given Shawn's recent revelation that literally all of his songs are about Camila, there's no doubt that she helped inspire him to write 'Wonder'. The song is a euphoric anthem about being honest about your emotions and Shawn's thoughts on life and love. In the chorus, he sings: "Been dreaming that you feel it too / I wonder what it's like to be loved by you."
It seems certain that he's referencing the time he dreamed about being with Camila before they started dating.
Shawn Mendes - Wonder
That's all for now but with their relationship going strong, we imagine that we'll be hearing even more songs that Shawn and Camila have written about each other soon.
