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twentypercentprojectlorde · 7 years

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Week #7: A World Alone

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To me, all of Lorde’s songs take place in memories, in a place, with certain people. A World Alone is about another best friend of mine (not the same one from Buzzcut Season. Or Ribs. Or Royals. I have moved through many best friends the past couple of years. High school is like that sometimes) after a football game. He came off the field- sweaty- and in tears. They had lost a very close game; needless to say, every player I saw walking off the field was crying their eyes out. That game was virtually the end of their high school football careers and the fact that they lost seemed to make it burn even more. The feeling was stuck in the air- just hanging there.

I wrapped my arms around my best friend’s waist, feeling the mud and the rain and the sweat soaking into my shirt. For some reason I thought that maybe if I held him tight enough, I could take away his pain. We all know it doesn’t work that way- a part of me will always wish that it did. All he kept saying, over and over again like a favorite song, was “We were so close. It’s over. We were so fucking close.” All I could say was, “It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.” How do you stop a 180 pound football player from crying- how do you make them hear you?

But it’s just high school football right? It’s just Division II, it’s just public school, it’s just the underdogs. Maybe I felt like that before, maybe the dedication never seemed worth it. But to them, these games are everything- I don’t think you can ever understand that feeling unless you’re a part of it, unless you’re there, unless you’re holding the defeated teams in the palms of your hands.

A World Alone is the last song on Pure Heroine- the album closer. It captures that feeling of intimacy like no other; it captures what it’s like to find someone who understands you like no one else does. There are people who are always talking, always questioning you. Why do you care so much? Who gives a shit about football anyways?

My best friend does. So does the rest of his team. And to that I say: “Let ‘em talk cause we’re dancing in this world alone; we’re all alone. “

Speaker: Lorde is the speaker, using “you” and “we” pronouns. Her personality is affectionate but also wary; she takes a fairly pessimistic view of the world.

Occasion: The song seems to take place in someone’s car, at least as indicated by the beginning of the song. The larger occasion seems to be an onslaught of people commenting on Lorde’s life, and people who needlessly talk with no cause. She fires back at these people- she seems to be motivated by her love and devotion to those around her.

Audience: She talks to both the doubters in her life (or people who don’t understand her) and also to someone very close to her, which most people assume is her boyfriend/partner. Most of her “haters” are referred to indirectly, while her partner is talked to directly.

Purpose: Lorde’s purpose is to establish her happiness in the world despite people badmouthing her or constantly gossiping about irrelevant things. While they are all doing petty things like that, Lorde is spending quality time with the people she loves. She doesn’t need anybody else in the world- as long as she has her partner, she is content. The song also deals with the fakeness of others, whom Lorde finds she cannot trust at all. Lorde finds comfort in her friends, family and lover- she knows that she can trust them despite all the transparency of everyone around her. This song basically is an homage to the people in her life that she loves.

Analysis

This song is fairly heavy in content for some reason, even more so than her other songs. Anyways, here’s the first verse:

That slow burn wait while it gets dark

Bruising the sun

I feel grown up with you in your car

I know it's dumb

The first line uses a functional shift right off the bat- “wait” is a verb, but here, it’s used as a noun. Lorde talks about this “wait” like it’s a thing, rather than an action. The effect of this is that it makes the language abstract and makes us think about sunsets in a whole new way. We don’t usually think about sunsets as a “wait.” This first song sets up the time- the sun is setting, it’s turning into night.

“Bruising the sun” is personification- you can’t bruise the sun, the sun can’t be bruised. This really just adds to the time that the song takes place in, as the sun is setting and the day is ending. This can also be seen as symbolic- Lorde dislikes the sun, and she responds by metaphorically “bruising” it.

“I feel grown up with you in your car / I know it’s dumb” is actually a fan favorite in terms of specific lyrics. That says a lot- the diction is simple, and easy to relate to. This goes back to what Lorde does in a lot of her songs- not over complicating anything and keeping things to the point. She uses language that is common and casual. This line also follows a theme that is found in a lot of her songs- the idea of “growing up” and simultaneously being young. Tennis Court, Ribs, 400 Lux and Still Sane all address death, the idea of “forever” and the idea of getting older. She feels “grown up” in this person’s car, but immediately feels dumb about it right after.

The next verse:

We both got a million bad habits to kick

Not sleeping is one

We're biting our nails, you're biting my lip

I'm biting my tongue

But people are talking, people are talking

The first line is a hyperbole- Lorde is exaggerating the amount of “bad habits to kick.” They obviously don’t have a million bad habits, but using a hyperbole really enforces and emphasize their quantity of habits. They have a lot of bad habits- not a million necessarily, but definitely many. This also enforces the idea of intimacy that the whole song is about- Lorde knows this person very well, down to their multiple bad habits.

