Lorde explains personal meaning behind her 'What Was That' lyrics

27 April 2025, 18:40

Lorde 'What Was That' lyrics meaning explained. Picture: Universal Music

By Sam Prance

What are Lorde's 'What Was That' lyrics about? Here's what she's said about the meaning behind the song and the breakup that inspired it.

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Lorde is back! Her new single 'What Was That' is here and now Lorde's opened up about the breakup that inspired it.

Lorde never fails to capture the internet's attention when she releases new music. Since she released Pure Heroine in 2013, she's made sure to take time between her projects. As it stands, there's been four years between every Lorde album and, after her viral 'Girl so confusing' verse, all eyes have been on Lorde to see what she does next.

Created with pop masterminds Dan Nigro (Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, Conan Gray) and Jim-E-Stack (Charli xcx, Caroline Polachek, HAIM), 'What Was That' is both classic Lorde and new territory for her. What are Lorde's 'What Was That' lyrics about though? Here's what Lorde's said about the meaning behind the breakup banger.

Read more: Charli xcx explains what her 'Girl, so confusing' lyrics are actually about

Lorde teases new single 'What Was That'

In 'What Was That', Lorde sings in a stream of conscious like manner about her state of being in the wake of a split. In the first verse, she sings: I wear smoke like a wedding veil / Make a meal I won't eat / Step out into the street, alone in a sea / It comes over me / Oh, I'm missin' you / Yeah, I'm missin' you / And all the things we used to do.

In the chorus, Lorde reminisces over her past relationship: MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up / We kissed for hours straight, well, baby, what was that? She adds: Since l was seventeen, I gave you everything / Now, we wake from a dream, well, baby, what was that?

Most devastatingly, Lorde sings: Do you know you're still with me / When I'm out with my friends? and then I tried to let / Whatever has to pass through me / Pass through, but this is stayin' a while, I know / It might not let me go.

Lorde - What Was That

Who are Lorde's 'What Was That' lyrics about?

Describing the song on her website when it came out, Lorde gave fans some insight into what inspired it: "Late 2023. Back in New York. Deep breakup. Stopping birth control. Every meal a battle. Flashbacks and waves. Feeling grief’s vortex and letting it take me. Opening my mouth and recording what fell out...The sound of my rebirth."

Discussing the breakup at the time, Lorde said in a newsletter: "I’m living with heartbreak again. It’s different but the same. I ache all the time, I forget why and then remember. I’m not trying to hide from the pain, I understand now that pain isn’t something to hide from, that there’s actually great beauty in moving with it."

As Lorde tends to keep her personal life private, it's unclear who she split from in 2023. Some fans think the song is about Universal Music's Justin Warren. The pair were often photographed together and even sparked engagement rumours when Lorde wore a diamond ring to Variety’s Power of Women event in 2023.

Lorde first met Justin when she signed to Universal Music in New Zealand when she was just 13 years old and the couple reportedly started dating in 2015. However, neither Lorde nor Justin have ever confirmed if they were in a relationship.

Bookmark this page and we'll let you know if/when Lorde says anything else about the song.

Lorde - 'What Was That' lyrics

VERSE 1
A place in the city
A chair and a bed
I cover up all the mirrors
I can't see myself yet
I wear smoke like a wedding veil
Make a meal I won't eat
Step out into the street, alone in a sea
It comes over me

PRE-CHORUS
Oh, I'm missin' you
Yeah, I'm missin' you
And all the things we used to do

CHORUS
MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up
We kissed for hours straight, well, baby, what was that?
I remember sayin' then, "This is the best cigarette of my life"
Well, I want you just like that
Indio haze, we're in a sandstorm and it knocks me out
I didn't know then that you'd never be enough, oh
Since l was seventeen, I gave you everything
Now, we wake from a dream, well, baby, what was that?

POST-CHORUS
What was that?
Baby, what was that?

VERSE 2
Do you know you're still with me
When I'm out with my friends?
I stare at the painted faces
That talk current affairs
You had to know this was happenin'
You weren't feelin' my heat
When I'm in the blue light, down at Baby's All Right
I face reality

PRE-CHORUS
I tried (I tried) to let (To let)
Whatever has to pass through me
Pass through, but this is stayin' a while, I know
It might not let me go

CHORUS
MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up
We kissed for hours straight, well, baby, what was that?
I remember sayin' then, "This is the best cigarette of my life"
Well, I want you just like that
Indio haze, we're in a sandstorm and it knocks me out
I didn't know then, but you'd never be enough, oh
Since l was seventeen, I gave you everything
Now, we wake from a dream, well, 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?