Grande said she and The Weeknd wrote all of the lyrics for "Off the Table."
"Off the Table" plays like a duet between two new lovers, with Grande describing her doubts and The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, chiming in with reassurance and understanding.
Indeed, Grande told Sang that "Off the Table" was inspired by "that fear about new love" — more specifically, that her past trauma would sabotage "a successful, happy, healthy" relationship.
"There are moments when the PTSD part of your brain takes the command seat and tells you those things," she explained, "so I think this was written from that place."
Narratively, the song is a turning point on the album. It comes after a string of songs that describe the confidence, "fun sex," and flirty feelings of courtship. "Off the Table," Grande explained, is a moment of reckoning: "Oh wow, I could be falling in love with someone. Is that even an option for me?"
Grande begins the song by singing, "Will I ever love the same way again? / Do I sit this one out and wait for the next life?"
This sentiment echoes "Bloodline," the fourth track on "Thank U, Next," which includes the lyric: "I ain't lookin' for my one true love / Yeah, that ship sailed away."
The "true love" described in both songs may refer to Miller. Grande seems to feel guilty for finding happiness again and moving on from her "all-consuming" grief.
Grande also confirmed that Tesfaye's role in the song was inspired by her current relationship with Gomez.
"I gave him a little sum-up of my — we caught up for a while and talked about life and everything," she told Sang. "And he kind of, I think, wrote his verse from a perspective of a person that would be filling certain shoes, and what I've heard that has felt nice."
Tesfaye's lyrics include multiple references to old songs of his own: "I can you love you harder than I did before" (2014's "Love Me Harder," his first duet with Grande), and "I was haunted by the hills" (2015's "The Hills").
He also sings, "You're trying to fill the void with a couple boys," which echoes a lyric on 2018's "Hurt You" ("You try to fill the void with every man you meet").
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