Lorde’s ‘What Was That’ Lyrics Are Just a Glimpse of Her Next Era
Sadly, not all of us could join Lorde for her impromptu concert in New York’s Washington Square Park last night. But luckily the singer didn’t leave us all wallowing in our FOMO for too long. Roughly a day after teasing it at her pop-up performance, she has officially dropped her latest single, “What Was That.”
Anticipation ran high for Lorde’s return after the release of her 2021 album Solar Power. It also didn’t hurt that last year, she hopped on a remix of Charli xcx’s “Girl, so confusing” from brat, the buzziest album of the year. After Charli mentioned at Coachella that we’re in for a “Lorde summer” this year, that can only mean there’s even more music on the way.
With a synthy, pop feel, the track harkens back to her Melodrama days, but also teases her next chapter as an artist. Listen to the full track and read the full lyrics below, courtesy of Genius.
[Verse 1]
A place in the city, a chair and a bed
I cover up all the mirrors, I can’t see myself yet
I wear smoke like a wedding veil
Make a meal I won’t eat
Step out into the street, alone in a sea
It comes over me
Oh, I’m missing you
Yeah, I’m missing you
And all the things we used to do[Chorus]
MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up
We kissed for hours straight, well baby, what was that?
I remember saying then, “This is the best cigarette of my life”
Well, I want you just like that
Indio haze, we’re in a sandstorm, and it knocks me out
I didn’t know then that you’d never be enough
Since l was seventeen, I gave you everything
Now, we wake from a dream
Well, baby, what was that?[Post-Chorus]
What was that?
Baby, what was that?[Verse 2]
Do you know you’re still with me
When I’m out with my friends?
I stare at the painted faces that talk current affairs
You had to know this was happening
You weren’t feeling my heat
When I’m in the blue light, down at Baby’s All Right
I face reality
I tried (I tried)
To let (To let)
Whatever has to pass through me, pass through
But this is staying a while, I know
It might not let me go[Chorus]
MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up
We kissed for hours straight, well baby, what was that?
I remember saying then, “This is the best cigarette of my life”
Well, I want you just like that
Indio haze, we’re in a sandstorm, and it knocks me out
I didn’t know then, but you’d never be enough for me
Since l was seventeen, I gave you everything
Now, we wake from a dream
Well, baby, what was that?[Post-Chorus]
What was that?
‘Cause I want you just like that
(When I’m in the blue light, I can make it alright)
What was that?
(When I’m in the blue light, I can make it alright)
Baby, what was that?