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Week #8: Pure Heroine Rhetorical Analysis Essay

The topic of youth is something that is explored in almost every form of media. High school movies, young adult books and of course, music, have all explored the idea of being a teenager and the milestones that come with that age. The album Pure Heroine by Lorde accurately tackles the subject of teenage hood while utilizing various rhetorical strategies to bolster her view of the world. Lorde uses cleverly crafted metaphors, very simplistic diction and a reoccurring theme dealing with “not caring” to convey how her and her friends are not the conventional teens that are shown in Western media; but they embrace their differences in this world alone.

Metaphors are used by Lorde in almost all of her songs. One example is when she says "We're on each other's team" on Team. This is a very simple, yet effective metaphor. Obviously they aren't literally on an organized team, but metaphorically, they function the way a team does. They're all there for each other- this metaphor emphasizes the closeness of their friendship. This adds onto the overall purpose of the album- throughout Pure Heroine, Lorde establishes how her and her friends are so much different from the rest of the world, and how they don't care about the opulence of Western culture. This metaphor effectively conveys how Lorde and her friends don't need fame or money, as long as they are all on a team together. When they're metaphorically on the team, they feel complete. Another example of a metaphor on Pure Heroine can be found in the beginning of Buzzcut Season, when Lorde sings "I remember when your head caught flame". This so called “flame” is metaphorical- it represents how paranoid thoughts are infesting her friends’ brains. In context with the whole album, the terrifying thoughts that are represented by their heads catching flame have to do with the pressures her friends face from the outside world- a world of violence and “explosions on TV.” This is consistent with the rest of Pure Heroine- her friends aren’t conventional, and this definitely shows when compared to the rest of the luxury obsessed world. This is just one of many other examples throughout Pure Heroine. Besides metaphors, Lorde has specific word choice throughout the album that allows her to make simple, intimate commentary.

Lorde uses very straightforward diction in most of her songs. Take, for instance, the first verse of Ribs: “The drink you spilt all over me / “Lover’s Spit” left on repeat / My mom and dad let me stay home / It drives you crazy, getting old”. Every single line is very diluted and simple- none of her phrases are overcomplicated. She speaks very literally and to the point, basically describing what she sees in the most uncomplicated terms possible. For example, “My mom and dad let me stay home” requires no real analyzing or background information to decipher what she means- she is literally just saying that her parents let her stay home for the weekend. There are no uncommon or unorthodox words- most of the words she uses are applicable in everyday life. This easy to understand diction reveals a lot about her purpose- to portray the lives of teenagers as normally and true to life as possible. She speaks the way that most teenagers speak- in a very simplistic, almost ordinary way. Another example of this type of diction can be found on 400 Lux- “I can tell that you’re tired / But you keep the car on / While you’re waiting out front”. Again, Lorde describes this person very literally and candidly- no “big” words, no analyzation or abstract language. She describes how this person feels (“tired”) and what this person is doing (“you keep the car on”) using everyday language. She talks to this person as teenagers talk to each other- easy, mild, open. This particular line adds to the overall purpose because it reveals to us the intimacy of teenage relationships- her diction makes the line easy to consume yet very personal as well. The album is an intimate look at the way most teenagers function in society, which is why her simple diction adds to this purpose.

Finally, there is a very specific theme that can be spotted throughout the whole album, which is the idea that her and her friends are indifferent and “don’t care” about the rest of the world. The first time this is ever mentioned is on the first song of the album, Tennis Court. She sings, “It’s a new art form showing people how little we care.” Then, on Royals, it’s “We don’t care, we’re driving Cadillacs in our dreams”, “We don’t care, we aren’t caught up in your love affair” and “Life is great without a care.” Then this theme is brought up again on Team: “I’m kind of older than I was when I reveled without a care.” The idea of “not caring” is evidently found scattered throughout Pure Heroine. This is one of the most vital parts of the album, because “not caring” is also a common attitude picked up by most teenagers. Lorde is also enforcing how her and her friends really are separate from the rest of the world- a world that they are not a part of. At the end of the day, however, they don’t care. This theme reminds us again and again that Lorde and her friends are unique people, living unique lives. They aren’t conventional, they aren’t American, and they aren’t rich, but they know better than to care about things like that. This ongoing theme establishes her and her friends’ independence, as well as their typical teenage attitude that can be found anywhere in the world.

Everyone addresses their teenage years in a different way. Lorde takes a unique approach with her album Pure Heroine- on this piece of work, she portrays teenagers in a “normal” light while establishing the unique lives that her and her friends live due to the fact that they aren’t famous or well known. From metaphors, simplistic diction and an ongoing theme, Lorde uses a variety of rhetorical strategies to fortify her ideas. Lorde paints a picture of the average life of a teenager not only through music, but through her command of the English language. Regardless of how you view your teenage years, Pure Heroine captures a period of time that everyone has lived through- the good and the bad.

[twentypercentprojectlorde]

Week #7: A World Alone

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

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 

[twentypercentprojectlorde]

Week #6: Buzzcut Season

When I was fourteen, my best friend shaved his head. He went from having a full head of hair to having absolutely nothing- and he didn’t even care. “My stepdad messed up one part of my hair, so I told him to just shave it all off,” he explained to me while we were sitting on the bleachers one day. “Do you want to feel my head?”

I told him no, I don’t want to feel your scalp, thanks. Truthfully, I was a little disappointed he shaved all his hair off- it was beautiful; sometimes it looked brown, sometimes it looked blonde. He seemed to be changing every day, so I can’t say I was surprised that he showed up like this, looking like a boy born out of the ashes. But he was my best friend, my favorite friend, so I defended that hideous buzz cut (and will continue to do so) until the grave.

Buzzcut Season will always remind me of him, of those times we spent sitting by the pool, of the times we spent trying to navigate our way through the world, together. We spent way too much time talking about haircuts. He was always getting into fights and I was never fighting enough- we were a balancing act on shaky ground.

Speaker: Lorde is the speaker of her song. Her personality is mellow, and very nostalgic.

Occasion: This song is about the memories Lorde has from her summertime with her friends. It talks about all the fun they’ve had, like hanging out at the pools or the ocean. This song draws from her experiences and memories- it is a nostalgic recollection of the fun times Lorde has lived through.

Audience: Lorde’s audience is her friends- she speaks directly to them and often refers to them as a “we” entity. She pretty much wrote this song for them- obviously they will be the ones to really understand what she’s talking about better than anybody else in the world. It’s also obviously very personal and pertaining to her friends specifically.

Purpose: Her purpose is to talk about how her and her friends stuck together, even in times of war and violence (“explosions on TV”). Even though the world is violent and, at times, scary, all of her friends are sticking together and she cherishes her time with them. These times are all distant memories (“I live in a hologram with you”) but she goes back to them for comfort in this world of tension. The memories Lorde has with her friends are still amazing to her- she’s saying that as long as she has her friends, everything will be okay. The purpose of this song is to basically express her love for her friends and show how they’re different from the rest of the world, continuing the idea of her group being outside looking in.

Analysis:

The first verse:

I remember when your head caught flame

It kissed your scalp and caressed your brain

(I remember when your head caught flame)

Well you laughed, baby, it's okay

It's buzzcut season anyway

(Well you laughed, baby, it's okay)

The fact that the first phrase in this song is “I remember when…” really shows how the purpose of this song is to be nostalgic, reminiscent of Lorde’s past memories. This clues us in to how the song isn’t in the present- the song takes places in the past. This first line establishes when the song takes place- in the memories of old summers.

The “heads catching flame” is a double entendre, having both literal and metaphorical meanings. Literally, Lorde is referring to how her friends would shave their heads during the summer (as revealed later when she drops the title- it’s buzzcut season anyways…). Their heads are “catching flame”- their hair is being removed. Metaphorically, the “flame” could represent her friends going crazy- they’re going crazy from the boredom of summer. Their heads are on fire- they keep losing their minds because of their ever-present boredom. Lorde mentions her friends and haircuts here:

“I have a lot of dude friends. I was kind of the camp mother of all the guys. I’ve been texting my friend because he hasn’t had a haircut without me in seven years so he just sends me the haircut emoji and I’m like, ‘OK, I’m going to take you.’ They’re amazing. I feel like teenage boys, all their emotions are really simple and diluted. Teenage girls feel everything so intensely and are so multi-faceted. Boys are just like, they’ll rest a head on your shoulder and you know exactly what that means.”

“It kissed your scalp and caressed your brain” utilizes personification- flames can’t actually kiss or caress anyone. The effect of this is that it makes the descriptions more vivid, and it allows the reader to relate to these actions by prescribing human characteristics to it. The “flame” seems more vivid, more active, because we are familiar with the verbs Lorde uses to describe it.

“Well you laughed baby it’s okay / its buzzcut season anyways” has very affectionate diction- baby, it’s okay. Her tone is very reassuring- it’s okay that you shaved your head, everyone else is doing it too. She tells her friends that they don’t have to feel bad about the fact that their “heads caught flame” because Lorde still loves them, Lorde still considers them her “babies”. The placement of the words (diction) “buzzcut season” is very interesting- these two words aren’t usually ever placed next to each other. This probably doesn’t have too deep of a meaning and has more to do with Lorde’s love of words. She has said, “I’m a big word fetishist, I’ll pick a word and I’ll pin an idea to that.” The juxtaposition of these two words is very cool- it implies that during a certain time of the year, everyone gets buzzcuts; these haircuts supposedly come in seasons. This goes back to the idea that this song is a figment of the past- a dream. The song takes place in the summer season, which just so happens to also be buzzcut season.

The pre-chorus:

Explosions on T.V

And all the girls with heads inside a dream

So now we live beside the pool

Where everything is good

The “explosions on TV” is symbolic for the violence that we are always shown through the media- either in movies or on the news. This violence is prevalent in the world, and teenagers are aware of this. However, we often find a way to ignore everything that is wrong in the world by hanging out with our friends “inside a dream.” The effect of using “explosions on TV” as symbolism is that it makes the song more abstract and a little random, but we know exactly what she is referring to.

“All the girls with heads inside a dream” juxtaposes to the boys in the beginning who are falling victim to this so called buzzcut season. She balances things out by mentioning her girls’ now- this time, they are all living in a dream. This adds to the overall purpose of the song- to create a dreamlike nostalgic world filled with fun and adventure. Obviously this is all metaphorical- the dreams represent their desire to escape the world of violence by pretending that they’re somewhere else.

“Living besides the pool” symbolizes how many rich people with wealth often boast about “life by the pool”- pools are often signify luxury. However, pools in Lorde’s case probably refers to public pools, like ones in high schools or parks. Lorde takes something that is usually reserved for the rich and applies it to her every day average life. The effect of this is that it juxtaposes how different their lives are from the life that is often glorified in Western media- one that consists of fame, glory and money. Saying that they “live” besides the pool is a hyperbole- obviously they don’t literally live at the pool together. Lorde is saying that they spent so much time at the pool, it’s like they practically lived there. They’re perfectly happy at public pools, where everything is good.

The diction of “Where everything is good” is so ridiculously simple, yet effective. She’s just saying that they feel happy at the pool- everything is fine, everyone is happy. Nobody is thinking about the explosions on TV or the violence of the outside world. Everything is just good; not great, not terrible. Lorde implies that the pool is where her and her friends are able to find happiness and peace- being at the pool is where they can escape their problems. The simple diction makes this point very clear- we don’t need to guess how she feels. It also shows the thought process of Lorde- these memories from her past are reminiscent of a simpler, easier time.

The second verse:

We ride the bus with the knees pulled in

People should see how we're living

(We ride the bus with the knees pulled in)

Shut my eyes to the song that plays

Sometimes this has a hot, sweet taste

(Shut my eyes to the song that plays)

“We ride the bus with our knees pulled in / people should see how we’re living” reinforces the idea that her and her friends aren’t wealthy- after all, they have to take the bus everywhere they go. This is an ongoing theme throughout the song and the album- not having a lot of money but still living a good life. There is a sharp juxtaposition between “we” and other “people”- these “people” are probably those who live in immense wealth who will never understand what it’s like to grow up the way Lorde had to. This really emphasizes how Lorde and her friends feel like they’re on the outside looking in. There is a clear separation between “we” and “people”. This is a very much “us against them” situation- a sentiment expressed in other songs like Royals or Team. This is another contradiction- she claims that they don’t care about the outside world, but she still wants the attention and acknowledgment from other people.

“Sometimes this has a hot, sweet taste” uses sensory adjectives- hot, sweet. The effect of this is that it makes the scene vivid- we know how things taste when they’re sweet, we know how things feel when they’re hot. We can apply our previous knowledge of these senses to what she’s saying here. Lorde often uses very vague antecedents, as she does here. We have no idea what “this” really is- is she referring to the “songs that play” or something else entirely? She intentionally leaves this a mystery. The effect of this is that it makes the lyrics very abstract and random, making it harder for the listener to really decipher what she means. One moment she’s being simple and to the point (“Where everything is good”) and the next moment she’s being vague, running circles around the listener.

The entire verse has a very relaxed tone- there isn’t a lot of hard emotion put into it. She isn’t sad (though it’s definitely melancholic) and she isn’t angry at anyone in particular- she’s just content. She says that people should see how they’re living- but they probably won’t, and that’s okay. So she shuts her eyes and moves freely to the music- sometimes this has a hot sweet taste. Not always. Sometimes.

The second pre-chorus:

The men up on the news

They try to tell us all that we will lose

But it's so easy in this blue

Where everything is good

“The men up on the news” is symbolic for the media once more- this time, Lorde takes a slightly different approach. Notice how she specifically calls out the men on the news- not women, not anyone else. This is a dig at our misogynistic society where men try to tell women what to do, and men often criticize teenage girls for succeeding on their own accords (Yup. This happens.) The men on the news could also symbolize the way the older generation looks down upon teenagers and the younger generation. Think about it- most old politicians label millennials as lazy due to technology and social media- Lorde is making a point about how these old men don’t expect the younger generation to succeed because we are viewed as inadequate.

“But it’s so easy in this blue” is a functional shift- blue is an adjective, not a noun. However, Lorde uses “blue” like a noun. You can’t be inside the generic color blue; you can only be inside something that is blue, like the ocean. The effect of this is that it makes the setting of the song very vivid- we know that she’s around water, and that she loves being around water. Water itself has this very calming feeling, adding to the overall mellow tone of the song. This functional shift tells us a general location of where the song is taking place, and emphasizes how fondly she feels towards water locations.

Lorde talks about her love of water here:

I’m surrounded by the beach, so I love to fish and to dive and to swim. I walk a lot, and I bike around. I hang out at the beach, really, and muck around.

