The main gist of this moody track is Billie Eilish "couldn't care less" what people think of her. She expresses disdain towards the constant media coverage and the critiques aimed at her baggy clothes and body. Eilish demands these people stop speaking her name as if they know her personally; after all she doesn't know their names.
Eilish fuses her jabs at these clout chasers with critical philosophy. She derives the title and chorus from a famous philosophical statement by the 17th century Frenchman Rene Descartes, where he tackles the problem of skepticism. Descartes' 1637 treatise Discours de la méthode (Discourse on the Method) was a series of mathematical and metaphysical speculations where he attempted to rebuild human knowledge using the foundation "I think therefore I am." By arguing that by doubting our existence, we prove our reality, Descartes founded modern philosophy. Eilish plays on Descartes quote to swipe at those people she doesn't know who are nonetheless trying to control her. We know that our self-conscious is real because we can think, and Eilish is an individual with her own mind.
During "Therefore I Am," Eilish seems to address one particular individual who has done her wrong, referring to him as "the man." It's unclear whether he's one person or the personification of a group of people. She told Apple Music's Zane Lowe, "This song is very, very up for interpretation." She goes on to say she's "curious to see what people get from it and also what they feel when they hear it. It's a little mean - I love it."
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