“Not sleeping is one / we’re biting our nails, you're biting my lip / I'm biting my tongue” has very interesting syntax- she is essentially listing off a bunch of her partner’s bad habits. Not sleeping, nail biting, not speaking. She also juxtaposes her bad habits to her partner’s- you bite my lip, I bite my tongue. The repetition of the word “biting” really enforces this action as a bad thing. It also creates more contrast to the different actions that her and her partners are taking- they’re both biting something. Sometimes it’s the same thing (nails) and sometimes it’s different (lips, tongues). Again, this really adds the intimacy of the overall song- even though they are different, they relate to each other in a very personal way.

“But people are talking, people are talking” summarizes the whole song- the purpose of A World Alone is to fight back against the people who needlessly gossip; either about the media or other people in general. She’s aware that people are talking about her behind her back with harsh, judgmental attitudes. But the way she sees it- it’s just talk. This calls back to the first line of Tennis Court- don’t you think that it’s boring how people talk?

The chorus:

Raise a glass, cause I'm not done saying it

They all wanna get rough, get away with it

Let 'em talk, cause we're dancing in this world alone

World alone, we're alone

She uses fairly abstract and vague diction here, as she does in many of her songs. The “it” antecedent is used once again- and she never tells us exactly what “it” even is. She intentionally keeps it very ambiguous- almost as if she doesn’t want us to be in on it. All of Lorde’s songs are very personal, which is maybe why she doesn’t want us to know everything about her. Lorde herself is a personal person- never oversharing anything. She mentions this here:

“…In a perfect world, I would never do any interviews, and probably there would be one photo out there of me, and that would be it. I just feel like mystery is more interesting. People respond to something which intrigues them instead of something that gives them all the information -- particularly in pop, which is like the genre for knowing way too much about everyone and everything.”

Also something notice is Lorde’s use of pronouns and how easily this song becomes an us vs. them situation. The lyrics “They all wanna get rough get away with it” and “Let them talk” has a stark contrast to the lyric “We’re dancing in this world alone.” It’s very clear how Lorde is separating her and her partner off from the rest of the world based on her pronouns- they can’t change us.

Overall, this chorus is saying that all those fake people are not worth their time- Lorde would much rather spend her time dancing with her partner. Dancing is also an interesting word choice- it implies their time together is graceful, beautiful, and effortless. This is in stark contrast to how they all wanna get rough get away with it. Lorde effectively contrasts those people in the world to the people she loves- she knows where she stands and who she wants to be with.

The post-chorus:

All the double-edged people into schemes

They make a mess, then go home and get clean

You're my best friend and we're dancing in a world alone

A world alone, we're all alone

The post-chorus continues with more us vs. them mentality- those double-edged people into schemes make Lorde annoyed at the very least. It’s a whole lot of criticism of gossipers, of people who like to start shit for fun. They make a mess, they go home and get clean. She hates the way people get away with being jerks and being mean- then they can just go home and feel no remorse about it.

But the second half of the post-chorus shifts again. She turns away from those people and speaks to her partner: you’re my best friend, we’re dancing in a world alone. The contrast is huge- they’re fake and mean but you’re my best friend and we’re in this world together, alone. Lorde effectively juxtaposes how deeply she feels about her partner to how easily she brushes off the fake people in the world. Her tone to the fake people is disdainful and mocking- her tone to her lover is affectionate and sincere. It’s almost like she flips a switch.

The second verse (which is my favorite verse of hers EVER):

All my fake friends and all of their noise

Complain about work

They're studying business, I study the floor

And you haven't stopped smoking all night

Maybe the Internet raised us, or maybe people are jerks

But people are talking, people are talking

But not you

But people are talking, people are talking

It’s easy to see how the “them” and “you” pronouns continue throughout the whole song. “They’re studying business, I study the floor” has very interesting syntax, because she uses the word “study” in two different ways. They study academically, and Lorde studies by looking closely and observing. Lorde juxtaposes the difference between her and her “fake friends” very clearly- obviously, they view the world in very different ways. There’s also a big contrast in the lifestyle she’s living versus what her friends are doing. They’re in school, they’re studying, they’re getting an education. But she’s making music, signing contracts and becoming famous- she feels awkward because of this.

“And you haven’t stopped smoking all night” calls back to the “million bad habits” Lorde mentions before. She gives a concrete example of her partner’s flaws- he likes to smoke, all night. Lorde makes the song personal by including details and by making her relationship seem very human. This adds to the overall purpose of the song; it’s an intimate look at Lorde’s relationship and how her relationship keeps her afloat in this world of fake people.

