Lisa’s ‘Dream’ Lyrics Detail a Haunting 2019 Breakup

THE RUNDOWN

• Lisa’s final track of Alter Ego, “Dream,” details her past heartbreak and is one of her most personal tracks on the album.
• In August 2025, she teased a music video for the song co-starring Japanese actor Kentaro Sakaguchi. It will be released on August 13 at 11 P.M.
• The trailer for the project hints the short film will explore grief.

The final track of Lisa’s Alter Ego, “Dream,” offers a very rare glimpse into the K-pop singer’s past heartbreak. The song is among the most vulnerable of the album, where Lisa sings about missing someone very special to her and hoping for a future where they can reconnect, even just as friends.

“I've been thinking / That I got no idea what you’re thinking / Are you happy? Are you sad? / Are you always gonna hate me for that night in Tokyo? / When it ended, I kinda hoped that it’d be open-ended / But you never looked back / Well, I guess you can't hold on to something once you let it go,” she sings in the first verse. In the chorus, she adds a bit of a timestamp to the relationship, singing, “Whenever I close my eyes / It’s taking me back in time / Been drowning in dreams lately / Like it’s 2019, baby.”

The Blackpink singer has kept her personal life pretty private, especially back in 2019. While there were dating rumors about her at the time, Lisa never confirmed she had a partner.

In the hours following the release of “Dream,” some fans brought up that during that period, Lisa had been linked to fellow YG Entertainment artist, Jung Jaewon, known by his stage name, One. He left YG Entertainment in July 2019.

But fan theories are fan theories. Only Lisa and her co-writers on the song, Ali Tamposi, Feli Ferraro, Shintaro Yasuda, and ​Her0ism, know who inspired the track.

In August 2025, Lisa announced she is releasing a short film for the song, which will debut at 11 P.M. on August 13. She co-stars with Japanese actor Kentaro Sakaguchi in the project, where they play a married couple. The trailer teases the piece will explore grief. “All good things must come to an end,” Lisa wrote in an Instagram with the clip.

While the exact subject of “Dream” isn’t known, there’s one person the song is definitely not about: Lisa’s current rumored boyfriend, LVMH Watches CEO Frédéric Arnault. They first sparked dating rumors years later, in 2022. Fans believe her Alter Ego track “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me)” is about him. Billboard asked who the muse was for the song, and Lisa played coy, saying, “I didn’t write that.”

Still, both tracks lift the veil a bit on Lisa’s inner world, with “Dream” giving a particularly poignant look at how much Lisa cherished a lost relationship. The short film only amplifies that theme of loss.

Read the lyrics and listen to the song below.

Verse 1I’ve been thinkingThat I got no idea what you’re thinkingAre you happy? Are you sad?Are you always gonna hate me for that night in Tokyo?When it ended, I kinda hoped that it’d be open-endedBut you never looked back

Well, I guess you can’t hold on to something once you let it go

Pre-Chorus

But I know a place where we can be usI know it ain’t real, but it’s real enoughFrom sun going down to sun coming upIt’s like you're here with me

Chorus

Whenever I close my eyesIt’s taking me back in timeBeen drowning in dreams latelyLike it’s 2019, babyWhenever I’m missing youCall you up, but I can't get throughDon’t know where you sleep latelyBut I’ll see you in my dreams, maybeWe can catch up, drive down our old streetIf all that we were is all that we’ll ever beIt’s bittersweetAt least a girl can dream

Verse 2

I guess that I’m taking what I can get’Cause I don’t get nothing new from your friendsIf you got the harder side of the breakThen why is it harder for me to take?

There’s so much I might never get to say-ay

Pre-Chorus

But I know a place where we can be usI know it ain’t real, but it’s real enoughFrom sun going down to sun coming upIt’s like you're here with me

Chorus

Whenever I close my eyesIt’s taking me back in timeBeen drowning in dreams latelyLike it’s 2019, babyWhenever I’m missing youCall you up, but I can’t get throughDon’t know where you sleep latelyBut I’ll see you in my dreams, maybeWe can catch up, drive down our old streetIf all that we were is all that we’ll ever beIt’s bittersweetAt least a girl can dream

Bridge

I know it’s only in my mind (Ooh)Playin’ three nights on the stereoLike a movie scene, DiCaprioOh, I put my makeup on just to fall asleep (Ah)

It’s like you’re here with me

Chorus

Whenever I close my eyesIt’s taking me back in timeBeen drowning in dreams latelyLike it’s 2019, babyWhenever I’m missing youCall you up, but I can’t get throughDon’t know where you sleep latelyBut I’ll see you in my dreams, maybeWe can catch up, drive down our old streetIf all that we were is something we’ll never beIt’s bittersweet

Can we be friends at least?