It is fairly apparent that young singer, Shawn Mendes, is a heartthrob (especially to my sister, who is happy that someone so cute and so famous is her age). He is more than just a musical artist for teens to crush on. He has a message to teach everyone—male or female, young or old—by zoning in on the lyrics to his new single, “Treat You Better.”

As soon as I heard each verse to this beautifully-written song for the first time, it caused me to fall into a sense of trust and security and gave me the familiar feeling of safety. I am sure that when most individuals hear “Treat You Better” for the first time, they associate the song with items in their lives that are reliable. As each word fell from Shawn’s lips, it brought me closer to being in my comfortable home, snuggled up in the living room, in the arms of my family. They are the people who I know I can count on to be loyal and to stand by me always.

The title, “Treat You Better,” reminds me of my childhood, when my dad’s motto was “Treat others the way that you want to be treated.” If Kid #1 hits Kid #2 on the playground, Kid #1 should have empathized with Kid #2 because he himself probably would not like to be the one being hit. Listen to my words when I say that everyone deserves to be treated with respect, and relationships are temporary situations that can be changed if someone in the relationship is not treating the other person well. “Treat others the way that you want to be treated.”

Shawn Mendes immediately earns a sense of trust with his listeners as early as the first line of his song: “I won’t lie to you.” Right away, the listener has the desire to listen carefully to and hear truth in the remaining lyrics that Mendes conveys because it is presumably honest. The next line, “I know he’s just not right for you” becomes believable because of the first line and causes the listener to want to hear more about how that someone is not the right person for the audience.

In a typical situation, if a boy said to a girl, “I know he’s just not right for you,” she would become defensive, so Shawn’s next line is: “And you can tell me if I’m off,” which breaks down the girl’s defensive side and enables her to decide for herself if Mendes is correct in his assumption, similar to his lines: “The second you say you’d like me to…Tell me what you want me to do.” It shows that it is her decision. Shawn then goes on to say that he “can see it on your [her] face,” demonstrating that he is so familiar with this person that he knows what she is thinking by her facial expressions.

There is comfort in knowing that his audience has another option in comparison to the situation that she is in with his lines, “And anytime you want it to stop…I know that I can treat you better than he can.” Merely at her word, Mendes will be there to give her what her boyfriend can not provide her with.

Let’s take the time to analyze a few adorable lines that everyone in the world deserves to hear. Shawn says, “And any girl like you deserves a gentleman.” Every girl deserves a gentleman, just like every man deserves to have a woman who treats him well. Both sides deserve to be respected. Mendes sings, “I’ll stop time for you…The second you say you’d like me to.” What person does not want to hear that? He would do anything for her, which is pretty much words from a fairy tale. An entire stanza needs to be concentrated on as Shawn pours out all of this love in: “Give me a sign…Take my hand, we’ll be fine…promise I won’t let you down…just know that you don’t have to do this alone…promise I’ll never let you down.” He is letting her know that she is not alone; there is so much promise in his words…he says it twice.

So what is he promising? What will change if she chooses him over her soon-to-be-ex? She will no longer be “wasting time,” nor will she be “crying.” He will give her the “loving she is missing. It could be so different.” Now that we know exactly how much better her relationship with Shawn Mendes would be if she chose him, the only missing puzzle piece is Shawn. Mendes truly needs to follow through with what he is rejoicing through actions. That will prove if he truly meant what he said and can keep promises. Anyone can say what he or she would do if you were his or hers—although they may not be able to articulate it as well as Shawn Mendes—but it takes a genuine individual to demonstrate his or her feelings through actions.

This song is relatable. Any listener can substitute his or herself for Shawn Mendes and the girl he is talking to. The roles can even be reversed, as long as there is a person who is in a bad relationship and another individual who wants to do something about it. Anyone listening to “Treat You Better” could fantasize about having the hero that Shawn Mendes represents swoop in to save him or her, or he or she could imagine being the key to making his or her love’s life the best it could be.

Although Shawn may not be the one to promise you every word he wrote (considering he is pretty flirty with Camila Cabello), the 17-year-old is trying to remind everyone that if you are not satisfied with the way your friend, partner, or spouse is treating you, there is always someone out there who “will treat you better…better than he [or she] can.”