The chorus:

And I'll never go home again (place the call, feel it start)

Favorite friend (and nothing's wrong when nothing's true)

I live in a hologram with you

We're all the things that we do for fun (and I'll breathe, and it goes)

Play along (make-believe it's hyper real)

But I live in a hologram with you

This is where the song gets more abstract, and the interpretations start to vary. “And I’ll never go home again” to me, sounds like she’s saying that she doesn’t want her fun times with her friends to be over- going home means that the day is done. She doesn’t ever want to go home- she wants to stay out with her friends as long as she possibly can.

“Place the call feel it start” is very similar to the intro of Team: “Look upon your greatness and she’ll send the call out.” The “call” again, is metaphorical- it represents how Lorde is announcing to the world who they are. Her “call” is her desire to have attention and recognition for her friends, to have the world know that they exist and to stop treating them like they’re invisible because they don’t have money. The “call” could also be word spreading around town about Lorde’s fame- she tweets stuff like: “remember our city is small the whispers always reach me”. Word is spreading about her fame- she can “feel” the pressure starting to rise around her. This is why she doesn’t want to go home- she wants to avoid all the drama and stay with her friends.

“Favorite friend” is interesting diction- again, very simple. It’s sort of alliteration- both words starts with Fs. She’s literally just saying that this friend of hers is her favorite person to be around. It feels very intimate and personal- not best friend, but favorite friend. Her tone is subtly affectionate, perfectly portraying the love a friendship carries. You’re my favorite friend- and I love you for that.

“Nothing’s wrong when nothing’s true” sounds a bit like an idiom, mostly because of the syntax. She uses the word “nothing” twice, and follows it up with two different words. It’s a bit of a cause and effect- nothing is wrong because nothing is true. What she’s saying is that her and her friends are ignoring the reality of the world (violence; “explosions on TV”) and because they are focusing on the false pretenses of their lives, they don’t worry about anything. Nothing’s wrong- after all, all that violence just isn’t true. Again, Lorde’s purpose is to express her love for her friends, despite a world of violence and fear. She “plays along” with this “fake reality” because it makes her friends happy.

“I live in a hologram with you” is obviously metaphorical- the hologram symbolizes the dream-like world where nothing is wrong and everyone ignores the problems both in the world and in their lives. They’re living in a “hologram”- it’s not real. This also implies that this song is reminiscent- it’s dreamy, because it’s about memories. She lives in this hologram with her “favorite friend”- here, they have a lot of fun because they don’t care about the rest of the world. Lorde knows this isn’t reasonable, but she indulges in it anyways.

“We’re all the things that we do for fun” is a metaphor- they can’t literally “be” all the things they do for fun. She’s saying that the stupid things they do define who they are; they make up their personalities. Their actions are representative of who they are as people. The things they do for fun are crazy and irresponsible and reckless- but all of these activities make them who they are. Lorde doesn’t regret any of these things as these activities have built their characters. As a group, these activities cohesively built their lives and they’re proud of their backgrounds.

“And I’ll breath and it goes” utilizes polysyndeton with the repeated use of the conjunction “and.” The effect of this is that these phrases are stacked on top of each other- it emphasizes how quickly time is passing for Lorde. She breathes and suddenly it’s all gone- using multiple “and” conjunctions removes any commas or pauses that may have been placed there otherwise. The effect of this is that it is even monotonous, almost careless. The polysyndeton really shows how many things are happening once in Lorde’s life. Everything is moving so fast that even her breaths seem to span a lifetime- and it goes.

“Play along (make-believe it's hyper real)” has very specific diction- the whole phrase itself is just encouraging her friends to live in her pretend teenage fantasy world. This theme is explored in a lot of her other songs, like Team, Royals and White Teeth Teens. “Play along” “make believe” and “hyper real” are all words that take the listener to a whole other place. These phrases have a “fake” connotation- they’re all related to things not being real and just being pretend. The phrases are also a bit childish in nature- little children are often the ones being encouraged to “play make believe.” This really enforces the idea that Lorde is thinking about a time in her past, back when they acted like children and “pretended” that everything was fine, like there was no violence in the world. They were living in their hologram- everything was hyper real.

To finish, this is the bridge that reminds me of some sort of pizza shop somewhere (I seriously don’t know why):                

Cola with the burnt-out taste

I'm the one you tell your fears to

There'll never be enough of us

Lorde uses sensory adjectives again when describing the cola her and her friends are drinking- it has a “burnt-out taste”. The effect of this is that it makes the taste of the cola very vivid. We can practically taste this cola when she describes it in this way. Her use of sensory adjectives makes the world around her very clear- it allows us to feel like we are right there with her. It also allows us to associate a specific taste to the adventures she is describing, which effectively sets the mood for the song.

“I’m the one you tell your fears to / there’ll never be enough of us” has very affectionate diction, as well as pronouns that are specific and intimate. She speaks directly to her friend here, often using the pronoun “you.” The effect of this is that it makes this line feel very, very personal and private. We feel as if we are listening in on a conversation, but not actually invited into it. She uses the pronoun “us” in the final line, which creates a unifying effect. She isn’t excluding anyone- there’ll never be enough of us. This is humble on Lorde’s part. She’s paying homage to her friends- it doesn’t matter how much time they spend together- it’ll never be enough. This is very similar to her other song, Ribs. The fact that Lorde is the one that everyone goes to to discuss their fears and problems shows how close she is with her friends, and also supports the purpose of the song- to send her friends a love letter in song form. This last song has a tone of both sadness and comfort- you tell me your fears. We’ll never have enough time.

My friend told me he was joining the Air Force after graduation- leaving only a couple of months from now. So obviously I listened to this song and cried. I live in a hologram with you.

Lyrics

[Verse 1] I remember when your head caught flame It kissed your scalp and caressed your brain (I remember when your head caught flame) Well you laughed, baby, it's okay It's buzzcut season anyway (Well you laughed, baby, it's okay) [Pre-Chorus 1] Explosions on T.V And all the girls with heads inside a dream So now we live beside the pool Where everything is good [Verse 2] We ride the bus with the knees pulled in People should see how we're living (We ride the bus with the knees pulled in) Shut my eyes to the song that plays Sometimes this has a hot, sweet taste (Shut my eyes to the song that plays) [Pre-Chorus 2] The men up on the news They try to tell us all that we will lose But it's so easy in this blue Where everything is good [Chorus] And I'll never go home again (place the call, feel it start) Favourite friend (and nothing's wrong when nothing's true) I live in a hologram with you We're all the things that we do for fun (and I'll breathe, and it goes) Play along (make-believe it's hyper real) But I live in a hologram with you [Bridge] Cola with the burnt-out taste I'm the one you tell your fears to There'll never be enough of us [Pre-Chorus 1] Explosions on TV And all the girls with heads inside a dream So now we live beside the pool Where everything is good [Chorus] And I'll never go home again (place the call, feel it start) Favourite friend (and nothing's wrong when nothing's true) I live in a hologram with you We're all the things that we do for fun (and I'll breathe, and it goes) Play along (make-believe it's hyper real) But I live in a hologram with you

[twentypercentprojectlorde]

Week #5: Royals

When I was a sophomore, I tutored a group of boys in my math class. They were football players and some of them had beards and honestly I have no idea why they ever hung out with me, but every day we would sit together, moving our desks close into a little circle. We had a lot of fun sharing cookies and secrets and stories; little anecdotes I still think about to this day. They told me they were starting a t-shirt business and that one day they’d be rolling in money- they’d buy a big house, and we could all live in it. I’d like to think I not only taught them how to graph polynomials or solve for negatives letters but also how to be brave, how to be soft, how to smile when the world was ending. They were some of my best friends- those boys carved their names into my bones the same way you etch initials in wet cement. You never really forget about people like that.

Spring turned into summer. Our schedules reset. None of us ever had classes with each other again. But every time I chat with them now they seem to be taller, older, wiser. And every time, I wish I could pull together some desks and talk to them for hours, playing catch-up, adding more anecdotes to the collection, like constellations in my mind. We’re growing up- all of us. Even me.

Royals is a song that I dedicate to these boys, maybe just for now, maybe for forever. Let me be your ruler, you can call me Queen Bee, and baby I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule. They treated me like a little queen, hung on every word I said. Let me live that fantasy.

Royals is the rallying cry of teenagers everywhere- it speaks for all of the kids you’ll never seen on screen, all of the kids who were like us, learning math in a public school classroom and trying to put the pieces of our lives together. We’re the kids who take the long bus ride home, trying to figure out a way to strike it rich and live happily ever after- for us, for our parents, for each other. We didn’t come from money. Royals is just as much about money as it is about being those kids- being the outsiders. We’re not private school kids and we don’t win state championships. We don’t have air conditioners or an Olympic sized swimming pool. But we have each other- we’re kings and queens of this palace and everything is alright on our side of the highway.

Speaker: Lorde speaks for herself and for her town of New Zealand. She uses “we” pronouns more than she does “I”, implying that she speaks for a larger group of people. Her personality is fun but also critical.

Occasion: Lorde’s larger occasion is the media’s obsession with luxury and material things- in Royals she essentially reacts to the way pop culture loves to flaunt about being wealthy.

Audience: Lorde wrote this song for her friends, so the song is directed towards them. The use of “we” pronouns implies this. She also indirectly talks to the media and people who are obsessed with being famous, telling them that her and her friends are better than that and that they don’t need money to be happy.

Purpose: Royals criticizes the media and the culture surrounding celebrities. She criticizes the way teenagers are portrayed and instead paints a better picture of what we’re really like- just kids who don’t need money to be happy. Most teenagers are conveyed as having a drama filled life, but most of the time it’s not like that. Lorde conveys that here- her purpose is to paint an accurate picture about what the life of teenagers is like. Royals conveys that money isn’t needed to be happy, and that most teens don’t live in luxury like what is shown in the media.

Analysis

As a bit of an introduction, here’s what Lorde had to say about Royals when she released the music video:

Lately I’ve been waking up at 4 or 5 a.m., turning things over in my head. So much to think about, so much to break down and process and decide. I’m only at the beginning, but it has always been important to me that everything feels cool, feels right. This song means a hell of a lot to me, and to others, and I guess what I tried to do is make something you could understand. a lot of people think teenagers live in this world like 'skins' every weekend or whatever, but truth is, half the time we aren't doing anything cooler than playing with lighters, or waiting at some shitty stop. That’s why this had to be real. And I’m at that particular train station every week. Those boys are my friends. Callum's wearing a sweater that used to belong to me. So it all feels right, and I can sleep. Thanks for being with me all the way so far -- so much to come, such great heights. I’m just getting started. Enjoy xx

And now the first verse:

I've never seen a diamond in the flesh

I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies

And I'm not proud of my address

In the torn up town, no post code envy

Royals changes from being literal to metaphorical very quickly, as shown when Lorde says she’s “I've never seen a diamond in the flesh” then immediately says “I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies”. The juxtaposition is clear. In the first line, Lorde is saying that she’s literally never seen a diamond in the flesh, which shows how unfamiliar Lorde is with luxury and wealth. She has literally never even seen a diamond before- and the media is out here bragging about being rich and famous. Lorde disputes this- she literally says that she’s never seen a diamond in the flesh.

The next line- “I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies” is way more metaphorical- Lorde isn’t literally chipping her teeth and eating rings. However, the idiom that refers to “cutting one’s teeth” means to “acquire a new skill”- by using this idiom, Lorde is saying that she is acquiring information about Western/American culture. The “wedding rings” symbolize greed- she is learning about the greedy, money obsessed world that exists beyond her small town in New Zealand. The “movies” also symbolize the way our lives are portrayed. Most of the time, movies aren’t accurate- they portray want we want to see. She’s surrounding herself with this “fake” media- she consumes it, then she rejects it for it’s false nature. She’s smart enough to know that it doesn’t reflect her life and her interests.

Lorde uses metonymy in the final line- “address” being a stand in for the word “home.” She also refers to her address more abstractly when she says “no post code envy.” The effect of this is that it makes her language more colorful and abstract- we usually don’t “envy” post codes. But Lorde has us thinking in a new way. She’s really talking about how no one really wants to live in New Zealand the way people aspire to moving to LA or NYC. No one aspires to having a New Zealand post code. It’s also interesting how she says that she isn’t “proud of [her] address”- this is quite contradictory to the rest of the album. Songs like 400 Lux (“I love these roads where the houses don’t change”) and Team (“Not very pretty but we sure know how to run things”) convey her genuine pride for her town- so why does she say she isn’t proud of where she comes from? She may be exaggerating her feelings (hyperbole) in order to make a point. She sort of plays the mopey teenager role here, always complaining about what she doesn’t have. Again, the contradictions in the whole album has the effect of making her seem raw and human- she doesn’t always know what she wants or feels, and that’s okay.

Lorde’s town isn’t literally “torn up”- she’s saying that metaphorically her town seems less progressive and less “inviting” than other major cities. In fact, the suburb that she’s from is actually fairly wealthy. Metaphorically, her town being “torn up” means that it just isn’t like other places that are shown in the movies. This line has been heavily criticized- Lorde comes from a fairly wealthy town and went to a private school. There are many places in the world that are way worse off than Lorde’s suburb- a lot of this stems from privilege and even racism.

The overall diction of this first verse is abstract- a lot of it has to do with wealth and luxury. Words like “diamond” and “wedding rings” have to do with being rich and the idea of big money. The effect of this is that right off the bat we know the song is a criticism of capitalism and our materialistic mentalities. The word choice also allows us to visualize some examples of this wealth she’s referring to. Other words like “flesh” and “teeth” all refer to our bodies. This word choice makes the song feel more intimate- after all, aren’t bodies often the source of intimacy? There’s also this gory tone you get from mentioning teeth and flesh- reminiscent of Halloween themes.

She continues:

But every song's like gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom

Bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room

We don't care; we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams

To begin with, this whole pre-hook is oozing with teenage diction- every song’s like, everybody’s like, we don’t care. Just using the word “like” says enough- this is a filler word that teens use often, particularly teenage girls. This is parodied a lot- teen girls that are portrayed as “stupid” in movies often have lines such as “Oh my god, like, totally!”

In fact, most real life teen conversations with dialogue goes something like this: 

So I said hi to him in a friendly sort of way and he’s like, “Hey baby” and then I was like, “Ugh! As if!”

The word “like” is always used instead of the word “said” or any other speaking tag. That’s just how we talk- I can’t really tell you why.

Anyways, the tone of the pre-hook (and the rest of the song, actually) is pretty colloquial. Its casual language- she talks the way teenagers talk. She doesn’t think its “vapid” like it is conveyed in teen movies- in fact, Lorde embraces this language.

The “songs” Lorde mentions here is personified when she says “But every song's like gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom.” Keep in mind that she uses “like” in the same way used in the example above- in the same way you might say “…and then he was like…” Songs aren’t usually referred to in this way because they aren’t people- “like” is often used as a speaking tag. The effect of this is that it makes these “songs” more alive- it makes it seem like these songs have a mind of their own.

