Lyrics Analysis: Liability, Lorde

After doing the moodboards, I decided that I liked the indie style the best and wanted to look into it more. Once I had researched the codes and conventions of this genre I decided that it was still my favourite and wanted to look into the lyrics of songs from this genre. Doing this task will help me decide which genre I want to choose, and the overall mood for my video, as the lyrics will have an impact on the narrative. 

"Liability"

One, two

Baby really hurt me

Crying in the taxi

He don't wanna know me

Says he made the big mistake of dancing in my storm

Says it was poison

Here, Lorde denotes her boyfriend breaking up with her. He sees their relationship as toxic, made obvious by the use of 'poison'. The fact that she refers to herself as a 'storm' connotes her turbulent emotions and perhaps unpredictable mood swings, just as a storm is unpredictable and dangerous. It sets up the narrative of Lorde breaking up with her boyfriend and then reflecting upon herself and her actions. It is challenging Todorov's theory as it will leave the ending both ambiguous and unsatisfying, a convention of the indie genre which it is a part of. 

So I guess I'll go home

Into the arms of the girl that I love

The only love I haven't screwed up

She's so hard to please

But she's a forest fire

I do my best to meet her demands

Play at romance, we slow dance

In the living room, but all that a stranger would see

Is one girl swaying alone

Stroking her cheek

At first it appears that Lorde is singing about someone else, someone who is equally dangerous (from her comparison to a forest fire) however as the verse progresses it becomes evident that she is talking about herself. Self-love and care is implied in this verse, however her comparison of herself to a forest fire connotes perhaps her self-destructive tendencies and the way she separates herself perhaps shows the two different sides of her: who she wishes she was, and who she is. The girl she wishes she was is the one issuing the demands, and the girl she is finds it difficult to meet them to become the person she wants to be. She connotes her feeling of loss and fear through semiotic codes of destructive natural forces, i.e. hurricanes and forest fires. 

They say, "You're a little much for me

You're a liability

You're a little much for me"

So they pull back, make other plans

I understand, I'm a liability

Get you wild, make you leave

I'm a little much for

E-a-na-na-na, everyone

Above, Lorde is denotes the distance she feels from others due to her fame. She feels burdensome, and her lifestyle and job mean that other people feel uncomfortable or as though she is 'too much' to be around. he clarifies this in her own words, in an interview with Zane Lowe. "I had this realization that because of my lifestyle and what I do for work there’s going to be a point with every single person around me where I’m gonna be a tax on them in some way." The narrative of the song here is showing the gradual decline of her relationships. 

The truth is I am a toy

That people enjoy

'Til all of the tricks don't work anymore

And then they are bored of me

This refers to her career as a musician. This idea is represented through the semiotic code of a toy-- initially, her fans are excited by and enjoy her music, but she fears there will be a point when they grow bored, find her music repetitive, and give up. They toss her aside like children with a toy. 

I know that it's exciting

Running through the night, but

Every perfect summer's

Eating me alive until you're gone

Better on my own

Lorde's relationships begin as exciting, but eventually her lovers grow tired of her personality and her impulsive nature. She realises that she is better alone because she is the only one who doesn't get tired of her own company (linking to the second verse). Also, the references to nature continue.

They say, "You're a little much for me

You're a liability

You're a little much for me"

So they pull back, make other plans

I understand, I'm a liability

Get you wild, make you leave

I'm a little much for

E-a-na-na-na, everyone

They're gonna watch me

Disappear into the sun

You're all gonna watch me

Disappear into the sun

These final lines ensure that the song ends on a hopeful note. The act of walking into the sunset connotes happy endings, as well as the idea of walking towards a bright future for herself. Lorde feels she has to give up having a long-lasting, successful relationships because of her own popularity. Because of her fame she feels trapped, as she can't live like a normal person ever again. She knows that her stardom could harm her future partners. Lorde even feels like she’s losing a piece of herself even as she becomes more recognized as an artist: We, the audience, will watch her disappear into the sun that is her success.

By completing this task, I have gained an insight into the kind of narratives that songs follow, which allows me to form a realistic narrative for my music video.