Olivia Dean's song 'Nice To Each Other': What do the lyrics mean?

Olivia Dean is having a serious moment in pop music right now. Not only has she taken home armfuls of awards in 2026, but her song 'Rein Me In' with Sam Fender has been topping charts all over the place.

But she's got plenty of other bops to get on your playlists. We've decided to take a deeper look at one of her other songs - 'Nice To Each Other', which appeared on 'The Art of Loving', and currently has over 21 million views on YouTube!

When was the song released?

'Nice To Each Other' was released on 30th May 2025 as the lead single from Olivia's second album 'The Art of Loving', which came out on 26th September 2025.

Where did it get to in the UK charts?

It peaked at Number 4 in the UK, later being certified 2x Platinum by the BPI in April 2026 with over 1.2 million sales.

Music video

The music video is a very impressive one-take video, directed by Jake Erland who has also directed videos for Olivia's songs 'Lady Lady' and 'Man I Need'. Jake wrote on Instagram about making the video: 'one of my fav vids everrr such a pleasure as always making it with Liv.' (sic)

The incredibly clever video features Olivia with a group of dancers and a set that's constantly changing, with the singer interacting with the various sets and moving seamlessly with the other people in the video.

What do the lyrics mean?

The song is about how people can get back together after a relationship has previously failed, but easily fall into old arguments again - with Olivia singing in the first verse: 'Here we are, back again / Fighting what's in front of me / There's so much to unpack again.'

The last line of that verse is immediately followed by the refrain: 'But if I come to Italy / We could be nice to each other / Nice to each other / Wrong for each other / Right for each other / And rise to each other,' showing that her train of thought of how things might be nicer on a holiday takes her back to "real life" where they're still not sure if they're right or wrong for each other, but if they both take it seriously ('rise to each other') then it could work.

In the second verse, Olivia sings about how small, seemingly insignificant moments can build up and lead to huge blowout arguments: 'I don't know where the switches are / Or where you keep the cutlery / And I'll probably crash your stupid car / And make your life a misery.'

READ MORE: Olivia Dean's song meanings and reading between the lyrics

What did Olivia say about the song?

She explained in a press release at the time that the song was "about the push and pull of exploring your independence in dating. It's about enjoying someone in the present and allowing it to be both light and meaningful. I think this song and video represents a playfulness in me that I'm excited for people to see."

She also wrote on Instagram when the song was released that it was "a song about enjoying each other in the present! let it be both light and meaningful 🫂" (sic)

Who wrote it?

Olivia co-wrote 'Nice To Each Other' with British singer-songwriter Matt Hales, also known under the musical alias Aqualung who might be known for his songs 'Strange and Beautiful' and 'Brighter Than Sunshine'. It was produced by Zach Nahome.

Olivia first worked with Matt on her 2021 song 'Slowly', later teaming up with him again for both her debut album, 'Messy' and her follow-up record 'The Art of Loving'. The pair appeared on podcast Tape Notes in 2023 to discuss how they met and worked together, with Olivia explaining that she'd wanted to work with Matt since she'd heard the songs he'd written with Lianne La Havas.

"I just really wanted to work with him for a long time from whence I started writing and it didn't happen!" she joked, before continuing: "We met at a studio in Brixton called The Dairy and on the first day we met, we wrote a song called 'Slowly', and that was one of my favourite songs I've ever written. So I think I was like, 'We should make more things together,' and we have done!"

Matt agreed that writing 'Slowly' together was a pivotal moment and that he was thinking about it for days afterwards: "Not only was in itself a beautiful song I thought, and substantial and I really liked everything that Olivia brought to it, it also felt like there was a seed of so many other songs in the connection," with Olivia agreeing that it was a "great metaphor" and that she wanted to "follow this path and see what other musical things we can make along it."

Did 'Nice To Each Other' win any awards?

The team won at the 2025 UK Music Video Awards, taking home the award for Best Pop/R&B/Soul/Jazz Video – Newcomer.