Lorde also utilizes asyndeton- there are no conjunctions in the line, “…gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom, bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room”. It’s just this long list- no pauses or anything. The effect of this is that it emphasizes the quantity of the things she’s naming- the amount of luxury being shoved down our throats is huge. She is essentially just listing off a luxurious bunch of things- revealing to us how prominent this all is in popular culture.

Lorde has, again, been under fire for these lyrics- many interpret them as being based off of black hip-hop culture which can be seen as offensive. She sort of criticizes black culture here, which isn’t really her place because she’s white.  Why does she get to decide if hip-hop culture is “too extravagant” if that’s not her culture in the first place? The ongoing discussions about this have been interesting. Personally, I do believe that these lyrics are subtly racist, which does make me feel weird when I listen to them. Lorde had this to say about these claims:

“I mean, it's one thing for kids who fight in the comments section of YouTube and who use 'gay' as an insult to take offense at what you're doing; but when it's highly intelligent writers, all of whom you respect, you start to question what you're doing and if you have done something wrong. I have grown up in a time when rap music is pop music, and I do think people were maybe a little bit selective about the parts of that song they used to make those arguments, because a lot of it is examples of rock excess, or just standard pop culture 'rich kids of Instagram'-type excess. But I'm glad that people are having discussions about it and informing me about it. Also, I wrote that song a few months into being 15, and now I'm a 17-year-old looking back on that, and I didn't know then what I know now, so I kind of am not too hard on myself.”

Even if rap culture is pop culture, making fun of something that you personally just don’t understand can, at times, be racist.

Anyways, moving on…

The line “We don’t care” is similar to “It’s a new art form showing people how little we care” in Tennis Court. She conveys that same tone- careless, indifferent, and cool. She’s saying that her and her friends don’t care about all the aforementioned items. “We’re driving Cadillacs in our dreams” is very metaphorical in the same way that Team references dreams. They’ll never be able to drive Cadillacs in real life- the only way they can live the extravagant life that is detailed in the aforementioned lyrics is to pretend it’s real through dreams. When you dream about something, it’s often something you want- even though they supposedly “don’t care”, they’ll still be thinking about those Cadillacs later.

The second half:

But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece

Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash

We don't care; we aren't caught up in your love affair

The tone and diction is very similar to what I talked about above- casual, colloquial. The effect of name dropping multiple brands like Maybach, Cristal and Grey Goose is that it makes her point more clear- specifically calling out concrete items makes the listener understand what she’s talking about. Also- all of the words she chooses have a connotation that connects to money. Gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom, bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room, Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece, Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash are all words that makes the listener immediately think of luxurious lifestyles and tropical Instagram feeds. This diction is very intentional- it allows the listener to picture exactly the type of faux luxury we’re all familiar with. We get familiar with the purpose of the song and see exactly the type of people she is criticizing.

The syntax is also the same as I mentioned above- she uses asyndeton to rattle off a list of ridiculous items that relate to wealth and fame. This is where the song gets more satirical- she uses the same language as these ridiculous pop songs and makes fun of them. Obviously she’s critiquing these things, but her ironic fondness of it all is apparent as well. The irony is that Lorde critiques catchy pop music by making a catchy pop song – everything she does is all in “fun”:

I definitely wrote “Royals” with a lightness in mind….I was definitely poking fun at a lot of things that people take to be normal. I was listening to a lot of hip-hop and I kind of started to realize that to be cool in hip-hop, you have to have that sort of car and drink that sort of vodka and have that sort of watch, and I was like, “I’ve literally never seen one of those watches in my entire life.”

The “love affair” she mentions is symbolic for the way we’re obsessed with celebrity culture. The public essentially has a love affair with the media- we’re always checking Twitter or Snapchat or Instagram to see what celebrities are doing. And when a celebrity does something “huge” we talk about it a lot, then we get bored until something else happens. We have a “love affair” with popular culture. But Lorde is saying that her friends aren’t caught up in all of that mess- they would rather have fun with each other than worry about celebrities. The “love affair” could also represent American culture in general- after all, Western standards of life are always being watched by the rest of the world. Lorde rejects this societal pressure- they aren’t “caught up” in America’s obsession with being rich.

Her tone is very defiant here- quite contrary to the rest of the song. Everything else is lighthearted and fun- here is the one time she seems to be a bit annoyed. She sounds like she’s smirking- we don’t care what you do. We’re not caught up in your love affair. She implies that everyone else is caught up in the love affair- her friends, however, are above that. They’re on the outside.

And finally, one of the most iconic choruses in the 21st century:

And we'll never be royals (royals)

It don't run in our blood

That kind of luxe just ain't for us

We crave a different kind of buzz

Let me be your ruler (ruler), you can call me Queen Bee

And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule...)

Let me live that fantasy

So much going on here! To start, the idea of “royals” is symbolism for rich and famous people. This is actually a double entendre- she is referring to both rich people and kings and queens. This is indicated by the next line- it don’t run in our blood. Lorde is saying that they metaphorically will never be rich and famous, and they literally will never be kings or queens. This is consistent with her overall diction- she’s always talking about kingdoms or thrones or palaces. Songs like Team, White Teeth Teens and Tennis Court all reference royalty- she continues with this theme here. She talks a bit about that during interviews:

"I've always been fascinated with aristocracy," Lorde explains. (It's where her moniker comes from.) "I'm really interested in the Ivy Leagues, the final clubs, all the really old-money families, the concept of old money."

And

“When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought ‘Lord’ was super rad, but really masculine — ever since I was a little kid, I have been really into royals and aristocracy,” she said. “So to make Lord more feminine, I just put an ‘e’ on the end!

“It don’t run in our blood” is, again, what makes the first line a double entendre. This is referring to how Lorde and her friends will never be a part of an aristocracy because they weren’t born into one- they will literally never be royal. Metaphorically, Lorde and her friends will never succumb to the pressures of luxury and wealth- they’re cool with being where they are now.

“That kind of luxe just ain't for us” continues with that casual diction- very teenager-ish. She talks with a shrug- eh, that kind of stuff just isn’t for us. This line is also implicit- it implies that everyone else loves the “luxe” and that they’re special for not being that into it. Also notice how she uses the word “ain’t”, which is grammatically incorrect. This all ties into her tone and diction- very casual, almost lazy. Her tone is careless- she isn’t concerned with very much. She also sounds very content- yeah, that lux isn’t for us, but who cares?

“We crave a different kind of buzz” has interesting diction- when you crave something, it’s something you really want. She’s saying that her and her friends really want a different kind of excitement, an excitement that you can’t buy and doesn’t come from material items. “Buzz” is another double entendre- this “buzz” refers to both the excitement we feel from wealth and validation (fame) and the buzzing of a bee, which comes from the next line when she says “You can call me queen bee”. Thus, this word serves as both onomatopoeia and a feeling- the effect of this that it is that it makes the line “bounce” a bit- it brings everything to life.

Lorde metaphorically asks her friends to call her “Queen Bee”- obviously, she’s not asking them to literally bow down to her. Being “Queen Bee” means that she will look after them the way queens usually do- being their “ruler.” She’ll love them and protect them- but she’ll also be strict with them and asks to be treated with respect. Her word choice adds to the whole “royalty” theme. However, this is also a contradiction- she claims that they’ll never be “royals” but also wants to be called a queen. She does this because it shows that they play by their own rules- they may never be literal royals, but they can always pretend through fulfilling the role.

The asyndeton displayed in the line “Baby I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule” emphasizes the quantity of her words. The repetition reiterates that she wants us to really hear her- she’ll rule. There’s no doubt that she’ll be a good ruler- she wants her friends to know that she’ll be dominant and powerful and a terrifying force of nature against her doubters. She’ll rule, she’ll rule, she’ll rule. No doubt about it.

“Let me live that fantasy” is similar to the themes of dreams- she acknowledges that everything she is saying isn’t real. It’s a fantasy- she wants to be queen. This is the contradiction again- she proudly exclaims they they’ll “never be royals” but still admits that being a Queen Bee is a fantasy of hers. Lorde is a walking contradiction- she says she doesn’t want it but you know she really does.

The second verse:

My friends and I we've cracked the code

We count our dollars on the train to the party

And everyone who knows us knows

That we're fine with this, we didn't come from money

This whole second verse deals with the theme of opulence and money- Lorde rejects all of it here. “Cracking the code” is a synonym for deciphering something- she’s saying that they have figured out the key to happiness. They have discovered that money doesn’t buy happiness; in fact, they’re “counting their dollars on the train” on the way to have fun at a party. They may not have money (as indicated by the fact that they’re taking public transportation and “counting dollars”) but they’re still happy- they’re headed somewhere where they can find happiness with each other.

The overall diction is all about currency- “dollars”, “train” and “money” all indicate this. She isn’t subtle with the purpose of the song- it’s anti-capitalistic, it’s a little snide. Her tone is pretty indifferent- we’re fine with this, we’re fine not being rich and famous. The fact that “everyone who knows [them] knows” that they don’t care about money is indicative enough- it shows that not having a lot of money is normal to them.

The diction is simple, as are most of her songs. The proclamation “we didn't come from money” is straightforward enough- they weren’t born into wealth and they aren’t accustomed to it. Her word choice is nothing too fancy or over complicated- during this verse, she speaks directly and to the point. The tone is silly and fun, detailing her normal teenage life.

Finally, the bridge:

(Oooh ooooh ohhh)

We're bigger than we ever dreamed

And I'm in love with being queen

(Oooooh ooooh ohhhhh)

Life is great without a care

We aren't caught up in your love affair

This is where the contradiction gets deeper- she claims that they’ll “never be royals” and that “[it] don’t run in [their] blood” but here, she readily admits that she’s “in love with being queen.” It’s paradoxical- we think she’s above materialism but she really isn’t. It’s even a bit hypocritical. The effect of this is that it makes Lorde very human, and very teenager like. Most teenagers don’t know exactly what they want or how they feel- we’re often hypocritical without meaning to be. These particular contradictions make the song very raw and also pertains to her teenage audience.

Lorde acknowledges that they’ll “never be royals” and instead craves the affection her friends give her when they treat her like a Queen Bee. She doesn’t need the attention or the fame of the mainstream media- all she needs is the approval and adoration of her friends. So, she juxtaposes the love she gets from the media (because, ironically, this is the song that made her famous) to the love she gets from her friends, and reveals that she’d much rather be loved than famous. The love from her friends makes her feel good, while the prospect of becoming a royal makes her terrified.

“Life is great without a care” continues the theme of “not caring” that is apparent in Tennis Court. Pretending not to care is what makes you cool- it makes you look un-bothered and strong. Someone broke my heart? Whatever. I got a bad grade? Eh. Who cares who care who cares. You can have passions, but being too into something makes you a loser- why do you care so much? The effect of this ongoing theme is that makes a statement about the nature of teenagers- she readily admits that she “doesn’t care” but it is evident that she really does. She cares- it’s just cooler to say that she doesn’t.

She could also be saying that her life is great because she doesn’t care about the media- life is great without a care. Life is great when you don’t focus on what other people in the media are doing (famous people) and you have fun with the people who are closest to you and who really love you. They don’t care about the rest of the world- all they care about is each other.

She repeats the very smug line “We aren't caught up in your love affair” one final time. This is one last final declaration- they still aren’t caught up in the love affair that is publicity and popular media. The effect of this repetition is that it really enforces how Lorde and her friends are proud to be on the outside looking in- they aren’t involved in the “love affair” and they don’t really care either way. Repeating this line has a powerful effect- we know she still has that smug, superior tone and that she isn’t backing down. She isn’t quitting, and she doesn’t conform to the “love affair” she knows we’re all so obsessed with.

Royals is hypocritical- she contradicts herself and the rest of the album. She wants to be queen but she rejects the teenage aristocracy. She doesn’t know what she wants- she just knows that her life is complete because she has her friends. This is such an understated message that is so essential for teenagers. I know we place great emphasis on romantic relationships, but I truly believe that teenage friendships are some of the purest forms of love you could ever find. Royals is about using that love to navigate a world of fake people, a world of obsession and materialism. It may have been played to death on the radio (there’s a reason it was number one for nine weeks) but Royals will always take place in that math class- it’ll always sound like numbers swirling over our heads.

Lyrics

[Verse 1] I've never seen a diamond in the flesh I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies And I'm not proud of my address In the torn up town, no post code envy [Pre-Chorus] But every song's like gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom Bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room We don't care; we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash We don't care; we aren't caught up in your love affair [Chorus] And we'll never be royals (royals) It don't run in our blood That kind of luxe just ain't for us We crave a different kind of buzz Let me be your ruler (ruler), you can call me Queen Bee And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule...) Let me live that fantasy [Verse 2] My friends and I we've cracked the code We count our dollars on the train to the party And everyone who knows us knows That we're fine with this, we didn't come from money [Pre-Chorus] But every song's like gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin' in the bathroom Bloodstains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room We don't care; we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash We don't care; we aren't caught up in your love affair [Chorus] And we'll never be royals (royals) It don't run in our blood That kind of luxe just ain't for us We crave a different kind of buzz Let me be your ruler (ruler), you can call me Queen Bee And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule...) Let me live that fantasy [Bridge] (Oooh ooooh ohhh) We're bigger than we ever dreamed And I'm in love with being queen (Oooooh ooooh ohhhhh) Life is great, without a care We aren't caught up in your love affair [Chorus] And we'll never be royals (royals) It don't run in our blood That kind of luxe just ain't for us We crave a different kind of buzz Let me be your ruler (ruler), you can call me Queen Bee And baby I'll rule (I'll rule I'll rule I'll rule...) Let me live that fantasy

[twentypercentprojectlorde]

Week #4: Tennis Court

This song is pretty much high school in a nutshell. It has been called “the older, slightly crazier cousin of the Top 10 hit [Royals]”. There’s this edge of uncertainty, of trying to appease. Yet during the entire song, Lorde sings with a sort of unfaltering mundane-ness- she’s bored.

That’s high school. It’s boring. It’s the same thing every day. People are always TALKING. But the class clowns, the beauty queens in tears and your boys keep it interesting. And sometimes, you just want to go down to the tennis courts and make out with someone on the low, sometimes you just want to go down to the tennis courts and talk about something good.

This song was my window into the lives of teenagers- I’ve almost grown into the life she talks about here. Pretending not to care is cool, making people laugh shoots you to instant popularity, being beautiful makes you a queen. It’s the roles we make up in our heads that we fulfill in the kingdom, constantly asking- you want to have fun, don’t you?

Subject: Lorde speaks in a first person perspective- using “I” and “we” pronouns. In this song, she seems to take on a role as the “beauty queen” of her group, which reflects in her lyrics. She speaks with an affirmative, almost domineering personality.

