Liability Lorde

Song
Angel Christy Ningrum
X IIS 2 / 02
Definition of song:
A song is a single (and often standalone) work of music that is typically intended to be sung by the
human voice with distinct and fixed pitches and patterns using sound and silence and a variety of forms
that often include the repetition of sections. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word
"song" may refer to instrumentals.
“Liability”
"Liability" is a song recorded by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde, from her second studio album
Melodrama (2017). Lorde co-wrote and co-produced the track with Jack Antonoff. It was released on 10
March 2017, by Republic Records as the album's first promotional single. Sonically, "Liability" served as a
dramatic shift from the album's lead single "Green Light", which was released a week prior. It is a pop
piano ballad, which is accompanied with organs and guitar strums in the background. The lyrics detail
the consequences and scrutiny Lorde's friends received from the media as a result of her new-found
fame and how she learned to live comfortably by herself.
Lyrics:
[Verse 1]
Baby really hurt me, crying in the taxi
He don't wanna know me
Says he made the big mistake of dancing in my storm
Says it was poison
So I guess I'll go home into the arms of the girl that I love
The only love I haven't screwed up
She's so hard to please but she's a forest fire
I do my best to meet her demands, play at romance
We slow dance in the living room, but all that a stranger would see
Is one girl swaying alone, stroking her cheek
[Chorus]
They say, "You're a little much for me, you're a liability
You're a little much for me"
So they pull back, make other plans
I understand, I'm a liability
Get you wild, make you leave
I'm a little much for e-a-na-na-na, everyone
[Verse 2]
The truth is I am a toy that people enjoy
'Til all of the tricks don't work anymore
And then they are bored of me
I know that it's exciting running through the night
But every perfect summer's eating me alive until you're gone
Better on my own
[Chorus]
They say, "You're a little much for me, you're a liability
You're a little much for me"
So they pull back, make other plans
I understand, I'm a liability
Get you wild, make you leave
I'm a little much for e-a-na-na-na, everyone
Purpose about the song :

Verse 1
The first verse of "Liability" start off simply enough. The lyrics of the song tell us that she's "crying in a
taxi" because "he don't wanna know me." She's just been dumped by a guy who "says he made the big
mistake of dancing in my storm." It's interesting that she uses the word "storm" here; it's as if Lorde's
referring to her own wild personality and desire to be anything but normal. This is conjecture, of course,
but it follows nicely from some of the personal discovery and anti-establishment themes of Pure
Heroine. Her life is a storm, and this guy couldn't handle it.
When that's over, and she's decided, "I guess I'll go home," she finds herself in "the arms of the girl that I
love." Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions, she's not a lesbian necessarily. At the end of the verse,
she sings that "all that a stranger would see / Is one girl swaying alone / Stroking her cheek." Lorde has a
strong relationship with herself, and it's the "only love I haven't screwed up"--she's still okay with who
she is.
But she realizes that she is "hard to please." She describes herself as "a forest fire" who Lorde does her
"best to meet [the] demands" of. What are these demands? Well, they "play at romance," so perhaps
those demands are that she find love, but I tend to think that she's trying to get the most out of life. So
she sticks to herself and begins to "slow dance" contemplatively while thinking about herself and who
she is.
Chorus
And now in these lyrics we get to hear the perspectives of the guys in her relationships. She tells us that
she's perhaps too wild for them and that they're worried that Lorde would embarrass them or bring
some sort of inconvenience to them. After they tell her this, "they pull back" and "make other plans."
Lorde then explains how her relationships progress: she gets people "wild" until they realize that they
don't want that much "wild" in their relationships, and they "leave." She concludes that she's "a little
much for / everyone."
Verse 2
The lyrics of the second verse are probably the saddest of "Liability." Lorde tells us that everyone enjoys
her as a "toy," but once they feel she doesn't have anything to offer them anymore, they become
"bored of" her. Lorde sees this abandonment coming and even though she enjoys the relationship in the
moment, she realizes that she'll be on her own again soon. She sings, "I know that it's exciting / Running
through the night . . ." and then that "every perfect summer's / Eating me alive until you're gone." They
have a good time together, but even the good times remind her of the loneliness that may come next.
She concludes that she's "better on her own."
Outro
Deeper Meaning of the Lyrics of "Liability" by Lorde
I'm split on my opinion of the lyrics of "Liability." Part of me really loves the honest look into an
emotional place for Lorde, but part of me wonders if she's pandering to a young audience that wants to
be themselves and never change or grow. Lorde told us on Facebook that she was "enshrining" her
"teenage glory" in Pure Heroine, but I get nervous when people spend too much time living in the past
and encouraging others to do the same.
Social Function:
These songs were pretty much a direct consequence of breaking up
Language Feature:
Massage:
This song is about guys dumping Lorde because they think she's a "liability." Is she a liability? We don't
know because that's not the important part of the song. What is important is how she deals with the
pain, and that's what "Liability" is really about. It's about finding yourself after someone else doesn't
want you anymore and restructuring your own vision of yourself.
Question:

Liability Lorde

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Angel Christy Ningrum

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