The pop star dropped her latest album, "Eternal Sunshine," on Friday ... and in the titular song, she calls out a man whom she says played her -- and the way she says that happened was through lying and apparent cheating.

Here's how one telling verse goes ... "I've never seen someone lie like you do // So much, even you start to think it's true // So now we play our separate scenes // Now, now she's in my bed, mm-mm, layin' on your chest // Now I'm in my head, wonderin' how it ends."

Ariana continues to sing ... "Showed you all my demons, all my lies // Yet you played me like Atari // Now it's like I'm lookin' in the mirror // Hope you feel alright when you're in her
I found a good boy and he's on my side."

On its face, Ari seems to be accusing an ex here -- although it's not entirely clear which one -- but many suspect she's perhaps pointing the finger at Dalton ... y'know, since that was her last big relationship. She was only married to the dude, after all.

Inversely, she also appears to be referencing her current BF, Ethan Slater, as the "good boy" -- again, that's how some of her fans are taking this ... with some interpreting the words literally and trying to apply it to her real life. Understandable ... artists do that sometimes.

If she is, in fact getting at alleged cheating in this song -- on Dalton's part -- then you could argue this is Ariana trying to tweak the narrative over how things ended with DG and how her romance with Ethan started. Remember, she was infamously labeled a "homewrecker" by fans ... and even Ethan's ex-wife, Lilly Jay, implied Ari had swooped in on her hubby.

Not long after the news broke ... Ethan officially pulled the plug on his marriage. Since word of his and Ari's relationship went public -- the two of them have been virtually inseparable.

By October, Ariana and Dalton had officially settled their divorce. Dalton's been mum on the whole thing ... and in the aftermath of Ari, he's already moved on with other ladies.

It's interesting that fans now seem to think Ariana might be shifting the blame a bit -- that is, if you're taking her words to heart and projecting it onto Gomez ... which some certainly are.

We'd heard from sources with knowledge that their marriage fell apart in a post-COVID world due to scheduling issues, and Ari resuming being an A-lister. Now, however ... some are hearing another possibility -- but TBH, they might be reaching a bit on this one.

Fact is ... Ari's lyrics are up to interpretation -- as is the case with all music -- and while it's understandable why some might be perceiving this as a shot at Dalton ... it very well might be about something else entirely. In fact, she's spoken fondly of him in recent interviews.

Ariana recently did an interview with Zach Sang to plug the new album -- and she alluded to the fact that she wasn't holding any hate in her heart over previous relationships ... and that she wasn't carrying anything negative onto this new album of hers -- which suggests there's no ill will at Dalton at all. Eye of the beholder, we suppose ... that's how these things go.