Occasion: Tennis Court isn’t as straightforward as the other songs on Pure Heroine. She talks about a multitude of different things, and it’s hard to really be sure what she is getting at. The occasion seems to be discussing quite publicly about her thoughts on fame, all the while encouraging her friends to meet her at the tennis courts for times of fun again.

Audience: She’s talking to both her friends and the people who are doubting her success. She’s almost laughing at her naysayers and coming back at them with a sassy attitude. She speaks to her friends, almost reassuring them that she’s still the same girl she was before her fame, and expresses her desire to just talk to them the way they did before.

Purpose: Her purpose is to speak candidly on the realities of what it’s like to be famous. She thinks that the people who doubt her are “boring”, and she wishes they would stop talking. She also makes some points about the nature of society- how we like to talk so much and gossip about stupid things. At the base level, Tennis Court’s purpose is to set the scene of the album a bit, as 400 Lux does. We get the impression that these “tennis courts” is where she spends a lot of her time with her friends. Starting the album with this song effectively puts us into Lorde’s life.

Analysis

Not only is this the beginning of the song, but it’s also the beginning of the entire album. She begins:

 Don't you think that it's boring how people talk?

Making smart with their words again, well I'm bored

The rhetorical question- “Don’t you think that it’s boring how people talk?” effectively sets up the rest of the song and the overall theme of the album as well. Music critics often cite the importance of this line for its critical tone- the entire existence of Pure Heroine subtly criticizes overly-luxurious lifestyles and society’s obsession with fame and pop culture. Asking this question sort of confronts the listener upfront- are you as bored as I am? I’m bored. Are you? The effect of this question is that it sets up Lorde’s tone right away- she isn’t happy with people’s tendency to gossip and talk too much about others. It bores her. She’s bored of the pop culture music scene- she’s announcing that she’s here to shake things up. There’s this air of superiority- she’s smart, and she knows it. Of course she does.

“Making smart with their words again” is another functional shift- she uses “smart” as a noun when it is really an adjective. The effect of this is that it creates sort of colorful language from Lorde- her lyrics appear more abstract, more out of the box. It also reinforces her superior, teenager tone- they think they’re so smart, don’t they? Well, I’m bored. She repeats the idea of being “bored” once again. She’s implying that she knows better than them- everything that happens in mainstream media bores her. It’s almost laughing, scoffing- I can do better than that. I’m bored- aren’t you? Listen to me and you won’t be.

Again, this is a pretty cocky tone that she writes with here, similar to certain parts of Team. Being cocky is another part of teenage culture- in fact, it helps you survive. If you’re constantly beating down on yourself, you’re going to be miserable. Lorde knows this- she embraces it. She’s smart enough to speak her mind and doesn’t back down.

She continues:

Because I'm doing this for the thrill of it, killin' it

Never not chasing a million things I want

And I am only as young as the minute is, full of it

Getting pumped up on the little bright things I bought

But I know they'll never own me (yeah)

Okay, so apparently Lorde loves assonance, a lot. “Thrill of it, killin’ it, million things I want, full of it” is just one of many that appear in the album. The effect of this is that it creates a sort of bounce, a rhythm of its own. Everything also feels very connected to each other, like the lines are all traced back to something bigger. It also creates the feeling that this is all intentional- it’s not just coincidental that she uses these rhetorical strategies in her songs. Lorde’s smartness shines through here- it feels right, it feels exact. This subtly goes back to her overall purpose of talking about society with a critical eye, outwitting her audience by sneaking in things like this.

“Killin’ it / Never not chasing a million things I want” has that same bratty tone. She’s basically saying she’s slaying the game and she does whatever she wants- she takes orders from no one. This is a very bold way to start a song, and an even bigger way to start the album. From the very beginning we know that Lorde has a very strong sense of herself. She may seem cocky but for some reason, that opening line makes us hear her out- we feel like maybe she’s onto something here. “Never not” is also a litotes- it uses double negatives to make an understated point. The effect of this is that it initially confuses the listener, and it also makes her appear cleverer. It’s like she’s running circles around our heads, letting us decipher exactly what she’s talking about.

“And I am only as young as the minute is, full of it” has Lorde referring to her age once more, as she does in Team, Ribs and Still Sane. The phrase “minute is” sounds very similar to “million” as mentioned in the previous line- it creates a mini assonance of its own. This goes back to her smart, sly tone. She does all of these things intentionally, constantly reminding us of her skill and ability. “Full of it” has a hint of self-awareness- she’s aware that she’s being bratty and demanding. She never actually backs down- she just acknowledges her behavior. The whole sentence is based on polysyndeton- she repeats the conjunction “as” and starts with “and”. The effect of this is that it emphasizes the quantity of her words, and it kind of creates a sporadic tone- she’s going very quickly, and she never seems to stop to breathe.

This whole verse just oozes with this smart, witty language that hardly seems to take any breaks. She rarely pauses- everything seems to just pour out of her mouth. “Getting pumped up on the little bright things I bought” is sort of a contradiction when you listen to the rest of the album- she spends the duration of Royals speaking against luxury and does the same on Team. Yet she still admits that she loves material things- they “pump her up” as she mentions here. The rest of Tennis Court is also a bit about anti-materialism, but more about the way people are treating her and her upcoming fame. Pure Heroine as a whole artistic piece contradicts itself multiple times- she hates consumer culture but readily admits that it makes her happy. This makes her very human and real- through a series of ten songs, she conveys her biggest character flaw- a lack of self-control.

“But I know they'll never own me (yeah)” signifies a shift in the tone song and clues us in to what the song is about- a catchy criticism of “them”- being, the doubters and petty people in her life who love to gossip about her and question her actions. From this point on, her tone is a little less cocky. She stops talking about herself and starts talking to her friends- she is no longer the bratty teen we hear in the first verse. She uses the word (diction) “never” once again- we get the feeling that when she says “never”, she means it. She’ll never let “them” own her and control her creative ideas. This sums up the entire purpose of the song- fighting against this outside source of the media and record labels trying to make her conform to the ideal pop star standard. Tennis Court ultimately rejects these offers at a traditional life and opts for quality (albeit a little kooky- who just goes to empty tennis courts to hang out?) times with her friends, where she feels she belongs.

And now, the chorus:

Baby be the class clown, I'll be the beauty queen in tears

It's a new art form showing people how little we care (yeah)

We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fear

Let's go down to the tennis court, and talk it up like yeah (yeah)

There’s kind of a lot going on here. To start, she mentions two fairly common tropes/clichés in the first line- “class clown” and “beauty queen in tears” are both “roles” that are often thrust open teenagers in high school- think John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club. The reason she does this is because these tropes are fairly well known- pretty much everyone listening to the song knows what a “class clown” and “beauty queen” is. These assigned “roles” goes back to the sort of “make believe” teenage world she talks about in Team. If we just play these parts, we can ignore the world we know in the media. This teenage world is unlike the world we know in the mainstream world- in this world, we can be class clowns or beauty queens and everything feels right. Her word choice here is fond and affectionate- she calls this person “baby” and encourages this person to play the role that she wants them to. The effect of this is that it creates warmth in her tone and it allows the audience to evaluate her level of seriousness.

“It's a new art form showing people how little we care (yeah)” is intentionally vague. We have literally no idea what the antecedent “it” even refers to. We can only assume that “it” refers to their everyday lives and the stuff they do when they hang out- their life is metaphorically an “art form” because they don’t care about the outside world and media. “Art form” is symbolism for their lives- they’re so cool and careless and smart that everything they do is literally a medium for art. This could also be Lorde saying that she takes great inspiration from her friends- they’re the art form that allows her to create her art.

“We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fear” has some strong diction and juxtaposition. Her diction is simple- words like “happy” “smiling” and “fear” are everyday words to describe emotion. Pairing sunny words like “happy” and “smiling” with a strong word like “fear” juxtaposes the lies versus the reality. They’re terrified about something, but they pretend to be happy. It’s all really a lie- they’re smiling out of fear. They’re trying to laugh about the situation instead of actually facing the truth- something done often by teenagers. Being happy and lighthearted (like a class clown) is cooler and makes you more popular than admitting you’re afraid. Think about it- all the cool heroes are brave, aren’t they?

“Let's go down to the tennis court, and talk it up like yeah (yeah)” is interesting as well, because it introduces the setting. The tennis court is symbolism for Lorde’s feeling of comfort- at the tennis court, Lorde feels safe and happy. This is in contrast to the way the media makes her feel- afraid. At the tennis court, she is escaping her problems and worries. She’s inviting her friends to the tennis court, effectively rejecting the life of luxury and fame that awaits her.

The tennis court is also another personal place to Lorde; she mentions visiting them often:

“I grew up mostly in a part of Auckland called the North Shore. It’s basically suburbs, and there isn’t really a lot to do. You have to catch a boat if you want to go into the city, so we all kick around and everyone rides bikes everywhere because no one can drive! There’s lots of finding underpasses and tennis courts and places that we make our own! And a lot of house parties…”

People also theorize that Lorde is alluding to the Tennis Court Oath during the French Revolution in 1789. This is fairly consistent to the rest of Lorde’s lyrics, with royals, queens, kings and thrones. This theory would be fairly consistent with her ideas and be in line with how her group of friends are essentially leading a revolution against the mainstream media.

Despite the idea of "going down to the tennis courts" being fairly abstract and slightly unrelatable (again…how many teens just go to empty tennis courts to talk?) you are actually able to project yourself onto many aspects of it. This is because the tennis court is just a symbol for a place to kill time, which many teens recognize and understand. The "tennis court" could be anywhere- as long as you're having fun.  

Pretty soon, I'll be getting on my first plane

I'll see the veins of my city like they do in space

But my head's filling up fast with the wicked games, up in flames

How can I fuck with the fun again, when I'm known?

And my boys trip me up with their heads again, loving them

Everything's cool when we're all in line, for the throne

But I know it's not forever (yeah)

There's a bit of a tone shift from this point on- the song gets darker, more erratic. It feels like she's starting to lose it a little bit- the realities of fame are starting to hit her full throttle. She’s less cocky, more self-conscious.

The line "Pretty soon, I'll be getting on my first plane / I'll see the veins of my city like they do in space" consists of a simile, in which she compares what she expects to see to what lights look like from above, in space. She uses this simile because pretty much everyone is familiar with what cities look like from an astronaut's perspective- a bunch of lights creating "veins". This makes her message clearer, and it allows the listener to understand the setting she is describing.

She also personifies her city here by saying that she'll see the "veins" of it when she catches her first plane. Cities obviously don't have actual veins- it would be impossible for it to have human characteristics. But the effect of this personification is that it makes her city seem "alive"- bustling and moving as if it were a living organism. The affection she feels for her hometown shows very clearly here- she treats it as if it were a real person.

The idea of the “first plane” is monumental to Lorde, because it signifies that Lorde hasn’t ever left her town- New Zealand is all she has ever known. This adds to her overall purpose of criticizing the popular media- she mentions the “first plane” because this is in stark contrast to celebrities who take plane rides everywhere and have been all around the world. She recognizes that her upcoming fame will become her new reality, but she still reminds herself that this is literally going to be the first time she’s ever leaving the country.

“But my head's filling up fast with the wicked games, up in flames” is where the song starts to progressively get more sporadic and a little more anxious- how am I going to be normal ever again if I’m going to be famous? Her diction is progressively filled with fear. “Up in flames” has this very scary, destructive meaning to it- when things are “up in flames”, they’re being destroyed and essentially obliterated. Her “wicked games” with her friends are being destroyed by her fame, because she can no longer live a normal life. The choice to describe the games as “wicked” is intentional as well- this word has this sort of evil, up to no good connotation. This plays into her bratty teenager tone, where she proudly talks about her sometimes terrible behavior.

By mentioning that her head is “filling up fast” we get a peek into her mental state- the anxieties surrounding fame are starting to get to her. Everything is hitting her at once- she feels like her normal life is “up in flames” because of this. Her diction very distinctly conveys her feelings and growing paranoia over what is happening to her.

“How can I fuck with the fun again, when I'm known?” is a very strong, albeit confused rhetorical question. She knows we aren’t going to have an answer for her- only other famous people will ever really get the anxiety she feels about being famous. The average target listener of this album (teenagers) don’t really know what fame is like- Lorde being personal with her feelings is how we learn. So although she asks this question- she knows she isn’t going to get an answer. It’s a bit of a lost cause- she isn’t going to be able to fuck with the fun again (have fun with her friends at the “tennis court”) because her fame will render it impossible- she’ll never be normal ever again. She accepts this, but she can’t help but still search for the answer.

This is one of the few lines of the entire album that Lorde ever swears- the only other song with a swear word is Still Sane. This is actually kind of odd considering this is an album written by a teenager for teenagers- swearing is an everyday part of the teenage dichotomy. The effect of this word choice is that it sets up the tone for the rest of the album- she isn’t going to censor herself. This is also goes back to the idea of a bratty tone- most adults frown upon teenagers for swearing as it is considered rude. But Lorde shows once again how she “doesn’t care”- she’s “too cool” to follow the rules.

The syntax of “And my boys trip me up with their heads again, loving them” is very similar to the earlier line “But my head's filling up fast with the wicked games, up in flames”. Both lines start with conjunctions, implying that they’re adding onto the lines that came before them. Both lines also end with interjections that create a finishing touch to her original idea. The effect of having these similar sentence structures is that it connects the two ideas together- before, her head was “up in flames”, but now her boys are reminding her of the love and affection she displays in the chorus. The similar syntax effectively shows a change in her feelings- she felt scared, but now she feels loved.

Lorde mentioning her “boys” is also interesting, because teenage boys are often a species of their own sometimes. They’re just silly- they’re hardly serious about anything. This is why hanging out with her boys works to ease Lorde’s anxiety- they “trip her up” and stop her from worrying so much. Boys, at times, can shrug things off much easier than girls- her boys as telling her to ease up a little and stop worrying about the future. This is how Lorde’s tone lightens up a bit- she doesn’t need to be full of it anymore. She has her boys, her friends, and her town- she no longer has to fight the media alone.

“Everything's cool when we're all in line, for the throne” also has the same sentence structure as the “boys” and “wicked games” lines. All three lines pause before making a declaration at the end- up in flames, loving them, for the throne. This has a very dramatic effect- it keeps the listener waiting and it allows the listener to fully understand her point. This syntax is built in a way that the ending is the most important part- it basically functions as a periodic sentence. The diction in this line is very distinct as well- “in line for the throne” is very royal, kingdom related word choice. This similar diction is found in other songs like Royals, Team, and White Teeth Teens. The effect of having aristocratic diction in multiple songs of the album is that it ties the piece together- Lorde effectively intertwines both teenagers and kingdoms under one album. Her diction allows this to happen, because everything feels consistent.

