Lorde is doing something special with her new album era in 2021. She is trying to bring back the ‘connection’ that all of us have lost with the world around us. Her brand new single “Mood Ring” is another crack at this objective.
Lorde announced her upcoming third studio album ‘Solar Power‘ to be released on August 20, 2021. Ahead of the new single, Lorde released singles such as “Solar Power” and “Stoned at the Nail Salon.” The album is produced by Jack Antonoff alongside Lorde. Lorde spoke about the inspiration behind her new album in an interview; “Obviously when making this album I did a deep-dive into ’60s, Flower Child culture. I wanted to understand the commune life, dropping out from society and trying to start again.”
Releasing the new single “Mood Ring,” Lorde explained the inspiration and message behind the song; “‘Mood Ring’ is a song about trying to feel spiritually connected in our modern world and all of the little tools and systems that we all use to try and feel that. I thought “Mood Ring” was a really cool metaphor for the magical thinking that we all employ at times to feel well.”
Watch “Mood Ring” Music Video by Lorde
Buy ‘Solar Power’ Album on Apple Music & Amazon
A mood ring is also a ring that changes its color according to the mood of the one who wears it. These rings are made of Thermochromic Liquid Crystals that change their color according to the temperatures around them. Hence, depending on the body temperature of the person who wears the ring. Grab yourself a mood ring if you find this intriguing.
Lorde “Mood Ring” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Verse 1
In the first verse of the song, Lorde reveals that she is struggling internally today. She does not know what is wrong with her, but something is not just right. She feels bubbles bubbling inside of her, just as how boiled water does in a kettle.
Maybe it’s the whole world around her that’s getting her down. The entire world seems to be chaotic right now. There are countless natural disasters sweeping across the world; COVID-19 at its worst condition ever, wildfires across Canada, floods in Turkey and the UK, earthquakes in Haiti, terrorists overthrowing Afghanistan, worst levels of global warming ever to be recorded, and so much more. It’s easy to get into a bad mood.
Don’t you think the early 2000s seem so far away?
The world is in 2021 and it has been a rollercoaster of a few years now. The early 2000s remind us of the glory days when most of us were children and carefree. It almost seems like everything was better around 2000; relationships, friends, food, music, video games, free time, and more. Maybe we are just permanent prisoners of nostalgia.
Pre-chorus
In these lyrics, Lorde invites her girlfriends to begin their rituals. These rituals include worshiping the Sun, meditate, burn sage, and get high off of wind blowing. Lorde really pushes the idea of reconnecting with nature in these lyrics and throughout the album.
A lot of the solutions to the above-mentioned natural disasters have to do with reconnecting ourselves with nature. Live and let live!
Chorus
In the hook of the song, Lorde sings that she cannot feel anything inside. She wants her mood ring to tell her how she is feeling. The idea behind these lines is that being disconnected from nature, makes her numb to her true self within. All of us are created from stardust and we all return to be stardust one day.
Also, when someone is dealing with a lot of emotions at once, it feels as if they can feel nothing. They feel numb inside, which is similar to the feelings Lorde described in the first verse of the song.
Verse 2
I’m tryna get well from the inside
Lorde realizes that fixing herself only comes within herself. The world might be slowly burning away around her, but she cannot fix that. What she can do is to detach from the world as much as possible and not let the whole world weigh on you.
Lorde also references Eastern healing as a possible solution to fix her from within. Many of the Eastern healing and spiritual practices have to do with self-adjustments. These practices focus on healing from within rather than cutting opening and feeding pills and potions that are commonplace in western medicine. The human mind is the most powerful thing in the universe and Eastern medicine and spirituality try to empower this unit in the human body.
Nature and humanity are all parts of one larger living organism. Nature can function without humans, but not the other way around.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.