Lorde’s “Royals” - A Musical Analysis PDF

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Musical analysis of the piece "Royals" by Lorde....

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University of the West of Scotland

Lorde’s “Royals” A Musical Analysis

Katie Powell Music Technology Writing Music April 2014

Contents

Cover Page

Page 1

Contents Page

Page 2

Introduction

Page 3

Basic Information

Page 4

Instrumentation

Page 5

Lyrical Content

Page 6

Conclusion

Page 7

Bibliography

Page 8

Introduction “Royals” is an indie song by New Zealand born singer, Lorde released on her “Pure Heroin” album in 2013. The song was hugely successful being the first song by a New Zealand born songwriter to reach number 1 in the United States while, also, being the longest standing song sung by a woman on the Billboard Alternative charts. Similarly, the song became the fifth best selling in 2013 with sales reaching over 4.42 million.

Basic Information The song is an andante piece running at 86 beats per minute; the song follows a strict simple time in a 2/4 time signature. The piece is in the key of G major and follows the repeated progression of D (IV) to C (V) to G (I) throughout the entire song; the bass guitar follows this progression. The song has an almost typical pop structure excluding an introduction; the song begins with a verse (made up solely of chord V), followed by a pre chorus - that lyrically follows the beat strictly - and the chorus which holds the main hook of the piece “We’ll never be royal” and “Let me be your ruler”. This is then repeated, the lyrics changing for the verses; a short middle 8 section follows, this repeats the same pattern as the pre chorus but follows a less strict rhythm and

with “ohs” as opposed to the syllabic word setting of the pre chorus. The chorus is then repeated and the song concludes on the last words of the chorus.

Instrumentation In terms of instrumentation, like the rest of the piece, is quite simplistic. The piece is made up of singing voice, performing in harmony, a bass guitar and a drum kit - potentially synthesised or played electronically. There is no chordal accompaniment in this piece and so the main chord is given through the note from the bass guitar, The bass is very to the beat and doesn’t change from the root note of the chord. The bass plays along with the bass drum which holds the main beat for this piece along with snapping sounds (created by a synthesizer or an electronic drum kit) The drums are rhythmic and somewhat irregular, while remaining in time. The bass drum is heavily featured.

The singing holds the main melody singing the tune while the harmonies create chords, during the verses and pre choruses the harmonies sing 3rds above the main tune with occasional fifths added to create a full chord. During the chorus the tune is often solo and occasional words are mimicked by the backing singing in octaves and and 5ths. The echo of “I rule”, full chords are created by the backing harmonies adding 3rd, 5th and octaves. This happens again through the middle 8. The vocals are hugely important to this piece creating the chords and tune, they are the most commendable and impressive part of this song.

Lyrical Content “Royals” depicts her hate for the celebrity world as does most of the tracks on the album in a variety of ways. For example, in “Glory and Gore” she compares being famous to being a gladiator in the lines “Glory and gore go hand in hand, That's why we're making headlines” in the same vein “Royals” is about not being obsessed with all the riches celebrities are so fixated on. During the verses, the lyrics depict that Lorde does not live a life of luxury; for example, in the first verse “I’ve never seen a diamond in the fresh, I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies”. This lyric shows that Hollywood expresses that wealth is important as wedding rings here are shown to be of a high carat value hence so hard they could cut teeth while she has never seen a real diamond at all. She then expresses that she

has no pride in her home “torn up town” suggesting that her town is in a poorly valued area - it gives an image of cities like Detroit, poverty stricken and desolate. She continues this idea of having little money in the second verse where her friends and herself “count out dollars on the train to the party”. The use of train shows that they are not taking a fancy car to the party but are riding public transport; the counting of money suggests that cash is not there to be spent recklessly and needs to be counted over; the friends do not have money to be frivolous with; “we didn’t come from money” they were not born wealthy enough to be careless with it. The pre-chorus then talks about the obsession celebrities have with luxury and indulgence; in the line “But every song's like: gold teeth, grey goose, trippin' in the bathroom, blood stains, ballgowns, trashin' the hotel room”. This shows that all songs focus on indulgence; riches, alcohol, drugs, grand parties and destruction for the sake of fun. The rhythm of these lyrics lifts the pace of the piece well as each section is said two syllables at a time, this is welled paced and follows the strict timing. Lorde then explains that her friends do not care as they can dream of riches - “we’re driving Cadillacs in our dreams”. The song then lists off things owned by the famous to show off their wealth, “tigers on a gold leash” in the same syllabic word setting. This is an extreme example to show just how insane spending can be amongst the rich simply trying brag. Lorde shows that she does not share the same obsession in the line “aren't caught up in your love affair”. “love affair”, this metaphor expresses how the want for money is more than a simple want but an obsession, as if they are in love with their riches. The chorus summarises the fact that they will never fit into that life “we'll never be royals, it don't run in our blood”. This is emphasised by the use of “just ain’t for us”; the poor English indicates that they aren’t fit for the life of the royal. This song lacks rhyme, however in the chorus several imperfect rhymes are made; “blood” “us” “buzz”. The lyrics then go on to say that though she may not be royal, she can still rule, indicating that she would still like to be a part of the celebrity world but without the excess. She refers to this as a “fantasy” as if it is hardly possible. She refers to herself as Queen Bee - an alternate persona mentioned throughout the album. The short middle 8 indicates that she exceeds her expectations to the point that she actually enjoys the “royal” life - “and I’m in love with being queen.” This seems contradictory to the rest of the song, however it may insinuate that she has fulfilled her dream of ruling as Queen Bee without sucumbing to the luxury lifestyle.

Conclusion “Royals” by Lorde is a hugely successful alternative pop song released in 2013, it is simplistic and almost minimalist for its time period and has done well to be so popular. It is impressive that this song was published when Lorde was 16 and to have such success with it. The melodic tune and harmonies are commendable and explains why it is so popular. The piece is very catchy and is melodically interesting.

Bibliography Gary Trust. (2014). Lorde's 'Royals' Reigns On Hot 100 for Eighth Week.Available: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5793365/lordes-royals-reigns-on-hot-100-for-eighth-week. Last accessed 11/4.2014. James Christopher Monger. (2014). Lorde. Available: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lordemn0003085111/biography. Last accessed 9/4/2014. Lewis Corner. (2014). Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' is best-selling song of 2013 in US. Available: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a541267/robin-thickes-blurred-lines-is-best-selling-song-of2013-in-us.html#~oBaKfpnG5hpRE3. Last accessed 11/4/2014....