‘Mood Ring’ Paints the Image of a ‘Privileged Young Woman,’ According to Lorde
“Mood Ring” features plenty of imagery created by Lorde. Unlike other hits, this Solar Power track features the perspective of someone other than Lorde. Here’s what this songwriter said about the narrator of her 2021 release.
Lorde released the song ‘Mood Ring’ in conjunction with 2021’s ‘Solar Power’
Some know her for songs like “Royals” and “Team.” In 2017, Lorde debuted Melodrama, complete with songs like “Green Light” and “Supercut.” Years later, this artist returned to the spotlight, debuting her album Solar Power and tracks “Stoned at the Nail Salon” and “Solar Power.”
Telling the story of a “Pluto in Scorpio” generation, Lorde released her song “Mood Ring” in conjunction with Solar Power. The song quickly became a favorite track of many fans. It even earned over 35 million plays on the music streaming platform Spotify.
“This is a song I am very excited about. It’s so much fun to me,” Lorde said about “Mood Ring” in a statement. Obviously, when making this album, I did a deep-dive into 60s Flower Child culture… One thing that occurred to me as a major parallel between that time and our time is our wellness culture and our culture of spirituality, pseudo-spirituality, wellness, pseudo-wellness.”
Although this track details Lorde’s experience with wellness culture, the story is told from the perspective of a “privileged young woman” with blonde hair. During one interview, Lorde further explained the meaning behind her hit song.
Lorde’s ‘Mood Ring’ tells the story of a ‘Privileged Young Woman’
She’s trying to get well from the inside. Lorde created “Mood Ring” in conjunction with Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff. She even shared a live version to YouTube. With wellness culture-inspired lyrics, Lorde’s imagery appears throughout the Solar Power track “Mood Ring” as well as other tracks from the 2021 release.
“I wanted to kind of paint the image of a privileged young woman feeling like the deck is stacked against her a little bit,” Lorde said during a YouTube video with Genius.
“’I’m trying to blow bubbles,’ I’m trying to keep it light, I’m trying to feel happy, but I just keep getting tanked by my bad mood,” she continued. “And I loved immediately painting that imagine that the narrator of the song is not myself.”
As a product of satire, Lorde stated the image of dark roots growing out for a non-natural blonde is not a reference to herself. They’re not her personal opinions, although they may be a relatable experience for some listeners.
The ‘Mood Ring’ music video features Lorde with a blonde hairstyle
Additionally, Lorde reinforced those images with the “Mood Ring” music video, which mirrored the song’s themes of spiritual maturity. Lorde appeared in the production with platinum blonde locks, presumably spending time at a wellness retreat.
Some also interpret this video to follow a beach-cult-leader-inspired theme, especially with Lorde burning sage in some scenes. Since its premiere, the YouTube video earned over 10 million views.