“But I know it's not forever (yeah)” sways back into that anxious tone- just when Lorde appears calm and happy once more. The tone in Tennis Court changes very often- she starts cocky, then shifts to a more unifying approach in the chorus. Then the second verse comes out as anxious and terrified, until she calms down a bit at the thought of her boys. Now at this line, Lorde just seems flat out lost. Lorde talks about the idea of “forever” often on Pure Heroine (400 Lux, Ribs, Still Sane), and it is evidently something that she thinks about a lot. This is a common line of thought for teenagers- at times, it feels like all of this bullshit is going to last forever. But it’s not. I think we all secretly know that- as does Lorde. She knows that her time at the tennis courts is running out- it’s not forever. What’s interesting is how this line ends the second verse- it transitions straight into the booming chorus right after. It’s like she doesn’t want us to dwell on what she says for too long- it’s not forever. Oh well.

And finally, the bridge:

It looked alright in the pictures

Getting caught half of the trip though, isn't it?

I fall apart, with all my heart

And you can watch from your window

And you can watch from your window

Oh, the vague, simplistic diction. It’s so vague that it becomes very abstract- what is she even talking about here? She says one thing and it brings up a billion questions. What pictures? Why does she keep using the antecedent “it” but never tells us what “it” is? The “it” is never described in detail- we just know that it “looked alright in the pictures”. The diction is very casual- eh, it looks alright I guess. This is very consistent with teenager lingo- she just talks in the same way that teenagers do. The effect of this diction is that it’s casual- we don’t feel like she’s talking above us. We feel like she’s one of us, not a celebrity prodigy.

“Getting caught half of the trip though, isn't it?” is another very smart rhetorical question. It feels like she’s grinning during the entire song- slyly admitting that she isn’t immune from getting in trouble. This makes her tone turn a little more mischievous- she readily admits to getting caught and loving it. The thrill of being caught is what excites her so much- that’s what makes hanging out so fun.

"I fall apart, with all my heart" not only rhymes, but has a desperately aloof tone despite its fairly sad diction. She's admitting her emotional distress, but her tone never changes from being bored and slightly cocky. She says this part with a shrug- yeah, I'm falling apart. But who cares? The specifically sad diction is surprising- she stays level headed during the duration of the song. But this one line reveals the crack in her armor- she's falling apart. She's sad- she tells us that up front. But for some reason, we ignore her- after all, she's too cool to care, right? This is the contradictions coming back to haunt her, and it's a little hard to be sure how she really feels.

Lorde literally scoffs when she says, "And you can watch from your window". She's saying that the general public will be able to watch her "falling apart" through our "windows". The "window" is a symbol for society always watching the lives of famous people- watching, but never being let in. We are always watching from our windows- we are always peering into the lives of celebrities but never going into those rooms, never really knowing what's inside. Lorde says this line with irony- she spends the entire song criticizing the way society is always "talking" and "gossiping", always caring too much about celebrities. But here, she mocks us. She tells us she's falling apart, then invites us to watch. Since you like talking so much, I know you'd love to talk about this.

Lorde mentioned these "windows" once again in her end of 2014 Tumblr letter:

"It was the year of peering through windows into beautiful rooms, and realizing as the year slipped away that I was in that room now, not looking in"

The "room" symbolizes the lives of famous people- the "window" symbolizes our outlet into these rooms, such as with social media.

I think she's talking as both a celebrity and a normal person here. She mocks the way celebrities invite us to their "windows" but also speaks with authority due to her upcoming fame. She understands the contradictory notion of her words but says them anyways. Her tone is always smirking, always a smartass, even when she's falling apart. When she's sad, when she's anxious, when she's afraid- she's still cooler than us.

This bridge feels like Lorde's downward spiral- I'm getting caught, I'm falling apart- but hey, at least that's something the media can talk about.

When I first heard this song, I thought this line referred to the idea of a peeping Tom- literally somebody "looking through their window" and watching Lorde get undressed or something. This is fairly consistent with teenager imagery- such as the novel Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume. This interpretation makes Lorde seem even more like a godlike girl all the boys look up to, especially since she knows they're looking through the window, and even invites them to keep doing it. But that’s pretty creepy, so let’s stick with the windows being a symbol for fame and luxury.

Tennis Court is about being cool. It’s about pretending not to care when you really, really do. Lorde spends the entire song fighting off attention then demanding it just moments later. There always seems to be something deeper than what she really says. Tennis Court is a teenage dream- you’re young, you’re famous, you’re the beauty queen in tears. Everybody plays a role- just how good are you at acting the part?

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Don't you think that it's boring how people talk?

Rhetorical question that establishes a superior tone

Making smart with their words again, well I'm bored

Functional shift, repetition of the idea of being bored to really enforce how Lorde feels

Because I'm doing this for the thrill of it, killin' it

Assonance, shows Lorde’s smartness and creates a bounce in her rhythm 

Never not chasing a million things I want

Litotes, uses double negatives to run circles around the listener 

And I am only as young as the minute is, full of it

Assonance and polysyndeton that make the sentence very fast paced

Getting pumped up from the little bright things I bought But I know they'll never own me (yeah)

Intentionally vague diction and antecedent that doesn’t tell the audience exactly what she’s talking about 

[Chorus] Baby, be the class clown, I'll be the beauty queen in tears

Tropes/cliches that create a teen state of mind

It's a new art form showing people how little we care (yeah)

The “art form” is symbolism for the creative ways they live their lives- “not caring” goes back to the overall tone

We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fear Let's go down to the tennis court, and talk it up like yeah (yeah) 

The tennis court symbolizes a place where Lorde feels happy and content, not anxious from the media and fame

[Verse 2] Pretty soon, I'll be getting on my first plane

Casual diction that makes the song more relatable; we feel like she is talking to us as friends

I'll see the veins of my city like they do in space

Personification to show she loves her town the way you love a person; simile to create a clear image of her view from the plane

But my head's filling up fast with the wicked games, up in flames How can I fuck with the fun again, when I'm known?

Rhetorical question; she knows she will never be normal again but still searches for a reason 

And my boys trip me up with their heads again, loving them Everything's cool when we're all in line, for the throne

Similar syntax that functions as a periodic sentence- the pauses make her final declarations more dramatic and prominent

But I know it's not forever (yeah) 

More vague diction- she never tells us what “it” is. Also brings back the idea of “forever”

[Bridge] It looked alright in the pictures Getting caught's half of the trip though, isn't it?

Rhetorical question that establishes her smugness and admits that she loves the thrill of getting in trouble

I fall apart, with all my heart

Sad diction said with a cocky tone that makes it unclear how Lorde really feels; contributes to the feeling that Tennis Court is about Lorde unravelling

And you can watch from your window And you can watch from your window 

The “window” is a symbol for the lives of famous people- Lorde is telling us that we can watch what she does through our windows but we won’t be let into her metaphorical “room”

[twentypercentprojectlorde]

Week #3: Ribs

The first time I ever really “got” this song was sometime in late May, when I was fourteen years old. The Class of 2015 was graduating- I had the harsh realization that my upperclassmen friends were leaving and the classes above me would continue to leave, until it was finally my turn to walk across that stage. The seniors were like astronauts- it was like watching them getting on that rocket and going to space. I realized that I will have to watch almost all of my friends move out of my life. Everything will change and I will too and it’s so inevitable, it makes me sick.

I have written many terrible poems about this feeling, but nothing even comes close to conveying this like this song does. Ribs is about this anxiety exactly- it captures what it feels like to be terrified of having to grow up. The scariest part about growing up is understanding that everything in life is so fleeting- whenever I feel happy, I wonder how I can make this feeling last forever. Will I remember how it feels to be sixteen when I’m old- will I remember how it feels to be in this weird high school kingdom, watching everyone I know trying to figure themselves out?

I don’t know if I’ll remember these things. But Ribs will always exist- these moments are immortalized in this song, forever. The weird thing is that maybe I’ll listen to Ribs in the future and wonder why I was so worried about growing up- Ribs has this magic to it that feels so special and selective. It’s arguably her best song- in fact, it’s actually Lorde’s favorite song she has written.

Subject: This song is written in first person. Her personality is fairly melancholic and reflective and a bit moody- she’s talking about something that scares her deeply.

Occasion: This song was written after Lorde had a huge party where she had fun with a lot of her friends. The song pretty much is about this party, and how the party made her feel about her life. She recalls that she “wrote it at like 4AM” which indicates that the song is a reflective narrative about something big that happened to her, which kept her up until the early morning.

Audience: Lorde talks specifically to a “you” in this song, which might be the “best friend” she mentions at the end of the song. The audience is probably this person, as she does refers to themselves as “we” multiple times. She is speaking directly to this person, trying to immortalize their time together.

Purpose: I think the whole point of this song is to make sure that she doesn’t forget about what it feels to be a teenager. Lorde has said that this song was therapeutic to her- she wrote it to make herself feel better about getting older. Her purpose was to put the anxiety about getting older into words and to reassure herself and the people listening that she knows how this feels. Despite the lyrics being fairly abstract, many people are able to project themselves onto the song. This shows how Ribs is used as comfort for many, which may have been Lorde’s overall purpose all along.

Analysis:

Lorde starts in her deep, throaty voice that she uses to convey a dark mood; she sings:

The drink you spilt all over me

"Lover's Spit" left on repeat

My mom and dad let me stay home

It drives you crazy, getting old

Something really really interesting here is how simple Lorde’s diction is, yet how abstract the lyrics are. “The drink you spilt all over me” brings up about a billion questions- what drink? Who spilt it all over you? When did this happen? And it’s only the first line. Yet, her word choice is very straightforward- she literally is just talking about a drink being spilt over her at a party. Nothing is overcomplicated or double sided- she’s just talking about a drink. And yet, the effect is huge- her simplistic word choice makes the listener curious and makes the listener want to know more.

And if you’re still wondering, she briefly mentions the drink being spilt here, which indicates that this really did happen:

“[M]y music is very anecdotal – there are hyper-real, hyper-personal details in all my songs. Often I’ll play one to a friend and they’ll say ‘Oh my God, that was about the night this happened, I spilled that drink on you and now you’ve written a song about it!”

“Lover’s Spit” is a reference to a song by Broken Social Scene- unsurprisingly, this song is also about “growing old”. This is a sort of underground reference- Lover’s Spit is an indie song not commonly heard in the mainstream music scene. The effect of these offbeat references is that it makes the song even more personal. You get the understanding that you’re a part of her story and you’re actually there at this party. “Lover’s Spit left on repeat” reveals a seemingly small detail but it’s effect is quite large- it puts us into this party- we can imagine what it’s like to be there. And that’s so important for any story you’re trying to tell.  

“My mom and dad let me stay home” is another example of that innocent, almost naïve diction. She’s throwing this huge house party, and she’s worrying about growing up…but she still lives with her parents? She still needed permission from her parents to “stay home alone”? Her word choice here makes her seem incredibly young, which is a bit of a contradiction from her feeling “old”. Why does she purposefully use diction that makes her sound young if the whole song is about being old? This could be Lorde trying to repress her age and turn back time- if I talk like this, maybe I can stay young forever. Obviously it doesn’t work that way, but Lorde attempts to stay in this mindset in order to avoid the future.

“It drives you crazy, getting old” is another example of plain, simplistic diction that has a powerful effect. Nothing here is really overcomplicated. It drives you crazy, doesn’t it? Not only that, but she uses a periodic sentence in an interesting way- the antecedent comes before the subject. The “it” in this sentence is “getting old”- the effect of this is that it leaves the listener wondering for an answer in a dramatic way. The little pause between “crazy” and “old” has the listener on the edge of their seat wondering what the “it” she is talking about is. When she finally says “…getting old” it feels like this huge thing, this huge secret she lets us in on.

She is speaking directly to someone as indicated by the “you” pronoun- this “you” person is probably her best friend. She gives some inclination of who this “best friend” is when she talks about this song in concert:

“My best friend and I…slipped into my bed. And uh…and I couldn’t sleep. And he asked me, “What’s bothering you?” and I said to him, “Doing that, throwing a party like that, doing something…outside of your comfort zone, that’s something…kind of adult. It’s not something we would’ve done when we were children. And there’s something cool about that because you’re breaking down walls and you’re going somewhere new but also, there’s something scary about [that], particularly when it comes to growing up because it’s different to anything you’ve ever known, it’s different to childhood, it’s different to everything. And I’m really scared about growing up…I’m so scared of that.”

She talks directly to this “you” person multiple times during the song- it drives you crazy, how you wish it would be, you’re the only friend I need. The effect of this pronoun is that it creates a feeling of personal intimacy that the listener is let in on. We don’t know the person Lorde is talking to, yet we know the personal quirks of their relationship and the way this person feels about getting old.

She continues:

We can talk it so good

We can make it so divine

We can talk it good

How you wish it would be all the time

The most prominent strategies that are manipulated here are pronouns, perspective, audience and rhyme. She reverts back to talking in the “we” perspective that is commonly utilized in almost all of her songs (Team, A World Alone, and Royals, to name a few). This is in contrast to how she started the song, in which she spoke for herself and herself only. The effect of the “we” pronouns is that it reinforces that really intimate scene that she creates at this party with her best friend. The “we” feels very private, something that no one else in the world understands. By using “we” pronouns, Lorde opens up her world to us, but cuts us off from it at the same time.

Another thing Lorde does here is use functional shifts to describe the talks being shared with her best friends. The word “good” is usually an adjective, but here, Lorde uses it as a noun. The effect of these functional shifts is that it makes the listener think about these words in a different way. Usually something is good, and good is not an object to obtain. They’re talking it so good, which isn’t really possible, is it? Lorde never really describes what the “it” is- she just says they’re making it so divine. This vagueness creates the feeling of intimacy once again- we don’t know what they’re talking about, we just know they’re talking it so good.

And the diction in the last line manages to be subtly sad, because it’s about longing-how you wish it would be all the time. It implies that there’s no way these talks could be like this forever. They have to change, and grow up, and experience things. The only thing they can do is wish it could be like this all the time.

After this, Lorde actually repeats the first verse, sort of layering it in between. The entire song is basically built on repetition- the drink you spilt all over me, the drink you spilt all over me, I want it back I want it back. The entire last verse of the song is littered in repetition. The effect of this is that it basically reinforces the uncertainty Lorde feels. Repeating these lyrics over and over again keeps reminding us about her turmoil, almost like she’s saying this is real, this isn’t going away. It keeps coming back. Verses are often repeated in this song and we really get what she means- the ideas she presents are always coming back, over and over and over again. The things she says in the beginning can’t be forgotten, because she always brings them up every time.

Even yet, Lorde changes her tone when she repeats the verses. When she sings them the first time, it sounds deep, like quiet whispers in the dark. But the second time around, she has this panicked tone in her voice. She gets substantially louder and faster with every repeated verse. The effect of this is that it builds the pace of the song, almost mimicking what it feels like to grow up. Growing up just feels like everything is happening at once- Lorde effectively creates this sound with her shift in tone. Everything she says is fast, and that’s what it feels like to grow up.

