This song is a quiet heartbreak wrapped in the ache of comparison and emotional displacement. The speaker is caught in the shadow of a former lover, haunted by lingering tokens—a coffee cup, a photo, a feeling that never fades. With repetition that mirrors the weight of being second-best, “stand-in ex” becomes a powerful metaphor for love that feels borrowed, not earned. It’s tender, raw, and painfully honest about the invisible rival that still lives in the room.