The album cover for Lorde’s fourth record Virgin is an X-Ray of her pelvis, invisible skin cinched by a belt, an IUD planted in her uterus. It’s all about flesh and feeling—the tactile kind.
Lorde, aka Ella Yelich-O’Connor, has spent 12 years knowing how to get under your skin. For a whole generation, it was her emotional acuity that made everything click. She’s a wordsmith who builds matryoshka dolls of emotion, lyrics that might not make sense immediately, revealing themselves as you dig beneath each intricately painted surface. But for Virgin she decided to do something different. She told Rolling Stone: “Whereas in the past, I’m really trying to craft these lyrics. This time I was like, ‘No, be smart enough to let it be really basic. Be plain with language and see what happens.’”
Virgin feels more direct: it’s alive and bacterial, a living documentation of something. Right now it sounds amazing; in 10 years I think it might sound even more special.
As soon as “Man of the Year” dropped, a song about her living in a more gender fluid body (while still remaining, she says, a cisgender woman with the same pronouns), the bodily nature of the album became apparent. Not only does it dive into the idea of your body feeling like it doesn’t fit you, but also how easily it can be co-opted by eating disorders (“Broken Glass”), or difficult men (“David”), or liberated by ovulation.Here, from head to toe, is the anatomy of Lorde’s Virgin.
Hair
“I’ll let down my braids and you’ll climb up” — “Shapeshifter”
Brain
“Let me break it down till I’m just a wreck / Till I’m just a voice living in your head” — “Hammer”
“But the voice in my head says: ‘Do you have the stones?’” — “Shapeshifter”
“But the voice in my head says: ‘Don’t let him leave alone’” — “Shapeshifter”
“I don’t sleep, don’t dream at all” — “Shapeshifter”
“Panic attack just to be your favourite daughter” — “Favourite Daughter”
“Back when the stolen spirits went straight to the head” — “GRWM”
Face
“My face in the light” — “Man of the Year”
Ears
“Today I’ll go to Canal Street, they’re piercing my ears” — “Hammer”
Eyes
“I jerk tears and they pay me to do it” — “Hammer”
“MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up” — “What Was That”
“But now I’m crying on the phone / Swearing nothing’s wrong” — “Current Affairs”
“I rode you until I cried” — “Clearblue”
“Did I cry myself to sleep about that?” — “Broken Glass”
“Baby, whenever you break me / I’d watch it happen, like an angel looking down” — ”If She Could See Me Now”
Mouth
“We kissed for hours straight” — “What Was That”
“Chewing gum, I know / Don’t have the sour taste that’s in my throat” — “Shapeshifter”
“Swish mouthwash” — “Man of the Year”
“He spit in my mouth like he’s saying a prayer” — “Current Affairs”
“Lips round your halo” — “Clearblue”
“Tooth chipped, ‘96” — “GRWM”
“Soft lips, my mama’s trauma” — “GRWM”
“Rot teeth about that?” — “Broken Glass”
“At the Sunset Tower, you said, ‘Open your mouth’ / I did” — ”David”
Neck
“The mist from the fountain is kissing my neck” — “Hammer”
“Uppercut to the throat, I was off guard” — ”David”
Chest
“You told us as kids: ‘He died of a broken heart’” — “Favourite Daughter”
“Why did no one listen when you hit the notes from your heart” — “Favourite Daughter”
“Soap washing him off my chest” — “GRWM”
Blood and Other Things
“It was only a field trip / Till it cooled my blood”—- “Current Affairs”
“Your helix is right through me” — “Clearblue”
“Was I just young blood to get on tape?” — “David”
Hands
“I wanna punch the mirror / to make her see that this won’t last” — “Broken Glass”
“After the ecstasy, testing for pregnancy, praying in MP3”
“clearblue” by lorde
Back
“Breaking my back just to be as brave as my mother” — “Favourite Daughter”
Hips and Pelvis
“Don’t know if it’s love or if it’s ovulation” — “Hammer”
“Jerk off” — “Man of the Year”
“You tasted my underwear / I knew we were fucked” — “Current Affairs”
“Girl, your pussy good, it grip me good a me fi tell you” — “Current Affairs” (a sample from “Morning Love” by Dexter Dapps)
“After the ecstasy, testing for pregnancy, praying in MP3” — “Clearblue”
“Hips moving faster / I rode you until I cried” — “Clearblue”
“Wide hips, tooth chipped, ‘96” — “GRWM”
“Felt great to strip / New waist to hip” — “Broken Glass”
Legs
“Everywhere I run / I’m always runnin’ to ya” — “Favourite Daughter”
“Stood in the park under the eclipse” — “Current Affairs”
“Won’t outrun her if you don’t look back” — “Broken Glass”
“Why do we run to the ones we do?” — “David”