She continues:

This dream isn't feeling sweet

We're reeling through the midnight streets

And I've never felt more alone

It feels so scary, getting old

This is where the diction gets a little less simple and more abstract. She also really delves into her purpose here. “This dream isn’t feeling sweet” is alluding to the idiom “sweet dreams”, but she twists the words around here. Most people are common with the phrase “sweet dreams”- but she turns it around to say her dreams don’t feel sweet. Again, this is where the song gets serious and even sadder. She’s saying that the dreams she had when she was younger about how much fun it would be to grow up are suddenly evaporating before her eyes- this doesn’t feel fun anymore. It’s that moment when the anxiety hits you and you realize that something doesn’t feel right. Her diction and her choice to create a play on words effectively conveys this anxiety and dark tone.

“We’re reeling through the midnight streets” gives the song a setting of sorts. We get a sense of where the song is taking place- in the midnight streets. Her word choice is very specific- midnight streets are often dark, which matches the way the song sounds. They’re also lonely and often empty, which Lorde elaborates in the next line (“I’ve never felt more alone”). Mentioning these midnight streets enforces the loneliness and fear Lorde feels- she essentially solidifies these fears into one place. The choice of the word “reeling” is very specific as well- when you’re “reeling”, you’re spinning, you’re moving very fast. Using this word moves along into the overall purpose of how fast it feels like Lorde is growing up- we’re reeling through the midnight streets, we’re getting older so fast. Again, this word choice describes Lorde’s fear in a very vivid way.

“And I’ve never felt more alone / it feels so scary getting old” goes back to that really simple diction. Lorde is literally telling us how she feels in a super straightforward way- I feel old. I’m scared about getting old. There’s no words with heavy implications or any imagery. She uses everyday words, but somehow this is the most effective. She relies on simple pathos instead- describing her feelings with no real fanfare. This goes back to that naivety that is ever-present in this song. She doesn’t really try to use a bigger words. She is candid- she talks about how she feels.

“It feels so scary getting old” is similar to “It drives you crazy getting old” but this time, Lorde agrees with the former statement. It’s almost like she didn’t want to admit her friend was right for being “crazy” from getting old, but she gives in and acknowledges the reality of this. The syntax of the two sentences are almost the same- notice how both sentences start with “it” and ends with “getting old”. The key difference is “drives you crazy” and “feels so scary”. The structure is the same! She just shifts her diction slightly- replacing the verb “drives” with another verb- “feels”. “Getting old” is described with the adjectives “crazy” and “scary”.

After some more repetition of the previous verse, Ribs hits the peak of its emotional exuberance, and everything sort of climaxes at the bridge:

I want 'em back (I want 'em back)

The minds we had (the minds we had)

How all the thoughts (how all the thoughts)      

Moved 'round our heads (moved 'round our heads)

I want 'em back (I want 'em back)

The minds we had (the minds we had)

It's not enough to feel the lack

I want 'em back, I want 'em back, I want 'em-

There’s a lot going on here, but the most pressing thing about this bridge is the repetition. Every single line is repeated at least once immediately after it is first stated. This has a very emotional effect- it feels like everything is colliding all at once. The repetition drives that feeling home- it’s like Lorde’s thoughts are piling up on top of each other, unable to stop the anxiety- I want it back I want it back the minds we had the minds we had. At this point in the song, the thoughts seem almost unstoppable- the repetition enforces the amount of fear Lorde is experiencing.

The tone is one of inescapable anxiety over the youth she has seemingly “lost”. This is implied by her saying that she “want[s] ‘em back”- she wants to feel the same way she did when she was a kid. Even just reading the lyrics has a sense of panic and urgency; why else would she repeat everything so often? The diction all has to do with thoughts and heads and mentalities- “the minds we had / how all the thoughts / moved round our heads”. So many of the words have to do with the brain and focuses on the way we think when we’re young. Lorde basically express that to her, being young is not a physical state of being, but a mentality. She wants that mentality back- she doesn’t want to lose the creativity that comes with youth in exchange for the responsibility and no nonsense attitudes of many adults.

The whole verse is about longing for the way things used to be- to be that same kid you were way back when. This feeling often hits me at random times- remember when all you cared about were football players and bicycle boys? Remember the pool and the games and the fun? Remember the way you used to view the world- picking out the beauty like flowers off of petals? And at times, yeah, I do wish I could be that way again- so innocent and unconcerned and so embarrassingly honest. That’s what this verse feels like- I just wish it could be like that again. I wish my thoughts weren’t forever changed by growing up and maturity. I wish those things were enough.

And finally, one of the most subtly heartbreaking outros ever:

You're the only friend I need (you're the only friend I need)

Sharing beds like little kids (sharing beds like little kids)

And laughing 'til our ribs get tough (laughing 'til our ribs get tough)

But that will never be enough (but that will never be enough)

You're the only friend I need (you're the only friend I need)

Sharing beds like little kids (sharing beds like little kids)

And laughing 'til our ribs get tough (laughing 'til our ribs get tough)

But that will never be enough (but that will never be enough)

The repetition is utilized again here- every line is repeated once more. This time, the repetitions are more like echoes- quiet whispers in the background. The repetition serves the same function; it really emphasizes what she is saying to a larger degree. Repeating the phrases implies that what she is saying is meant to be felt doubly- the feelings are so large, they need to be said again and again and again.

The tone here is distinctly different from the tone of the previous verse. It’s not really panicky- in fact, it’s almost calm, happy. “You’re the only friend I need / sharing beds like little kids / and laughing till our ribs get tough” is a fairly nice (albeit nostalgic) description of a time she had with her friend- there’s nothing really anxious about it. Her diction is almost dreamlike. Words like “laughing”, “friend” and “sharing” all have positive connotations- they remind people of the goods things in their lives. Nothing scary about that, right?

That final line- “But that will never be enough” sort of shifts everything- it’s the only line with an entirely different tone from the other lines of the verse. It sounds like a threat- the choice of the word “never” has a heavy connotation. She’s saying that there’s nothing she can do to stop her growing up- there’s nothing she can do to make these happy moments with her friends last forever. Things will change- nothing will ever stay the same. It doesn’t matter how much time we spend together. It will never be enough.

The subjective pronoun of “you” comes back in this outro- it’s safe to assume that she is talking to the same person mentioned in the beginning of the song. The choice to speak to this person directly makes this ending feel so personal. But even though this song is evidently autobiographical, it’s still so easy to relate to. Every time I’m laughing with my best friends, this outro plays in my head. Every time. It’s because her diction, again, is so easy to connect with. It’s so simple- she uses everyday language that we hear and relate to. Maybe her word choice is so perfect because she talks like a teenager- she knows how to convey this feeling.

This song still scares me shitless. I don’t think a day goes by when I don’t think about my future, about graduating, about becoming someone my sixteen year old self probably won’t even recognize. It’s just…scary. It really, really is. But somehow, Ribs makes me feel better. It makes me feel like maybe someone understands, maybe someone gets what that’s like. Somehow this song captures a feeling in its entirety- this will always be enough.

Lyrics

[Verse 1: Lorde] The drink you spilt all over me

Naive diction

"Lover's Spit" left on repeat

Underground reference

My mom and dad let me stay home It drives you crazy, getting old

Simplistic diction

[Pre-Chorus: Lorde] We can talk it so good We can make it so divine

Functional shifts

We can talk it good How you wish it would be all the time

[Verse 2: Lorde] This dream isn't feeling sweet

Play on words, alluding to an idiom

We're reeling through the midnight streets

Fast paced diction, introduces a setting

And I've never felt more alone It feels so scary, getting old 

Panicky tone

[Bridge: Lorde] I want 'em back (I want 'em back) The minds we had (the minds we had) How all the thoughts (how all the thoughts) Moved 'round our heads (moved 'round our heads) I want 'em back (I want 'em back) The minds we had (the minds we had) It's not enough to feel the lack I want 'em back, I want 'em back, I want 'em- 

Repetition, mind related diction

[Outro: Lorde] You're the only friend I need (you're the only friend I need) Sharing beds like little kids (sharing beds like little kids) And laughing 'til our ribs get tough (laughing 'til our ribs get tough)

Repetition, warm diction

But that will never be enough (but that will never be enough)

Back to panicky tone, sounds like a threat

You're the only friend I need (you're the only friend I need)

Sharing beds like little kids (sharing beds like little kids)

And laughing 'til our ribs get tough (laughing 'til our ribs get tough) But that will never be enough (but that will never be enough)

[twentypercentprojectlorde]

Week #2: 400 Lux

Oh, 400 Lux. It’s probably the best love song ever written, ever. What a song. It feels less like a song and more like a journey- a place you’re travelling to. And I’ll probably say this a lot during these song analysis write-ups, but 400 Lux is SO GOOD, so nostalgic. It’s no surprise that it’s a fan favorite, because it’s the only love song on the album (though A World Alone does mention some aspects of a relationship) and it’s just sounds so lush, so innocent. To me, 400 Lux perfectly captures the essence of teenage relationships- they’re lazy and sappy and exciting and also kind of stupid. In teenage relationships, no one is living together or paying bills or planning to get married, have kids, and retire. No one is thinking about that lame stuff right now- we’re only thinking about the weekend and making out and holding hands in the hallway. We know our relationships will probably end in some sort of way- maybe that’s what makes them so fun.   

400 Lux is so young and so naïve, it’s almost becomes ridiculous if you think too much about it. Lorde is singing to her boyfriend (we assume) about how much she loves to kill time with him, by riding shotgun in his car as they drive around their suburb. It’s about precious moments- those times when you stop and think if only I could feel this way forever. The song is as much about love as it is an ode to the suburbs of her hometown- she flawlessly seems these two things together.

Lorde mentions the drives she takes with her boyfriend James in a Rookie Magazine interview:

I’m quite solitary by nature, I guess. I don’t have heaps and heaps of friends. Often I can appreciate a place regardless of the people I’m sharing it with, which I know a lot of people can’t do, but for me…this is really personal, but James and I spent a lot of time, and still do spend a lot of time, driving around all over our city, and that for me was enlightening, because for once, the company that I’m keeping is affecting how I feel about these places, and in a positive way. I think that was kind of what drove me to write a lot of the stuff on Pure Heroine, because I really thought about where I was in conjunction with who I was in conjunction with who I was with.

This song will always take me back to those moments- riding in cars with boys I’ve loved while they bought me orange juice and we spent countless hours with each other doing absolutely nothing. This song is the epitome of first love, of crushes and laying around and being a teenager, learning about romantic relationships and what to do with all those feelings. And even though you know that high school love is a weird kind of love- a love that almost never lasts- there’s always a part of you saying “I’d like it if you stayed.”

Subject: Lorde is the speaker, as she is for the entire album. She speaks in first person point of view. She speaks in an innocent sort of way- always asking him permission to spend time with each other.

Occasion: Lorde is telling her boyfriend that she enjoys spending time with him, essentially wishing that these moments with him could last forever. All they seem to do, according to her, is waste time- but time is never really wasted if you're spending it with someone you love. The car rides she describes in the song are very repetitive, but they still have fun doing it.

Audience: Lorde talks directly to her boyfriend, referring to him using "you" pronouns. The interesting thing is that this is in stark contrast to her other songs, in which she is commonly talking to a larger group of people (her friends). 400 Lux is focused on one person only- it's not really intended for anyone else. James himself is probably the only person who really actually gets it.  

Purpose: There's two messages intertwined in this song- one is Lorde's description of the soft sort of friendship she has with James, and the other is her overall appreciation and awe of her city/suburbs (similar to "Team" and "Royals"). Lyrics like "I love these roads where the houses don't change" reveal these feelings. Many have also noted that 400 Lux is possibly the song that gives Pure Heroine a setting- it tells us where she is spending her teenage years- in the suburbs. 400 Lux essentially "sets the scene" and gives us a perspective of where Lorde is having the grand adventures described in the rest of the album.

Analysis

Most of the analysis of this song will focus on diction, syntax and ideas. Lorde begins:

We're never done with killing time

Can I kill it with you?

Till the veins run red and blue

We come around here all the time

Got a lot to not do, let me kill it with you

To start, Lorde’s use of antecedents is especially prominent here- the word “it” is used an antecedent to the word “time”. Antecedents are used to shorten things and make things less repetitive- had she not used the word “it”, she would’ve said the word “time” four times in the span of six lines. Using an antecedent makes things less wordy and repetitive, essentially condensing her thoughts in a simpler way.

The rhetorical question “Can I kill it with you?” is one that doesn’t necessarily even need to be asked- the answer is most definitely yes, as revealed by the rest of the song. This rhetorical question creates a sort of naïve and innocent tone from Lorde- she is asking permission to spend time with this person. This implies that their time together isn’t a given- Lorde still wants confirmation (and maybe even validation) that her presence is welcome in her partner’s life.

The next line “Till the veins run red and blue” doesn’t necessarily make a whole lot of sense- veins are only red and blue in biology textbooks. However, “blue veins” could refer to the way veins look when one dies- lacking air and basically having no function. Lorde may be saying hey why don’t we just hang out until we DIE which is also sort of unrealistic- again, how many teenage relationships actually last forever? We know that Lorde is aware that this relationship won’t last forever (as revealed by the bridge in “A World Alone”, which we will get to later) but maybe she is just putting those sad thoughts aside and focusing on the moment. She could be saying I know that this will end sometime in the future and that sucks because if I could, I’d stay here with you forever. This is a very teenager-like thought. We think we know exactly how we’ll feel in the future, even though people and thoughts inevitably change.

Another clever thing Lorde does here is rhyme “blue” with “you” and utilizing an ABBAB rhyme scheme. Her rhyme creates a nice flow and sort of connects her ideas together. She uses very “pretty” diction, which creates a nice cushion around the “you” pronouns.

“We come around here all the time” reveals that these drives happen often; they’re repetitive and even expected at this point. This also reveals that to her, it doesn’t matter what they do as long as they’re together. This line also brings back the word “time” but with a different meaning. The first line was about killing time, and the second line is about amount of times something is being done. She uses the word “time” in two different ways- the effect of this is that it emphasizing all the time they’re wasting together. By constantly repeating the word “time”, we understand that time is precious here, and that spending time together is something sacred and real.

The final line of this verse just sounds SO GOOD because she uses assonance to create a perfect rhyme scheme. “Got a lot to not do” has a flawless rhythm to it- it sort of has a bouncy “sound.” Got rhymes with lot which also rhymes with not- yet ANOTHER perfect ring of rhymes by this girl. “Got” “lot” and “not” all have the same exact sound to them- she places these words together because she’s a literal genius. The effect of this is that everything seems super connected- they’re killing time instead of doing the things they’re supposed to do. She acknowledges what needs to be done but pushes it aside a little. We have stuff to do, but I’d rather spend time with you.

