Lyrics
"Royals"
[Verse 1]
I've never seen a diamond in the flesh
I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies
And I'm not proud of my address,
In the torn-up town, no post code envy
[Hook]
But every song's like gold teeth, grey goose, trippin' in the bathroom
Blood stains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room,
We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams.
But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your time piece.
Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash.
We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair.
And we'll never be royals (royals).
It don't run in our blood,
That kind of luxe just ain't for us.
We crave a different kind of buzz.
Let me be your ruler (ruler),
You can call me queen Bee
And baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule.
Let me live that fantasy.
[Verse 2]
My friends and I – we've cracked the code.
We count our dollars on the train to the party.
And everyone who knows us knows that we're fine with this,
We didn't come from money.
[Hook]
But every song's like gold teeth, grey goose, trippin' in the bathroom.
Blood stains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room,
We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams.
But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your time piece.
Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash
We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair
And we'll never be royals (royals).
It don't run in our blood
That kind of luxe just ain't for us.
We crave a different kind of buzz.
Let me be your ruler (ruler),
You can call me queen Bee
And baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule.
Let me live that fantasy.
Ooh ooh oh
We're bigger than we ever dreamed,
And I'm in love with being queen.
Ooh ooh oh
Life is game without a care
We aren't caught up in your love affair.
And we'll never be royals (royals).
It don't run in our blood
That kind of luxe just ain't for us.
We crave a different kind of buzz
Let me be your ruler (ruler),
You can call me queen Bee
And baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule.
Let me live that fantasy.
I've never seen a diamond in the flesh
I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies
And I'm not proud of my address,
In the torn-up town, no post code envy
[Hook]
But every song's like gold teeth, grey goose, trippin' in the bathroom
Blood stains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room,
We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams.
But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your time piece.
Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash.
We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair.
And we'll never be royals (royals).
It don't run in our blood,
That kind of luxe just ain't for us.
We crave a different kind of buzz.
Let me be your ruler (ruler),
You can call me queen Bee
And baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule.
Let me live that fantasy.
[Verse 2]
My friends and I – we've cracked the code.
We count our dollars on the train to the party.
And everyone who knows us knows that we're fine with this,
We didn't come from money.
[Hook]
But every song's like gold teeth, grey goose, trippin' in the bathroom.
Blood stains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room,
We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams.
But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your time piece.
Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash
We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair
And we'll never be royals (royals).
It don't run in our blood
That kind of luxe just ain't for us.
We crave a different kind of buzz.
Let me be your ruler (ruler),
You can call me queen Bee
And baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule.
Let me live that fantasy.
Ooh ooh oh
We're bigger than we ever dreamed,
And I'm in love with being queen.
Ooh ooh oh
Life is game without a care
We aren't caught up in your love affair.
And we'll never be royals (royals).
It don't run in our blood
That kind of luxe just ain't for us.
We crave a different kind of buzz
Let me be your ruler (ruler),
You can call me queen Bee
And baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule.
Let me live that fantasy.
Review
A coy flutter, a sly smirk: "I met Kanye West yesterday." You wouldn't expect such breathless name-dropping from New Zealand's Lorde, AKA 16-year-old minimalist wunderkind Ella Yelich-O'Connor. Given she is the first woman to top Billboard's Alternative Songs chart in 17 years with her EP The Love Club, much has been made of her in-song rejections of celebrity and pop culture mores. Her click-soul breakthrough track Royals decries the enforced fantasies of Hello! culture and rap videos full of diamond watches and Maybachs, while on Team she snarls: "I'm kinda over getting told to throw my hands up in the air." She's touted as the voice of a savvy new generation, yet her aesthetic at this first London show – which sold out in four minutes – is more classical than counter-cultural. Her black-lace outfit recalls pre-Raphaelite Kate Bush or Vampira, her sneers are pure Dietrich, her cat-claw poses totally, well, Cleo Rocos. She's a freshly fired antique.
Her luxuriant voice similarly runs the gamut of leftfield pop – Lana's purrs, Regina's quirks, Zola Jesus's boom, the urban urchin squeaks of Chloe Howl. And despite her billing as the most self-determining artist ever spotted by a major label at the age of 12 and kept "in development" for four years, you suspect boardroom meddling behind the soft-step controversy of naming her debut album Pure Heroine. Her music, though, is undeniably authentic. At times she's reminiscent of James Blake, her triple-tracked vocals backed by sparse tribal drums and a ethereal keyboards.
From the repetitive menace of Biting Down and the icy calypso Buzzcut Season, she artfully builds tension throughout; Anna Calvi would dollop theatrical bombast all over her a cover of the Replacements' Swingin' Party, but here its restrained throb oozes quiet power.
As Royals prompts a hushed sing-along, the beats burst from Lorde's dense bubble and 400 Lux and A World Alone become dark disco diamonds. "Pretty soon I'll be getting on my first plane," she coos in Tennis Court, and you feel the relief that her four years in pop's traps are over. Now's her time to glower.
Her luxuriant voice similarly runs the gamut of leftfield pop – Lana's purrs, Regina's quirks, Zola Jesus's boom, the urban urchin squeaks of Chloe Howl. And despite her billing as the most self-determining artist ever spotted by a major label at the age of 12 and kept "in development" for four years, you suspect boardroom meddling behind the soft-step controversy of naming her debut album Pure Heroine. Her music, though, is undeniably authentic. At times she's reminiscent of James Blake, her triple-tracked vocals backed by sparse tribal drums and a ethereal keyboards.
From the repetitive menace of Biting Down and the icy calypso Buzzcut Season, she artfully builds tension throughout; Anna Calvi would dollop theatrical bombast all over her a cover of the Replacements' Swingin' Party, but here its restrained throb oozes quiet power.
As Royals prompts a hushed sing-along, the beats burst from Lorde's dense bubble and 400 Lux and A World Alone become dark disco diamonds. "Pretty soon I'll be getting on my first plane," she coos in Tennis Court, and you feel the relief that her four years in pop's traps are over. Now's her time to glower.
Love this song
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