Hello everyone! I am here to give my Literary analysis of Lorde’s new album, Solar Power. Feel free to listen to the tracks along with me as you read, or just vibe to your own thing while reading 🙂
Starting off, the New Zealand based singer, Lorde, has grown up with generation Z through her music. Ever since her debut album, Pure Heroine, in 2013, she captured the essence of the rambunctious teenage years. Years later, she released her sophomore album, Melodrama. This album reflected more of the mindsets as we encroached adulthood and growing up.
Her most recent album? Your guess is as good as mine. Lorde has always maintained a certain humanity in her music that focuses on universally felt emotions. I think this is why her music has become so popular, and she has stayed that way.
Her tracks always have had a signature Lorde feeling, or recognizable tone, but each album has had its own vibe at the same time. With this new album we’ve had three releases before the album, but they all varied in their own ways. It’s hard to tell what might be in store for this review of Solar Power, but here we go.
For this review I will be putting my raw, in the moment, thoughts as I hear the track for the first time and read the lyrics. Then, I’ll give my overall thoughts. I haven’t looked at any Easter Eggs or anything so if I misunderstand some of the lines, my bad 😉
- The Path
Raised in the tall grass
Teen millionaire having nightmares from the camera flash
Now I’m alone on a windswept island
Caught in the complex divorce of the seasons
Won’t take the call if it’s the label or the radio
Fork in my purse to take home to my mother
Supermodels all dancing ’round a pharaoh’s tomb
Well, that’s not me
You need someone to take your pain for you?
Well, that’s not me
Where are the dreams that we had?
Can’t find the dreams that we had
Ah, ah, ah-ah
Let’s hope the sun will show us the path, ah-ah, ah-ah
I just hope the sun will show us the path
I just hope the sun will show us the path
Saviour is not me
I just hope the sun will show us the path, ah-ah, ah-ah
Path, ah-ah, ah, path
Okay, I hear cicadas or snakes? All these lines seem abstract at first, but I feel like they still correlate to each other some way. It makes me wonder if she’s talking about herself and reflecting on her beginning rise to stardom.
Even if it’s another character, I like the message that even this star, is just living life. It reminds the audience through lines like, “Fork in my purse to take home to my mother,” that there is also humanity and relatability in the seemingly famous character. The narrator of the song seems to be categorizing themselves with the listener in a way that signals they both are on the same path toward self-exploration.
Lastly, the song’s suggestion that the sun is the guiding light and solution really drives the theme for the album’s name, Solar Power. I think it was a really smart choice to put this song first and could even suggest that the rest of this album is the path to finding the solutions to the problems presented in the song.
Lorde on writing The Path: “I just felt like the absurd, beautiful nature of being alive was really starting to present itself to me.”
2. Solar Power
Lyrics
I tend to cancel all the plans (so sorry, I can’t make it)
But when the heat comes, something takes a hold
Can I kick it? Yeah, I can
No shirt, no shoes, only my features
My boy behind me, he’s taking pictures
Lead the boys and girls onto the beaches
Come one, come all, I’ll tell you my secrets
I’m kinda like a prettier Jesus
It’s over (over, over, over)
It’s a new state of mind
Are you coming, my baby?
The girls are dancing in the sand
And I throw my cellular device in the water
Can you reach me? No, you can’t (aha)
No shirt, no shoes, only my features
My boy behind me, he’s taking pictures (he’s taking pictures)
Lead the boys and girls onto the beaches
Come one, come all, I’ll tell you my secrets
I’m kinda like a prettier Jesus
It’s solar (solar, solar, solar)
Come on and let the bliss begin
Blink three times when you feel it kicking in
Solar-olar-olar power
Solar-olar-olar power
Solar-olar-olar power
Solar-olar-olar power (oh)
Solar-olar-olar power
Raw Thoughts:
This song, also the title track, really has this disconnecting vibe that I like. If we think of story progression from the past song, it could be signaling the effects of following the guiding sun to look for answers.
The connection to the narrator and the sun is definitely proving to be an obvious staple and connection that the songs are all following.
There was a message on Spotify that said Lorde used organic instruments for the production of the song. I think that it really makes this song feel more genuine, and it makes the scene seem more obtainable of an experience as well. It was just such a smart move in presenting the art.
I love that through the positivity and message, the song itself evokes warmth. The description of this beach scene, and everyone in this “new state of mind” helps get this message across even further.
I wonder if this is the scene after everyone has found their dreams once again. Alternatively, I wonder if it is just the beginning of the journey that is being illustrated…
3. California
Lyrics
I stood up, the room exploded
And I knew that’s it, I’ll never be the same
That’s when the door swung open
And a voice said, “We’re glad you came”
All the hotels and the jets
And I’d pay it all again
To have your golden body back in my bed
But I don’t miss the poison arrows
Aimed directly at my head
Bye to the clouds in the skies that all hold no rain-
(Don’t want that California love)
(Don’t want that California love)
(Don’t want that California love)
All that mystery and beauty
Gleaned from desert flowers and gifted children
But it got hard to grow up with your cool hand around my neck
My girlfriends, and my baby
But every time I smell tequila
The garden grows up in my mind again
Bye to the kids in the lines for the new Supreme-
(Don’t want that California love)
(Don’t want that California love)
(Don’t want that California love)
(Don’t want that California love)
(Don’t want that California love)
(Don’t want that California love)
It’s just a dream
It’s all just a dream
I wanna wake up, I wanna wake up
Raw Thoughts:
Wow. This song has a strong message. There are many meanings behind the lines.
Beginning with -well the beginning-the story starts off with the narrator gaining this fame. I believe the Carol could be referencing when Lorde won her first two Grammys. This signals when she realized things would never be the same again in her life.
The “poison arrows” mentioned could be other artists or even the music industries in California that weren’t supportive of her? I think that would make sense with the fact that she is wanting to escape this “California love” that is superficial?
This is definitely written as a farewell to California though. I do appreciate how the negative emotions expressed on this track are through cold sensations. This is shown in the line, “But it got hard to grow up with your cool hand around my neck.” The cold seemed to be holding her back, and she needed to make her way back to the metaphorical warmth.
I really enjoyed being able to share my initial, fresh thoughts on the album. This seems like it’ll be a fun adventure. Lorde always fascinates me.
Thank you so much and if you go follow that guiding sun, make sure you don’t look at it for too long ♥