lorde green light single music video lyrics review song meaning

Lorde – Green Light (Lyrics Review and Song Meaning)

March 03rd marks the return of yet another music sensation to the year of 2017 and the year took a whole big turn for the better. Lorde released the first single and the music video titled “Green Light” from her upcoming sophomore album ‘Melodrama’ and the fandom is going nuts. “Green Light” is more Pop and dancey than Lorde’s previous works. Her first studio album ‘Pure Heroine’ was marked 3x platinum by RIAA.

Releasing the new single, the singer Tweeted “finally, here it is: the first single from my sophomore album, Melodrama… THIS IS GREEN LIGHT.”

Before we get into the interpretation of the lyrics, it is wiser to see what Ella had to say about the song;

“The song is actually about a heartbreak. And it’s not something that I really am used to writing about. It took me a while to be able to figure out how to write about that. It was my first major heartbreak. The song is really about those moments kind of immediately after your life changes and about all the silly little things that you gravitate towards. I say, “She thinks you love the beach, you’re such a liar”. What the f*ck, she thinks you like the beach?! You don’t like the beach! It’s those little stupid things. It sounds so happy and then the lyrics are so intense obviously. And I realized I was like, “how come this thing is coming out so joyous sounding?” And I realized this is that drunk girl at the party dancing around crying about her ex-boyfriend who everyone thinks is a mess. That’s her tonight and tomorrow she starts to rebuild. And that’s the song for me.”

Watch “Green Light” Music Video by Lorde


Download “Green Light” Single on iTunes and Amazon

Buy ‘Melodrama’ Album on iTunes and Amazon


Lyrics Review and Song Meaning of “Green Light”

The song starts with the following verse;

I do my makeup in somebody else’s car
We order different drinks at the same bars
I know about what you did and I wanna scream the truth
She thinks you love the beach, you’re such a damn liar

It’s a song about heartbreak and this is the post-breakup situation. The singer arrives in the bar in someone else’s car-the key is not in her ex’s car. But they do meet up at the bar and order different drinks, which is a signal that the two have different tastes.

Looks as if the guy has cheated and the singer knows about it. She wants to scream it at his face but she contains herself. And looks like the guy has lied his way into this other woman’s life as well. She (the current gf) thinks he likes beaches, but the singer knows that’s a lie.

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Refrain:

Those great whites, they have big teeth
Hope they bite you
Thought you said that you would always be in love
But you’re not in love no more
Did it frighten you
How we kissed when we danced on the light up floor?
On the light up floor

‘Great whites’ is a play on word with two references to great white sharks and white lies. She combines them together and say that those ‘little’ lies he told would come back and bite him. His love was something that did not last, although he promised it would.

The couple had their moments when they were dating. Kissing on the dance floor and such. Lorde asks if the kiss frightened him because it would have been the start of something new.

Listen to Second Single “Liability” by Lorde

Pre-chorus of “Green Light”

But I hear sounds in my mind
Brand new sounds in my mind
But honey I’ll be seein’ you ‘ever I go
But honey I’ll be seein’ you down every road
I’m waiting for it, that green light, I want it

We are diving deep into the post-breakup situation in “Green Light.” She has a new perspective of life now that she has faced the harshest truth that he is cheating on her. She hears herself clearer now that he is out of her head. But she is still in love with him because she sees him everywhere she looks. And she is waiting for that green light to move on with her life after the breakup.

Chorus:

‘Cause honey I’ll come get my things, but I can’t let go
I’m waiting for it, that green light, I want it
Oh, I wish I could get my things and just let go
I’m waiting for it, that green light, I want it

The singer is willing to move on but the past holds her back pretty hard. Physical goods she can move out of their apartment easily, but the heartstrings don’t depart without bleeding. And she is waiting for that ‘go’ signal from her heart to move on.

Verse 2:

Sometimes I wake up in a different bedroom
I whisper things, the city sings ’em back to you

Ella is more grown-up since her last album. She parties up and sometimes wakes up in a stranger’s bedroom. Looks as if she is opening up to other relationships-although this may not be the best way of doing it.

There is no privacy in a celebrity’s life. Whatever she whispers to someone (even very intimately) becomes pretty major news the next day.

The Refrain changes a little the second time around…

All those rumors, they have big teeth
Hope they bite you
Thought you said that you would always be in love
But you’re not in love no more

White lies replaced by rumors to connect the second verse with the refrain here. Lorde wishes all the lies he spread and the rumors he spread come behind him and serve justice to him.

“Green Light” continues with another round of pre-chorus and chorus and comes to the outro.

It is a good song by Lorde coming back to the music arena after a lengthy vacation. Hopefully, we will hear a few more singles before the ‘Melodrama’ album releases on June 15, 2017.

Until the next single, play “Green Light” on repeat and dance away. Don’t forget to comment your favorite line and the reason in the comments below.

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