Lorde’s ‘What Was That’ Lyrics Are Just a Glimpse of Her Next Era

Sadly, not all of us could join Lorde for her impromptu concert in New York’s Washington Square Park last night. But luckily the singer didn’t leave us all wallowing in our FOMO for too long. Roughly a day after teasing it at her pop-up performance, she has officially dropped her latest single, “What Was That.”

Anticipation ran high for Lorde’s return after the release of her 2021 album Solar Power. It also didn’t hurt that last year, she hopped on a remix of Charli xcx’s “Girl, so confusing” from brat, the buzziest album of the year. After Charli mentioned at Coachella that we’re in for a “Lorde summer” this year, that can only mean there’s even more music on the way.

With a synthy, pop feel, the track harkens back to her Melodrama days, but also teases her next chapter as an artist. Listen to the full track and read the full lyrics below, courtesy of Genius.

[Verse 1]A place in the city, a chair and a bedI cover up all the mirrors, I can't see myself yetI wear smoke like a wedding veilMake a meal I won’t eatStep out into the street, alone in a seaIt comes over meOh, I’m missing youYeah, I'm missing youAnd all the things we used to do[Chorus]MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils upWe kissed for hours straight, well baby, what was that?I remember saying then, “This is the best cigarette of my life”Well, I want you just like thatIndio haze, we’re in a sandstorm, and it knocks me outI didn’t know then that you'd never be enoughSince l was seventeen, I gave you everythingNow, we wake from a dreamWell, baby, what was that?[Post-Chorus]What was that?Baby, what was that?[Verse 2]Do you know you’re still with meWhen I’m out with my friends?I stare at the painted faces that talk current affairsYou had to know this was happeningYou weren’t feeling my heatWhen I’m in the blue light, down at Baby’s All RightI face realityI tried (I tried)To let (To let)Whatever has to pass through me, pass through

But this is staying a while, I know

It might not let me go[Chorus]MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils upWe kissed for hours straight, well baby, what was that?I remember saying then, “This is the best cigarette of my life”Well, I want you just like thatIndio haze, we’re in a sandstorm, and it knocks me outI didn’t know then, but you’d never be enough for meSince l was seventeen, I gave you everythingNow, we wake from a dreamWell, baby, what was that?[Post-Chorus]What was that?'Cause I want you just like that(When I'm in the blue light, I can make it alright)What was that?(When I'm in the blue light, I can make it alright)

Baby, what was that?