“Stoned at the Nail Salon” is the fourth track and the second single released by Lorde from her 2021 album ‘Solar Power.’ On this brand new ballad, Lorde deals with the passage of time and all it brings. She realizes that whatever the choices she made in her life brought her to this exact moment in her life. Has she made the right decisions? We will never know.
Lorde announced her highly anticipated third studio album ‘Solar Power‘ along with the release of its title track. The album itself is an ode to life; “the album is a celebration of the natural world, an attempt at immortalizing the deep, transcendent feelings I have when I’m outdoors,” says Lorde.
In a press release, Lorde spoke about the meaning and inspiration behind “Stoned at the Nail Salon;” “This song is sort of a rumination on getting older, settling into domesticity, and questioning if you’ve made the right decisions. I think lots of people start asking those questions of themselves around my age, and it was super comforting to me writing them down, hoping they’d resonate with others too. I used this song as a dumping ground for so many thoughts…”
Listen to “Stoned at the Nail Salon” by Lorde
“Stoned at the Nail Salon” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
The song begins with Lorde talking about a wishbone that’s gathering dust at her window. A wishbone is an actual bone found in many birds. The wishbone has been used in many superstitious rituals since long back. It is believed to make one’s wishes come true. For Lorde, this wishbone is her second chance. She keeps it in sight if she ever wants to wish something into existence that she chose to do differently in the past. The fact that she has not used it so far tells us that she is pretty content with her life so far. However, the fact that the wishbone is on her mind tells us that she is looking back at her journey.
Just in case I wake up and realise I’ve chosen wrong
I love this life that I have
Lorde mentions her dog who comes running to her when she calls its name. It’s a small thing in her life, given the magnitude of fame and fortunes she has amassed. However, small things in life can sometimes bring the biggest pleasures. She feels like she should be happy with her life. At the same time, she cannot help but feel as if something is missing.
In the pre-chorus of the song, Lorde sings that she has been running all over the world fueled by her ‘hot blood.’ This means that she was always hungry and chasing her dreams thus far. But she realizes that at some point she has to cool down and let the natural course take over. She just does not know if the time is now.
And all the times they will change, it’ll all come around
In the chorus of “Stoned at the Nail Salon,” Lorde sings the above line–an eternal truth. Everything is subject to change, and everything comes in a full circle at some point. From the entire universe around us to the smallest living creature, everything is cyclical. We come to be, we pass on, and we come to be again.
In the second verse of the song, Lorde switches to her relationships. She recalls nights when she spent with her lover in his bed. But come morning, they have to go their own separate ways. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Lorde had one-night stands. ‘Mornings’ signify the change of time from night to day–or simply, just change. She feels as if eventually everything and everyone changes.
Does she make up her mind and let nature take over or does she swim upstream her whole life? She has no answer yet.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.