Ella Yelish-O’Connor, more commonly known as Lorde, wrote the soundtrack to my coming of age experience. Melodrama is ~that~ album. When it came out on June 16th, 2017, I was a junior in high school. All the emotional and character changes I was going through at the time needed this soundtrack in the background, which is why I hold this album near and dear to my heart. A cool fact that I always love bringing up when I talk about Melodrama is that Lorde wrote it with the intention to mirror different phases that she goes through in her head when she goes to a house party. After I learned that, I understood the concepts on a deeper level and felt more ~connected~ to her than ever.
Melodrama came out exactly when I needed it to. While I know every word to every song, I still have some preferences for different reasons. So, for today, I will be ranking every song on melodrama and writing about my favorite lyrics! This isn’t to stir any tea in the Lorde community! I love all her songs equally <3 Let’s get into it!
1. Hard feelings/Loveless
This is a controversial top choice and I already know it! However, this song has a very special place in my heart. Not only was it #1 on my Spotify rewind for the past two years, but the craftsmanship of this song is one of the reasons why I got back into creative writing. My favorite lyric is “when you’ve outgrown a lover, the whole world knows but you, it’s time to let go of this endless summer afternoon.” Something about how nonchalant the events are in it that makes it hit so close to home.
2. The Louvre
This song was the first song I heard off Melodrama. I know, sinful that I didn’t listen to it in order. HOWEVER, the imagery in this song made me cry the first time I heard it. Every time I listen to this song, I can just imagine myself walking the streets of France and living my best life. My favorite lyric is “I overthink your punctuation use, not my fault, just a thing that my mind do.” Something about overthinking is just so relatable to me ;)
3. Supercut
The way this song makes me feel is unbelievable. I also admire the versatility of the song. I can listen to this song to get hype and have a great time, but I can also listen to the words and feel too many things and cry. The impact and emotional roller coaster this song puts me through in incomprehensible, which is why I love it so much. My favorite lyric is “In my head I do everything right, when you call, I forgive and not fight.” The way that lyric is beyond relatable is mind-boggling to me. I feel like we all try to hold onto something and fix it even at our own expense just so we can salvage it.
4. Greenlight
Greenlight is ~that~ song for me. The amount of emotion poured into this banger of an album starter is so beautiful to me. I can feel every emotion portrayed in this song and it makes me want to cut off every toxic person in my life and just LIVE! My favorite lyric is “all those rumors they have big teeth, hope they bite you” because it makes me realize how nasty people will eventually get what they give.
5. Liability
Is it too early to get this sad? I remember having a mental break when I first heard this song. The way Lorde wrote everything I was feeling at the time was actually spooky. This song just helps me heal and realize that not everyone is worth knowing all of you. My favorite lyric is “the truth is I am a toy that people enjoy till all of the tricks don’t work anymore, then they are bored of me” for ~obvious~ reasons. Brb going to go cry!
6. Writer in the dark
The beauty that is this song. This song also makes me realize that you need to know your self-worth and that not everyone is worth your time. Something about the rawness of this song just gets to me. My favorite lyric is “I let the seasons change my mind, I love it here since I’ve stopped needing you.” I feel like it’s such an empowering lyric to help you let go of that person that has taken over your mind.
7. Perfect Places
This song has an extremely soft spot in my heart. I remember when I turned 19 I purposely played this song so that Lorde saying “I’m 19 and I’m on fire” would be the first thing that I heard coming into 19. I love this song because it reminds me of how my friends and I constantly feel. While we’re doing what society expects us to be doing and taking care of our responsibilities, we still want to live our lives and live spontaneously. My favorite lyric is “All of our heroes fading, now I can’t stand to be alone, let’s go to perfect places” because it’s such an accurate resemblance of growing up.
8. Liability (Reprise)
Not only does Liability itself resonate so deeply with me, but so does the reprise. The way she shows growth between the original track and this one makes me feel like I can do the same as well. Such a heartwarming song. My favorite lyric is “Maybe all this is the party, maybe we just do it violently, but you’re not what you thought you were.” Food for thought.
9. Sober
This song is very interesting to me because of its placement in the “house party” timeline. I feel like it’s a great hype song, but you can also hear the hints of sadness and resignation. My favorite lyric is “in the morning you’ll be dancing with the heartache” because of how beautifully written and imaginative it is.
10. Sober || Melodrama
The instrumentals in this song give me the same chills that I get when I listen to the intro of Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die. The way it’s so different from the rest of the album makes it an interesting listen to me. My favorite lyric is “oh how fast the evening passes” because it reminds me of how I feel whenever I’m out with friends.
11. Homemade Dynamite
This song is definitely the song on the album that isn’t my favorite. It’s still a bop regardless, but I feel like it’s the one that resonates the last with me. Anyhow, my favorite lyric is “I’ll give you my best side, tell you all my best side” because it emphasizes how people constantly change their image in order for people to see them how they want to be perceived.
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