“Beetlejuice” by Mariah the Scientist is a devastating, clinical, and all-too-relatable “case study” on a toxic relationship. As the seventh track from her 2019 debut album, MASTER, the song’s core meaning is a painful “autopsy” of a love that is both addictive and poisonous—a “bittersweet” experience.
This song is not a simple breakup anthem. It is a detailed “lab report” on a manipulative partner, a chaotic “con artist” who provides the highest highs (the “sweet”) in order to get away with the lowest lows (the “bitter”). Mariah, as “the Scientist,” presents her evidence, but she also confesses her own “weakness” for a “flame” she knows will burn her.
This article will provide an exhaustive, in-depth analysis of “Beetlejuice,” exploring every layer of its “bittersweet” metaphor, the “Frank Ocean” ritual, and the story of a love that is as intoxicating as it is fatal.
The MASTER Thesis: A Scientific Study
To understand “Beetlejuice,” we must first understand the artist’s framework. Mariah’s debut album is titled MASTER. This is a “master’s thesis,” a final, deeply researched project on a single subject. That subject is a failed, all-consuming relationship.
As “Mariah the Scientist,” she approaches this topic with a methodical precision. The album is not just a collection of songs; it is a presentation of her findings. She is not just “sad”; she is “analyzing” her pain.
“Beetlejuice” is the album’s most important “case study.” It is where she introduces her primary “specimen”: the partner who is a “Beetlejuice.”
This is not a random title. It is the central metaphor for the entire song. In the 1988 film, “Beetlejuice” is a chaotic, manipulative, and selfish “bio-exorcist.” He is a fast-talking “con artist” who pretends to be a “helper” but only creates more destruction for his own “amusement.”
This is a perfect, one-to-one comparison for her lover. He is a man who thrives on chaos, who is a master manipulator, and who seems to enjoy the “game” of the relationship, even as it destroys her.
Section 1: The Thesis (Analysis of the First Chorus)
The song’s chorus is its thesis statement. It is the abstract of her “master’s thesis,” presented at the very beginning. She lays out the entire conflict in just a few lines.
The song opens with the central hypothesis: “bittersweet.” This one word defines the entire relationship. It is not all “bad.” If it were, it would be easy to leave. It is the “sweet” part that makes the “bitter” part so complicated.
She calls her partner “beetlejuice,” immediately identifying him as the chaotic, untrustworthy entity.
The line that follows, “Bitter me, how sweet of you to…” is a masterpiece of cutting sarcasm. She is “bitter” from the experience, and she is mocking his “sweet” gesture of asking her to be his “muse.”
This “muse” metaphor is the core of his first “con.” He is a “painter,” an “artist” in manipulation. He promised to make her his “muse,” his singular inspiration, a “one-of-one.”
But his “art” was a lie. He did not “paint” her in glory; he “painted her blue.” He took her “inspiration” and turned it into “sadness.”
The “one-of-one” line is then revealed as the most painful lie. He turned her unique status into an “our one-of-two.” This is her “scientific” way of saying, “He cheated.”
And the evidence is specific. The “Jamaica Avenue” tattoo is not a vague reference. It is a “data point.” It suggests he got a “matching” tattoo with another woman, a public and permanent “painting” of his betrayal, turning Mariah’s “muse” status into a shared, meaningless gesture.
The chorus ends with the reason for the entire song: the “sweet.” She confesses that, despite all this “data,” she stays. Why? Because “he makes me feel what no other man could do.” This is the “addiction.” This is the “sweet” that makes her tolerate the “bitter.”
Section 2: The “Sweet” Poison (Analysis of the Post-Chorus)
After establishing the “bitter” evidence, the post-chorus is her detailed analysis of the “sweet” part. This is the “drug” itself.
She identifies it as “lust and desire.” She knows this is not a logical, “scientific” connection. It is primal and dangerous.
“You lure me to the flame, near your fire.” This is a key confession. She is not a “victim” being “dragged” to the fire. She is being “lured.” She is a willing participant, like a moth, drawn to something she knows will destroy her.
The “sweetness” then becomes more specific. It is not just physical. It is verbal. It is the “game.”
He calls her “Miss Mariah,” a formal, respectful, and charming gesture. But he immediately follows it with a “con.” He says her name “with your last name… might sound a little nicer.”
This is the ultimate “con artist” move. He is “dangling the future.” He is “selling” her a fantasy of marriage, of a “forever” that he has no intention of delivering. He is giving her just enough “sweetness” (a “future”) to make her forget the “bitter” (the “one-of-two”).
Mariah, the “scientist,” then steps out of the experiment to observe. She breaks the fourth wall, speaking to a “sister” (herself, a friend, the listener). “Ooh, he got game, sister.” She is impressed by his skill. She can “scientifically” respect his “method,” even as it is destroying her.
This is the central “mayhem” of the “Beetlejuice” character. He “always wanna play.” For him, this is a “game.” For her, it is her life.
She concludes this section with the fatal diagnosis. “He gon’ drive me insane.” And the final prognosis: “He gon’ be the one to / Take me to my grave, mister.”
She knows, with 100% scientific certainty, that this relationship is “fatal.” The “sweet” is a “sweet poison.”
Section 3: The Ritual (Analysis of the Pre-Chorus)
This section is the most important, brilliant, and heartbreaking part of the entire song. It is the “methodology” of his “con.” It is the ritual of their “bittersweet” cycle.
