“Tennis Court” by Lorde
Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O'Connor also known by her stage name lorde is a New Zealand songwriter. Lorde was 12 when she was spotted by A&R scout Scott Maclachlan. She was 13 when she was signed with Universal. She was 16 when she released her single “Royals” which charted at number one in both New Zealand, and in America on billboards hot 100. She then released her album “Pure Heroine. The song “Tennis Court” was featured on this album. This song best describes Lordes view on recently becoming famous and her views on how we let ourselves conform with society.
The second verse in the song is when Lorde explains how she feels about gaining fame. She starts off by saying “Pretty soon I'll be getting on my first plane I'll see the veins of my city like they do in space”. This is he saying that she just recently became famous and she will be leaving New Zealand for the first time. She then goes on by saying “But my head's filling up fast with the wicked games, up in flames How can I fuck with the fun again, when I'm known”. Fame has a negative consequence. Seeing some success, Lorde is beginning to overthink things. Letting it get to her head, she grows afraid the wicked ways of fame and fortune may change her state of mind. Once she reaches the public eye, she stays there, so anything she does is judged and measured. She can no longer spend time having fun or just being a kid, and instead has to be a role model, artist, and public figure 24/7. The last line of this verse reads “And my boys trip me up with their heads again, loving them Everything's cool when we're all in line for the throne But I know it's not forever”. She already knows her weakness for a cute guy and fears the loss of ability to have fun and make mistakes that comes with being a star singer. Everyone she’s bringing along with her on this journey to stardom is happy now that she seems to be on her way, but she knows she won’t always be the next big thing, that she will fall from fame one day. Summed up She understands that with fame comes a price to pay and things will not be the same anymore.
Through out the song she labels the way society is shaping people. The first line of the song starts it off by saying “Don't you think that it's boring how people talk
Making smart with their words again, well I'm bored”. Lorde thinks gossip is boring and that talking is for the squares of the world. Actions always speak louder than words. The verbal jabber of gossip is like the back and forth of a tennis ball. She then says “Because I'm doing this for the thrill of it, killin' it Never not chasing a million things I want”. This shows that she’s writing and sing for the art rather than for the fame and fortune. It also shows that people should do things that they like without fears of being judged and not to conform to society and just be an individual. “Getting pumped up from the little bright things I bought But I know they'll never own me” This just says that people should not deny that they enjoy the material things but they should not let them control them. One of the lines with the most meaning is when she says “We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fear”. She is talking about how people will be happy doing the things they like and enjoy even though they will still be haunted by the fear of being judged since they are not following the status quo.
Lordes album “Pure Heroine” is all about Lordes views on society and how shes gonna cope with the fame. This song has one of the strongest and clearest messages about how we should not conform to society. That we all need to be ourselves no matter what. We all are unique in our own little ways and we should embrace that. Fame and fortune could change the way we live, but we should not let it. We need to be ourselves. We need to be individuals. Be yourself!
Lorde. “Tennis Court.” Pure Heroine. Golden Age Studios, 2013. MP3.
No comments:
Post a Comment