“What was that“Is, at your core, A Breakup Anthem Layered with Vivid Memories and The Ache of Longing. Lorde Opens With Scenes of Everyday Solitude—” A Chair and Bed, “” Making a Meal I Won’t Eat “—PainTING A Picture of Sub Sub Sub Subs To Former Lover.
The chorus erupts with references to Wild, Euphoric Nights: “Mdma in the back garden, Blow Our Pupils Up / We Kissed for Hours Straight, Well Baby, What Was That?” Here, Lorde Equates The Intensity of Young Love With The Dizzying Highs of A Festival Or A Party, Invoking Image of “Indio Haze” and “Sandstorms” —Clear Nods to Her Own Experiences At Coachella. These moments, eleven electrifying, Now Feel distant and almost.
Themes and Meaning
The song’s title Question— Lorde Reflects on Giving Eventhing Since She was Seventeen, Only to Wake From A Dream, Left Wondering About the reality of What She Shared With Her Ex.
The Lyrics Suggest A Sense of Dissillusionment: At The Time, She Didn’t PERFORE HER PARTNER WOULD “Never Be Abough,” and Now She Must Process The aftermath.
In the second see, Lorde Explores How Memories Linger Even As Life Moves On. She describes Being Out With Friends, Drashing In Small Talk, But Still Feeling The Represent of Her Lost Love. The “Blue Light, Down At Baby’s All Right” –a reference to a Brooklyn Music Venue – Serves as a place of both escape and recckoning. Here, Lorde Attempts to let her feelings pass Through her, actknowledge that sum Emots are Stubborn and Slow To Fade.
A Song of Rebirth
Lorde Has described “What Was That” As a Song Born from the Deptbreak and Grief, Written During a Personal Transformion. The Track’s Energetic Production and Introspective Lyrics Capture The Duality of Rebirth: The Pain of Letting Go and the Hope of Moving Forward.
The Closing Lines, “WHEN I’M IN THE BLUE LIGHT, I CAN MAKE IT ALRIGHT / BABY, WHAT WAS THAT?“Suggest that While She May Never Fully Forget Those Romantic Highs, She’s Learning to Find Peace and Joy In Her Own Way.
Ultimately, “What Was That” stands as a testament to Lorde’s Ability to turn Turmoil Personal Universal Pop Poetry, resonating with Anyone Who’s Ever Looked back on love and wondered what it all Meant.