“Let me kill it with you” is slightly different from the rhetorical question “Can I kill it with you?” She’s not asking him if she can spend time with him- she’s asking him to let her into his life. “Let me kill it with you” is more aggressive and dominating in tone- less naïve and passive than the beginning of the song. This shows that she gains confidence as she speaks more- at the end of the first verse, she is almost demanding to be with this person- possibly showing how much she loves riding around with him.

The pre-chorus:

You pick me up and take me home again

Head out the window again

We're hollow like the bottles that we drain

The story is evolving here- now we are getting into the part where they hang out together. Something to notice here is the repeated use of the word “again”. This goes back to the implication that these mini road trips happen quite often- she is being picked up again, she’s sneaking out the window again. Again, again, again. This repetition implies that these drives keep happening, and they have happened, multiple times throughout their relationship.

I never noticed how many similes Lorde actually utilizes until now- “We’re hollow like the bottles that we drain” is just one of many. This line is another point of confusion, because why exactly is she calling themselves “hollow”? Lorde is comparing themselves to empty bottles, presumably bottles with alcohol in them. Maybe because they keep doing the same thing over and over again (as indicated by the previous lines) she feels like they are empty inside- or maybe it’s because they’re hollow they find solace in each other’s company.  The effect of this simile is that it connects this relationship to something unorthodox like alcohol- most love songs create similes about roses or oceans or the moon. Lorde’s relationship with this person is different- and she shows this by comparing themselves to empty bottles. Because they keep doing the same thing over and over again, it’s starting to become boring, and it feels a bit hollow.

Moving on:

You drape your wrists over the steering wheel

Pulses can drive from here

We might be hollow, but we're brave

“You drape your wrists over the steering wheel” relies on heavy driving related diction and imagery. Lorde does this to enforce the setting and occasion of the song- reminding us of what is going on and really drilling it into our heads that this song is about driving. The choice of the word “drape” implies that her partner is doing it lazily- this action also seems fairly majestic when described with this word. He’s draping his wrist over the steering wheel- it’s hanging there carelessly. This reinforces the idea that the time they spend together is lazy- they don’t care about anything else happening in the world.

“Pulses can drive from here” is personification- pulses can’t literally drive cars. But using personification brings everything to life- the listener understands the way the scene is set and clearly understands how Lorde feels. They feel so careless and hollow that she feels like they don’t even have to pay attention to driving anymore- pulses can do that for them instead. At this point, Lorde is only paying attention to her lover- we don’t have to do anything, not even drive.

Finally, the last line brings us back to the idea of being “hollow”- we might be hollow but we’re brave. Even though they may do things that make them hollow (like drinking, doing the same thing over and over again) they’re brave because they are honest with each other- this may not seem like a big deal, but honestly telling someone how you feel about them takes guts. Or, for an alternative interpretation, being hollow means emotionally they feel empty inside (something in life is making them sad and upset so they feel empty) and they’re brave because they face life every day, even if they have to use each other to get through it.

And now…the most bomb chorus ever:

(And I like you)

I love these roads where the houses don't change

(And I like you)

Where we can talk like there's something to say

(And I like you)

I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway

(And I like you)

We move in the tree streets

I'd like it if you stayed

The little whispers in the chorus and the pure naivety of these lyrics are like an explosion of love and appreciation and even a little smugness. To start, the simplicity of the phrase “And I like you” pretty much completes the whole song. “Liking” someone is another way of expressing that you have a crush on them- using such a grade school term makes Lorde seem very young and a little childish. This is in huge contrast to the seemingly “grown up” things she is doing, like “killing time” with some older guy (did I mention that her boyfriend was 24 when she wrote this song- and she was 16? This is a little…problematic, to say the least) and supposedly drinking underage. Slyly admitting “I like you” gives her a childlike image, playing into the naïve portrayal of teenage relationships.

There’s also the juxtaposition between Lorde “liking” this boy and, in contrast, “[loving the] roads where the houses don’t change”. It’s quite obvious she is happy in her relationship with this person- she could have easily wrote “And I love you” instead. But she intentionally doesn’t- almost as if she doesn’t want to admit that she loves this person. She slyly dances around any concrete lovey-dovey motifs present. Again, this is a love song but it isn’t outright- she’s singing about love in a different way. She looks at her relationship as more of a friendship, which is why she isn’t outright expressing explicit affection. All of her affection is implied- let me kill time with you, I’d like it if you stayed, I like you, I like you, I like you.

She mentions this in an interview with the Huffington Post- but even then, she doesn’t name drop the song’s title:            

“Come on, it doesn’t all have to be about a boy…I talk about exactly what’s happening to me and my friends and in my more recent material there are songs about a boy but it’s not an overt love song. Everyone’s said that a million times. I just want to do something different and that people will like.”

“Kissing the tar on the highway” has literally always been confusing to me, ever since I first heard this song when I was 13 years old. It could be a metaphor- they’re not literally tasting tar as they drive (hopefully). It could mean that she’s happy that they aren’t driving on the highway anymore- she prefers the tree streets more. The highway could possibly represent the fast life that Lorde was sucked into soon after writing this song- including fame, attention and money. She ignores the “fast life” and is glad she doesn’t have to pay attention to it when she is with her partner. The diction here is interesting as well- she uses a fairly intimate word (kissing) paired with more driving imagery of “tar on the highway”. The effect of this is that it introduces an unorthodox concept and creates an abstract scene- kissing and tar don’t go well together, but Lorde purposely does this to make the listener think about her relationship in an unusual way.

“We move in the tree streets” again, refers to suburbs and the way trees often grow large enough to create “tunnels” overhead. She also uses assonance again- “tree” and “streets” carry the similar “e” sound. The effect of this is that it shows how closely these two things seem to belong together- tree streets clicks, as if they are always supposed to be put together.

Now the only spoken word part of the entire album:

Now we're wearing long sleeves

And the heating comes on

(You buy me orange juice)

We're getting good at this

The long sleeves and heating Lorde mentions here is symbolism for the change in seasons- it’s getting colder and turning into winter. We can assume that the beginning of the song takes place in the summer. When the “heating comes on” it means that its winter, and these two are still doing what they’ve always done- killing time. The effect of this is that it’s subtle- Lorde doesn’t straight out say that time is passing in her story, but implying it makes the song feel more like an experience rather than something the audience is being told. By being implicit, Lorde puts the audience with her in the car rides instead of just telling us about it.

“You buy me orange juice” is so purely innocent and also quite random. Her diction is very naïve, which is what the entire album is built around. Why does she randomly just start talking about something seemingly insignificant, like orange juice? Lorde wrote about this line on her Tumblr:

“I meant the literal buying of orange juice, specifically an orange juice dropped into my lap at a gas station one night.”

So obviously this line is personal and true to Lorde’s life, though it does have effects on the overall song. For one, it emphasizes how young Lorde is as a speaker, just because her word choice is so simplistic and pure. The fact that she cares so much about a little thing like orange juice really reveals her naivety and in turn says a lot about teen relationships- they’re happy just because of things like orange juice. This shows the way teen relationships are built- they’re not serious or built on longevity.

Finally, the antecedent in the last line “We’re getting good at this” is a bit blurry- what is the antecedent “this” referring to? Lorde is referring to the action of them wasting time together- the reason she uses the vague antecedent is that it keeps the song a little conspicuous- sure, she’s sharing a pretty intimate relationship here, but she doesn’t reveal everything. Keeping things vague with antecedent’s carries a bit of smugness to it- like, yeah, you know how I feel, but you really don’t know anything at all.

She continues:

Dreams of clean teeth

I can tell that you're tired

But you keep the car on

While you're waiting out front

“Clean teeth” is more symbolism of the wealth and fame that Lorde talks about throughout almost all of Pure Heroine. Clean teeth symbolizes the perfection in which celebrities have- most celebrities have perfectly straight and white teeth. They’re clean. When she talks about how they’re “dreaming” of clean teeth, they’re wondering what it would be like to be famous. This goes back to Pure Heroine as a cohesive album criticizing wealth and luxury as she does in songs like Team or Royals- 400 Lux displays how everyone she knows “dreams” about being famous but isn’t “caught up” in that sort of life style.

“I can tell that you’re tired” is more childish and simple diction- notice how she doesn’t really over complicate things? All she does is state her observation- she can tell that he’s tired but he keeps the car on while he’s waiting out front. This also goes back to the smugness of Lorde’s tone- it almost appears cocky. I know you’re tired, but you’d do anything for me, wouldn’t you? Relationships can, at times, give you an ego. She almost sounds like she’s chuckling- because these trips are so mundane and repetitive- but they still partake in them.

400 Lux is perfect because it’s atmospheric- and, more importantly, it’s simple. Though Lorde does delve a lot into personal feelings and abstract ideas, for the most part, she remains straightforward and uncomplicated. All she wants to do is talk about her streets and her lover- her experiences shine through because she doesn’t over complicate anything.

Lyrics

[Verse 1] We're never done with killing time Can I kill it with you?

rhetorical question 

Till the veins run red and blue We come around here all the time Got a lot to not do, let me kill it with you

ABBAB rhyme scheme

[Pre-Chorus] You pick me up and take me home again Head out the window again

Repetition

We're hollow like the bottles that we drain

Simile comparing their relationship to something unorthodox and reckless

You drape your wrists over the steering wheel Pulses can drive from here

Personification that personalizes the drives they take 

We might be hollow, but we're brave

[Chorus] (And I like you) I love these roads where the houses don't change

Juxtaposition between “liking” her boyfriend and “loving” her streets 

(And I like you) Where we can talk like there's something to say (And I like you) I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway

Metaphor for the fast life that Lorde is glad they’re not living 

(And I like you) We move in the tree streets

Assonance conveying how well these words fit together

I'd like it if you stayed

[Verse 2] Now we're wearing long sleeves And the heating comes on

Symbolism for the changing of seasons

(You buy me orange juice)

Childish diction 

We're getting good at this

Vague antecedents

Dreams of clean teeth

Symbolism for wealth and luxury 

I can tell that you're tired But you keep the car on While you're waiting out front

Smug tone, simplistic diction

[twentypercentprojectlorde]

Week #1: Team

I have always been fiercely in awe of people who are able to absolutely fall in love with songs that don’t relate to them or their lives. In other words, they can listen to a song about something they don’t understand and still love it.

I’m not that way- I have to be able to relate to a song in order for me to really, really love and appreciate it. Which is probably why I love this next song so much- I relate to every sing word. It’s the song I would listen to on repeat while watching high school football games. There was always that whisper in my head saying “We’re on each other’s team, and you know and you know and you know…”

Team by Lorde is that special occasion where I literally never get tired of it- I can find a new way to relate to it every time I listen. It’s just so teenage and BIG- it’s unifying without getting all sappy about it. It perfectly captures the good, fun parts about being a teenager. Here, Lorde turns reality into a dream- she makes being teenager something right out of a fairytale.

Subject: Lorde is the speaker of this song, but at times she speaks for a bigger group of people. When she sings “We live in cities you’ll never see on screen” she is speaking on broader terms.

Occasion: Lorde is essentially criticizing the mainstream media and saying that even though her town (or anyone on her “team”) is often ignored by the public eye, they are still beautiful, and they have each other. They still live fulfilled lives- they just aren’t famous or “pretty”.

Audience: She is speaking to petty people who are obsessed with material items- probably the same group of people she is talking about in “Royals”. She is also talking to her “team”- she is celebrating them, gassing them up, making them feel like they are worth it.

Purpose: When Lorde was writing this song, she said she wrote it “for the teenagers who look up to me”. She said she knows what it’s like to be misrepresented, and this song was her way of saying that she wouldn’t forget about the teenagers who made her career happen. I think the purpose of this song is again, to celebrate her friends and her town. It is essentially a love letter to where she is from and the people who live there. Just because they don’t live in a big city doesn’t mean they can’t have fun or be beautiful people- in fact, she feels like they are “richer” than those who get everything they want, because they have to earn what they have. They know what it’s like to watch others have successes- this makes them humbled but still proud. This song is also about dreams- her friends dream up a world of beauty, and they live in it with each other.

Analysis

For starters, when talking about the music video of this song, Lorde wrote:

“This video was borne from a dream I had a few months ago about teenagers in their own world, a world with hierarchies and initiations, where the boy who was second in command had acne on his face, and so did the girl who was queen. I dreamt about this world being so different to anything anyone had ever seen, a dark world full of tropical plants and ruins and sweat. And of this world, I dreamt about tests that didn't need to be passed in order to be allowed in: sometimes the person who loses is stronger. Enjoy”

Essentially, Lorde is dreaming up a world of her own in this song- a world for teenagers and the stupid things we do.

She begins:

Wait 'til you're announced

We've not yet lost all our graces

The hounds will stay in chains

Look upon Your Greatness and she'll send the call out

Send the call out (x15)

Many people are confused because of this cryptic introduction, and that’s understandable! It’s confusing because she uses figurative language instead of straight up telling you what she is talking about.

To start, Lorde is setting the scene for her world of pure imagination. It’s supposed to be ridiculous and childish and maybe even a little stupid- she is playing pretend, as are the rest of her friends. And by “pretend” I mean they are playing into the idea of a teenage hierarchy- Lorde is the queen, and they abide.

The entire idea of a teenage “kingdom” is a metaphor for how teenagers function. There is always someone that people look up to- the “queen” or “king” who is considered the most popular. Being in high school is like a hierarchy- there are people on top, and people on the bottom. Lorde plays on this in the intro here- by speaking as the “queen”, she is directing the rest of the teenagers listening and assuring them of their importance in the world. The effect this has is that it invites us into her world- by making this metaphor, anyone who is a teenager understands what she is talking about and feels welcome in the “kingdom”. Even though she is talking specifically about her friends, as fellow teenagers, we get what she’s saying too. By basing the entire song on a palace metaphor, we feel like we are living in the palace as we are listening to the song. Lorde built the world- and she invites us to stay in it.

“The hounds” that she mentions are symbolism for the things that are giving teenagers a hard time- heartbreak, grades, parents, and the blossoming responsibilities that arise as you are becoming a young adult. She says “the hounds will stay in chains”- this means that while they are in their imaginary kingdom world that they created, the “hounds” will not bother them. They’ll be “in chains”- the hounds will be restricted and stuck in the outside world.

When she sings “Look upon Your Greatness” she is metaphorically referring to herself as a queen. Obviously she isn’t a literal queen- but she is popular enough in her town that people look up to her and listen to her rules. She declares herself a queen because she wants to claim the role as a “ruler”- she wants to tell her friends and other teenagers of their worth. Most times, a queen has harsh rules and a negative effect on her people, but with Lorde, she is a positive people on her “subjects”. She ominously repeats “[She’ll] send the call out”. This doesn’t mean that she literally has a call or noise that she uses- it means that she will notify the town (or on a bigger scale, the world) that her and her friends are coming, and they’re coming to make a scene. Lorde’s “call” is symbolic- it represents her adoration for her friends, because she wants everyone to be aware of their presence. Her purpose is to celebrate her friends- she celebrates them by telling the world how great they are, i.e. sending the call out. This metaphor effectively achieves this purpose- she is not being quiet and she wants everyone to hear her “call”.