“Maybe the Internet raised us” is very interesting to me, because it’s so centralized on our generation. We grew up with the Internet, we grew up with aesthetics and social justice and Tumblr. I can’t say my parents taught me to be socially conscious- it was the Internet. There’s something weird about that, something off.

Anyways, obviously Lorde speaks metaphorically. The Internet didn’t literally raise us, but “being raised” by the Internet represents having the Internet so present in our lives throughout childhood that it shaped who we are as people now. “The Internet” tells us how to act; it tells us what’s cool and what isn’t. The Internet is representative of our generation- the generation that supposedly has everything at our fingertips.

“…Or maybe people are jerks / but not you” has that affectionate tone once more, as well as contrasting the “jerks” and her partner. The juxtaposition is very clear- they’re jerks, but we don’t have to be like them. We’re in this, together. Again, the pronouns are very clear and simple- other people vs. “you.”

The bridge:

I know we're not everlasting

We're a trainwreck waiting to happen

One day the blood won't flow so gladly

One day we'll all get still, get still

People are talking, people are talking...

I have always loved this bridge, because it’s so heartbreakingly realistic. Lorde acknowledges that their relationship will inevitably end in pain and agony- this is something that is rarely ever mentioned in any other love song. She knows she won’t love him forever, she knows that relationships just end sometimes. And yeah, it’s really hard to face this fact. It sucks. But this is such a realistic view of teenage relationships specifically; as I mentioned when analyzing 400 Lux, most teenagers in relationships know that they won’t be with that person forever. People graduate and everything changes almost every day. And sometimes there just isn’t a reason at all. Sometimes things fall apart.

The metaphorical “train wreck” is the inevitable breakup that most couples go through. Breakups are a train wreck- there’s screaming and crying and so much pain and anger. Using a train wreck as a metaphor effectively tells us the amount of catastrophic pain Lorde envisions as a result of her split with this person. It’s going to be a train wreck. It’ll sound like crashing metal and it’ll feel like murder.

The blood flowing symbolizes the difference between life and death. When our blood is flowing, we’re alive- more specifically, when it’s flowing “gladly”, we’re young. This goes back to theme of life and youth discussed in Ribs and parts of Still Sane. When the blood won’t flow so gladly, this symbolizes the end of life. Lorde doesn’t only address the inevitable end of her relationship- she addresses the inevitable end of her life.

Lorde repeats the phrase “Get still” at the end of the bridge. What this does is make her seem even more anxious and reflective- almost as if the second repetition is her talking to herself. As if saying it once wasn’t enough, Lorde has to tell us again that we’re all going to die one day- or “get still.” Her repetition really drives the message home- everything inevitably ends. We all get still, get still.

Well, that was depressing! And the album ends on that note too.

Well, not exactly. The absolute last line in the song and the album is: “Let ‘em talk.” This is in huge contrast to the first line of Tennis Court: “Don’t you think that it’s boring how people talk?”

It’s boring. Let them keep doing it.

[Verse 1] That slow burn waits while it gets dark Bruising the sun I feel grown up with you in your car I know it's dumb [Verse 2] We both got a million bad habits to kick Not sleeping is one We're biting our nails, you're biting my lip I'm biting my tongue But people are talking, people are talking But people are talking, people are talking [Chorus] Raise a glass, cause I'm not done saying it They all wanna get rough, get away with it Let 'em talk, cause we're dancing in this world alone World alone, we're alone [Verse 3] All my fake friends and all of their noise Complain about work They're studying business, I study the floor And you haven't stopped smoking all night Maybe the Internet raised us, or maybe people are jerks But people are talking, people are talking But not you But people are talking, people are talking [Chorus] Raise a glass, cause I'm not done saying it They all wanna get rough, get away with it Let 'em talk, cause we're dancing in this world alone World alone, we're alone [Post-Chorus] All the double-edged people into schemes They make a mess, then go home and get clean You're my best friend and we're dancing in a world alone A world alone, we're all alone [Bridge] I know we're not everlasting We're a trainwreck waiting to happen One day the blood won't flow so gladly One day we'll all get still, get still People are talking, people are talking... [Chorus] Raise a glass, cause I'm not done saying it They all wanna get rough, get away with it Let 'em talk, cause we're dancing in this world alone World alone, we're alone [Post-Chorus] All the double-edged people into schemes They make a mess, then go home and get clean You're my best friend and we're dancing in a world alone A world alone, we're all alone [Outro] But people are talking, people are talking... But people are talking, people are talking... But people are talking, people are talking... Let 'em talk

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