She explains the “process” step-by-step, like a “scientist” documenting an experiment.
Step 1: The “Bitter” (The Lie). The cycle always begins with his transgression. He will “lie to my face.”
Step 2: The “Con” (The Manipulation). When she catches him, he uses his “game.” His specific “con” is to “say that even Jesus forgave.” This is a stunning, specific, and evil form of manipulation. He is “gaslighting” her with religion. He is comparing his cheating to a sin that even God would forgive, so how dare she not forgive him? He is making her the “villain” for being “bittersweet” about his lie.
Step 3: The “Sweet” (The Drug). Once she is emotionally disarmed by this “Jesus” con, he immediately moves to the “sweet” part. They “drive to your place.” He will “make love to me.” The physical intimacy is the “reward” for her “forgiveness.” It is the “sweet” that washes away the “bitter” taste of the lie.
Step 4: The “Ritual” (The Blonde Reference). This is where Mariah’s “scientific” detail becomes genius. She documents the exact “setting” of the “experiment.” They are “listening to Blonde by Frank, mmh.”
This is not a casual detail. Blonde is one of the most celebrated, emotionally complex, and “bittersweet” albums of the decade. It is an album of deep, often “toxic,” and melancholic love.
He then puts on a specific song: “Godspeed.”
This is the “Beetlejuice” con at its peak. “Godspeed” is a song about a painful, final goodbye. It is a song about “letting someone go” in peace, even though it hurts. The lyrics are, “I will always love you… but I’ll let you go.”
This man is “making love” to Mariah… while playing a song about “letting her go.”
It is the ultimate “Beetlejuice” chaos. It is a form of psychological torture. He is “with” her and “leaving” her in the exact same moment. He is a “godsend” (as she sarcastically notes) who is also “saying goodbye.”
This is the “sweetest” and “bitterest” moment of the entire cycle. She “basks in every single moment,” addicted to the “sweetness” of the “mountain peak” and the “fountain” (the physical intimacy), even though the soundtrack to their love is “goodbye.”
Section 4: The Relapse (Analysis of the Verse)
The song’s “verse” is the one part of the song that breaks from the “cycle” and shows the “real-world” consequences. It is the “data” from the final “failed experiment.”
She gives us the time and place of the “crime scene.” “The last time I seen your face was in Atlanta.”
She presents her “evidence.” “I knew that she had took my place because you vanished.” He did not “break up” with her. He “vanished.” He “ghosted” her. He is a “Beetlejuice” who, once his “con” was discovered, disappeared in a puff of smoke.
This “abandonment” is her greatest fear. She feels “left on an isolated planet,” a perfect “scientist” metaphor for her loneliness.
Then, she confesses the true depth of her “addiction” to the “sweet” part. “I’d rather die than be abandoned by you.”
This is the core of her “sickness.” She is so co-dependent on the “lust and desire,” the “Frank Ocean” ritual, that the “withdrawal” (abandonment) feels worse than the “overdose” (dying).
She tries to defend her “pure” love. She “didn’t love you for the money.” Her love was real. It was for the “sugar and my honey.” It was for the “chemistry” (another “scientific” term).
The verse ends with a confusing, defensive attempt to “re-write” the experiment. “But if you never even loved me / Then my heart will never skip a beat.” This is a typo in the provided lyrics, but it reveals a “scientific” detachment. She is trying to tell herself, “If the ‘data’ (his love) was ‘false,’ then ‘my’ ‘reaction’ (heart skipping) should also be ‘false’.” It is a desperate, logical attempt to “un-feel” her feelings.
Section 5: The Inescapable Loop (The “Refrain” and Final Chorus)
This is the most tragic part of the song’s structure. After the “verse,” where she clearly identifies the final “abandonment” in “Atlanta,” the song does not end with empowerment.
It goes right back into the “Refrain” (which is the Pre-Chorus).
The “Frank Ocean” ritual repeats.
This structural choice is a work of genius. It means that even after he “vanished” in “Atlanta,” even after she “knew that she had took my place,”… she went back.
The “ritual” happened again. The “addict” relapsed. The “scientist” willingly re-entered the “contaminated” lab, knowing the experiment would “fail.”
This is the “Beetlejuice” curse. She cannot stop “saying his name.” She cannot stop “summoning” him. The song ends with this “ritual” and a final repeat of the “chorus” and “post-chorus.”
The “loop” is the point. The song does not have a “conclusion” because the “experiment” is “inconclusive.” She is still “stuck” in the “bittersweet” cycle.
Conclusion: The “Bittersweet” MASTER
“Beetlejuice” by Mariah the Scientist is her MASTER thesis on a “sweet poison.” It is a song about an “addiction” to a “con artist.” The “Beetlejuice” metaphor is not just a title; it is a “diagnosis.”
He is a man who “dangles the future” (a “last name”) while “painting her blue.” He uses “religious gaslighting” (“Jesus forgave”) to get to the “sweet” part.
And, most devastatingly, he turns an “intimate” act (making love) into a “psychological” con (playing “Godspeed”), a “ritual” of “hello” and “goodbye” that she is “addicted” to.
The song’s structure, a “loop” that always returns to the “ritual,” is her final “scientific” finding. The song is not about “escaping” the toxic love; it is about “documenting” the “bittersweet” prison. It is a “master’s” level analysis of an “insane” love that she knows will be her “grave.”