Lorde continues:

Call all the ladies out, they're in their finery

A hundred jewels on throats

A hundred jewels between teeth

A lot of people also don’t understand this part either, but it’s actually kind of clear when you analyze it a bit. When she “call[s] all the ladies out” she is talking about her girlfriends who are all dressed up for the night. They’re in their finery- they’re wearing the most expensive clothes and makeup. Lorde is essentially “setting the scene” and showing what a night on the town is like with her friends. But her extended metaphor changes the meaning of the fun times she has with her friends- when she is with her friends, she feels like they are all living in a palace. It’s like a club and they’re all in it, being stupid. But being stupid is what makes them beautiful. Essentially, when she is with her friends, her town seems prettier than it actually is- it turns into a palace. Their regular clothes turn into gowns and beautiful things- when they are together, they find purpose despite people who say otherwise.

The “hundred jewels on throats” are simply just fancy necklaces or other pieces of jewelry, similar to the kinds that queens or aristocrats wear. Instead of just point blank talking about jewelry, Lorde uses specific diction to create an effect. The words “a hundred jewels on throats” is very consistent with the imagery she presents about living in a kingdom/palace. They are kings and queens- they wear jewels on throats and rule and rule and rule. The “hundred jewels between teeth” is just a pretty way to talk about braces, which many teenagers have to wear. Lorde basically makes flaws seem beautiful- she even has a way to make braces seem like some sort of fancy luxury. “Jewels” brings to mind very rich people and excessive luxury- everything that Lorde and her friends pretend to be when they are together. By using this specific diction, Lorde creates imagery that transports the listener to a dreamlike world. She also “beautifies” the area around her, just by describing them using very specific word choice.

This song is about pretending. It’s about pretending to be royal, pretending to have more than you do. It’s about seeing the beauty in your young life because it’s there, and no one can take that away from you.

Onward, she sings:

Now bring my boys in, their skin in craters like the moon

The moon we love like a brother, while he glows through the room

Similes everywhere! All of which are consistent with Lorde’s overall message. She compares the acne of her “boys” to “craters [on] the moon”. Acne is something that is considered unattractive by most teenagers and adults alike. But Lorde sees the beauty in it regardless- she compares it to something as beautiful and ethereal as the moon. This reinforces the idea that Lorde is a “good” queen- she finds teenagers absolutely beautiful, flaws and all. Their acne reminds them of their youth, but Lorde insists that youth can be beautiful too. Mentioning the moon also implies that most of the fun her friends have occurs during the nighttime, which further builds upon her world of teenage fun and mayhem.

She goes even further with her simile- she compares their love for the moon to the love one feels for a brother. This means that they love the nighttime a lot- they feel comfortable and thankful for its presence. A brotherly love is a masculine one- it consists of protection and safety. Lorde is saying that the moon protects them and they use it to feel safe in the world. Mentioning brotherhood also shows how close Lorde and her friends feel- they are like a family, knit into one breathing organism. Lorde personifies the moon when she says “…while he glows through the room”- this just further implies that the moon (or nighttime) is looking out for them- they love the moon the way they love a real person. The moon makes the moments with her friends feel beautiful- even if their flaws are glaring in the brightness.

Then, the pre-hook:

Dancing' around the lies we tell

Dancing' around big eyes as well

Even the comatose, they don't dance and tell

Lorde personifies “the lies” they tell by implying that they have to dance “around” them. In this sense, the lies they tell are a concrete thing that exist with them as they are out and about. By saying that they “dance around” these lies, she is saying that when they are together they ignore all the wrong things they’ve done and focus on the heat of moment. This is similar to what she says about “the hounds” in the intro- when they are together, all of their worries, problems and mistakes are forgotten. They dance around these things- as in, they pretend that they don’t exist.

The “big eyes” is probably the one thing in this song I can’t quite figure out despite listening to it about a billion times. Lyrical analysis website Genius.com infers that this line could be talking about drugs that make your eyes bigger- this isn’t unlikely. Teenagers definitely experiment drugs when they hang out with each other.

Lorde rhymes “tell” with “well” at the end of these respective lines- the effect this has is that it connects both of these actions together. You get a sort of mischievous tone from this pre-hook, because she’s saying that they are “dancing around big eyes as well” implying that they are doing these thing simultaneously. Not only are they dancing around the lies they tell, they’re dancing around with big eyes too. This, to me, implies double the trouble, and double the fun.

Lorde plays upon the idiom “don’t kiss and tell” in the final line by changing it to “…they don’t dance and tell”. She does this because most people know what “kiss and tell” means (don’t blab to the whole world what intimate things you’re doing with someone) and they can understand what she’s saying on another level. By changing it to “dance” she makes it a little less intimate and more involved with her entire group of friends. She is saying that this entire night out should stay a personal secret between them- the things they do should stay with them. No one else has to know what they do- even the comatose understands this. Secrets are secrets- the whole world doesn’t have to know.

(Though this is ironic considering Lorde reveals all of this through a fairly popular song)

Now, the chorus:

We live in cities you'll never see onscreen

Not very pretty but we sure know how to run things

Living in ruins of a palace within my dreams

And you know, we're on each other's team

This is probably my favorite chorus ever. It’s just so relatable- it makes you feel like you are a part of something much bigger than yourself. Lorde pretty much sums up her motives for this here:

“No one comes to New Zealand, no one knows anything about New Zealand, and here I am, trying to grow up and become a person. I’ve been countering that with going to New York and seeing this place that’s in every movie and every TV show. Part of me wanted to go back to writing for me and for my friends, and write something that I felt related to us a little bit.”

When she says, “We live in cities you'll never see onscreen” she means it quite literally- their hometown is pretty much ignored by popular media and people around the world. It isn’t in movies or a popular place to vacation- they feel like they are ignored by the entire planet.

Now, a part of this is definitely a hyperbole- obviously New Zealand isn’t never “seen onscreen”. A quick Google search will reveal a multitude of movies set in New Zealand, and people around the world often talk about how pretty New Zealand is. But Lorde exaggerates this to make a point. The city of Auckland obviously isn’t as famous as cities like New York, London, Paris or Tokyo. Exaggerating this makes it easier for the listener to understand how she feels like an outsider in a beauty obsessed world. A part of it could also be teen angst- the feeling of “no one in this world understands how I feel and they never will I am so alone I want to be in a world where people just UNDERSTAND me” so she exaggerates this really just to show superiority.

“Not very pretty but we sure know how to run things” means that just because they aren’t conventionally beautiful people who are loved on a global scale doesn’t mean they don’t know how to have fun. They still “know how to run things”- meaning, they are still dominant members of their societies and they don’t need to achieve the American standard of beauty to have a good, fun-loving life. A lot of Lorde’s music has to do with fighting against the pop standard of a glamorous lifestyle (see: Royals, Tennis Court, Glory and Gore) and she elaborates this idea here- they may not be “pretty” but they still get shit done. They don’t have to be famous to feel like their lives have meaning.

The next two lines are fantastically written and quite well thought out metaphors- living in ruins of a palace within my dreams. Obviously her friends aren’t hanging out in a literal abandoned castle somewhere (though everyone knows that that would be literally the coolest thing EVER) - rather, the palace is a metaphor for the shambled area that they come from. Even though ruins are destroyed and a total mess, they are still beautiful- she applies this same thinking to her hometown. Her hometown “isn’t very pretty” but it’s still a cool place to live. This line can also apply to what she said about the song before, when she was releasing the music video. She said, “This video was borne from a dream I had a few months ago about teenagers in their own world… I dreamt about this world being so different to anything anyone had ever seen, a dark world full of tropical plants and ruins and sweat.” This “world” she talks about is almost exactly described in this line of the chorus- it clues us in to the setting and scenery in which this song takes place.

This is similar to a line in her critically acclaimed song, Royals:

And I'm not proud of my address

In the torn up town, no post code envy

And finally, when she declares “We’re on each other’s team” she means that in a figurative sense. They’re not literally on a team with each other (as in, there’s no formal organization of one like there is for sports or clubs) but metaphorically, they stick together the way a team does. They have that camaraderie that other literal teams have- they work together, support each other and are always there for each other. This goes back to the overall meaning of the song, in which she is spreading a message of unity.  She is saying “We’re from the same place, we see the same things and we know the same people. We are a team”.

And now, the bridge that gets stuck in my head so many times during the course of a day it’s actually ridiculous:

I'm kind of over getting told to throw my hands up in the air

So there

I'm kind of older than I was when I reveled without a care

So there

Sophia V. from oneweekoneband.tumblr.com had a flawless analysis of this bridge, in which she said:

It’s a shrug and then a smile – her voice drops into the so there, low and throaty and laughing at you. I’m kinda older. I don’t know. I’m not sure. Who cares? I’m kinda older, and all I know is that things are different now. What makes “Team” so compelling is the fragment of certainty in it, despite that kinda. Certainty in your friends. Certainty before and after that moment of laughter. The chorus comes and everything settles.

Another thing about this bridge is the rhyme scheme- air rhymes with there, but it also rhymes with care, which rhymes with there again. It’s like a circle, a ring of rhymes. To me, the effect of these rhymes is that it makes it seems like Lorde knows exactly what she’s talking about- everything she does seems intentional. Like yeah, all these words rhyme- of course they do. Why wouldn’t they? As Sophia says above, she has a tone of smugness in this part- that air of I know everything, you know nothing. It feels like she is in fact talking to the older generation- utilizing simple rhymes to prove a powerful point.

She changes “I’m kind of over” to “I’m kind of older” in the second line- to me, this exhumes a confident tone. Every time this part comes on, I almost feel like straightening my posture, which sounds ridiculous, but its true- I feel like I should be acting kind of older too. The effect of this change is that it actually explains why she’s “over being told to throw [her] hands up in the air”.  She’s over it because she’s older now. She’s actually taking responsibility, as queens do. This continues her tone of smugness- she’s saying, look, I’m not a kid anymore. And when you’re a teenager, not knowing about life and what being an adult is like, sixteen is huge. Sixteen is monumental- you feel older.

Time for the second verse:

So all the cups got broke

Shards beneath our feet

But it wasn't my fault

Lorde is probably talking about a very specific, real life event in which a glass broke at a party or something, because most of her songs are stories. But figuratively, I believe she is alluding to the idiom concerning “walking on broken glass”. The broken cups and “shards beneath [their] feet” is really a metaphor for this idiom- when you’re walking on broken glass, you’re tiptoeing, trying to avoid conflict and always walking on edge. This could refer to what life as a teenager is like- you’re always “walking on broken glass” because you don’t know what you’re doing. You don’t know how to grow up, you don’t know what you’re future will be. In a way, you are walking on the edge- because there’s always that thought of I don’t know what I’m doing.

Or maybe they’re “walking on broken glass” because of the prospect of being busted at this party or wherever they’re hanging out- they’re fearful they could get caught doing dumb things- so they’re being careful of what they do.

Finishing up:

And everyone's competing for a love they won't receive

Cause what this palace wants is release

I’ve always been curious about what kind of love Lorde was talking about here. I don’t think it’s romantic love, because if that’s the case, that’s pretty mean-spirited. Saying you want love but you won’t get it seems way meaner than the nice-queen image that Lorde has upheld since the beginning of the song.

More consistent with the meaning of the song, the love people are competing for may be the love of the media- being popular online and being showered with likes, comments and attention. Fake people want to be loved by the world- they want to be famous. Lorde looks down on this a bit, telling them that this love is something they won’t get, regardless of how hard they seek it out.

The next line continues the palace metaphor Lorde established from the very beginning. We are back in the palace again- but this time, Lorde establishes that she wants out. This is how Lorde and the album Pure Heroine is a walking paradox of itself- she loves the palace but she still wants to leave. She is the queen but she wants to be released of this title- she wants to leave her hometown. Her town gave her friends and love and memories, but she still wants more. She doesn’t want to be tied down by just one place- she knows she can see the world through her newfound fame, touring the world and gaining the popularity she just condemned people from seeking. This is a paradox- she’s queen of the palace, but she wants “release” all the same.

The whole palace wants release. Her friends want release. Everyone wants to be set free, no longer stuck in the same place they’ve always been. Because although the palace is cool, it’s not everything. They know they can have more. Leaving the palace means leaving the town, and entering the world.

And the last words uttered:

And you know, we’re on each other’s team

And you know, and you know, and you know

At the very end, Lorde utilizes repetition in a cryptic way- she’s almost assuring us about what we “know”. There shouldn’t be a doubt in anyone’s mind- you know we’re on each other’s team. Almost in the way that colloquially we say “You know it” to confirm something is right, Lorde does the same thing, repeating this phrase so we know we’re on the team. We know, we know, we know.

Lyrics with annotations of rhetorical strategies

[Intro]

Wait 'til you're announced

We've not yet lost all our graces

The hounds will stay in chains

Metaphor for the problems/stresses in our lives 

Look upon Your Greatness and she'll send the call out

Your Greatness: name you call a queen/ruler. Metaphorically, Lorde is the queen of her town

Send the call out (x15)

[Verse 1] Call all the ladies out, they're in their finery

Girls wearing expensive clothes 

A hundred jewels on throats

Metaphor for fancy clothes and jewelry 

A hundred jewels between teeth

Metaphor for braces

Now bring my boys in, their skin in craters like the moon

Simile comparing acne to something beautiful like the moon

The moon we love like a brother, while he glows through the room

Simile comparing their love for the moon to the love one feels for a brother

  Personifying the moon as a “brother” 

Dancin' around the lies we tell

Personifying “the lies [they] tell” 

Dancin' around big eyes as well Even the comatose, they don't dance and tell

A play on the idiom “don’t kiss and tell”

[Chorus] We live in cities you'll never see onscreen

Hyperbole; exaggerating the feeling of invisibility living in a small town

Not very pretty, but we sure know how to run things Livin' in ruins of a palace within my dreams

Palace is a metaphor for how her town may be in “ruins” but it is still beautiful 

And you know we're on each other's team

Lorde and her friends are on a metaphorical team

[Bridge] I'm kind of over gettin' told to throw my hands up in the air So there I'm kind of older than I was when I reveled without a care So there

Smug tone implying Lorde’s attitudes towards older people who doubt her 

[Verse 2] So all the cups got broke Shards beneath our feet

Metaphor to the idiom “walking on broken glass” to express how her and her friends feel like they are on edge

But it wasn't my fault And everyone's competing for a love they won't receive Cause what this palace wants is release

Palace metaphor again: her friends want out of the palace, out of the town