Melodrama Analysis- "Writer in the Dark"

English Teacher KP

I'm so thankful that you're here! Thank you for the well-wishes ❤❤❤

English Teacher KP

Oh wow! This is super interesting! Thanks for sharing!

English Teacher KP

That makes sense! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of icarly 😂😭😂

Camila Dejesus

Literally can only of iCarly when I hear "rue the day". I'm not 100% but I've always believed Melodrama was about Lorde and her ex-boyfriend, they were together for 3 years when she became famous and broke up 2 years before Melodrama was released. The timing, and certainly the lyrics in this song kind of elude to it at least being a little autobiographical.

Loved your analisis, English teacher KP! I don't know if you're aware, but Lorde has recently been involved in some drama for shushing the audience during her Melodrama tour. It turns out it's always right before Writer in the Dark chorus. I found very interesting that you said the chorus sounds churchy... maybe it is so sacred for her that she even dares to silence her fans during concerts. Just a theory I wanted to share with you all :)

Iolita Kovatchki

I love your analysis so much, so grateful I’m subscribed to Patreon 🥰 also I hope you’re feeling better!! ❤️❤️

English Teacher KP

I'm really excited for "Supercut"!

English Teacher KP

This is a wonderful explanation! I can totally see this! Also, thank you so much ❤❤❤

English Teacher KP

Thank you so much ❤❤❤

English Teacher KP

Haha, it's so bizarre to me, but I love how unique Lorde is! Also, I love your interpretation of the "supwrpower" line!

English Teacher KP

I can't wait!

English Teacher KP

It was! Thank you!

Anna

I mentioned that her mom is a poet, and yes I thought it might be important to this song:)

I love the way she sings the chorus. It sounds like she’s crying. I think you’ll like Supercut, it’s a bop.

Lindsay Bennett

Hope you get feeling better soon! Sorry you are feeling sick. I wanted to add my thoughts about the chorus lyrics - i interpret it as her saying she is someone who loves hard and was obsessive about him to the point that she thought she'd never be able to get over him or survive without him but then stumbled on a "superpower" of realizing she would be able to get over him and be fine on her own. I think that's a pretty relatable experience and so brave to realize you're capable of living without someone you used to think you'd never be able to live without. Also, this blind reaction had me literally laughing out loud again because your reactions to her voice and some of her instrumental choices just sends me! It makes it even funnier because Lorde is one of my very favorites and this album is my top 5 albums of all time so you're cringes just make me laugh cause I've never realized how odd they are :')

I love love love the second verse of this song, especially “I let the seasons change my mind/I love it here, since I stopped needing you.” So much is wrapped up in those two lines! Especially since she uses so much seasonal imagery throughout the album (which I started paying attention to after watching your earlier analyses!) I am SO EXCITED for Supercut next!!!!! Hope you feel better soon!

Adorado

So.. the pseudoephedrine line, I’m not familiar with that medicine, but let’s say it is a fast acting one. Maybe she’s trying to emphasise that time is moving very slowly for her. Like it doesn’t matter how fast she’s getting over him, it’s not fast enough. Do I make sense? Like “even the speed of this fast acting medicine feels slow for her.” I don’t know. I had never stopped to think about this line until today. I’m very very excited for Supercut. I think it’s perfectly placed in the album and I hope you enjoy it as well and the role in plays in the story Lorde is telling. Thank you again for another excellent video !

You talked in the video about how the song sounds churchy, almost like a hymn. I have a theory! You know in Cornelia Street how Taylor says "sacred new beginnings / that became my religion"? This idea of a relationship being someone's religion. Perhaps Lorde is trying to tell us that when she tried to "exist just for" this person, he became her religion, and she viewed him almost as a God, and now that she's still in love with him, writing about him, he's still a God, an idol, a muse: a religious figure she pays tribute to with her words and her songs :)) thanks so much for the video, and i hope you feel better soon!!

English Teacher KP

This makes total sense! I use writing to cope as well!

Ísis Dore

Not you posting the analysis to my favorite Lorde song the exact day that I subscribe to patreon I never felt so lucky tbh! As a writer myself (not a good one) and a person that just can't let go sometimes this song is so relatable! I feel like writing gives us the power to cope and let go but at the same time it can really make you go back to that moment and kind of not really let go ever, I don't know if that makes sense but it's what I think about when I listen to it .

English Teacher KP

I can 100% see that! I think she finds strength in her writing, so it definitely works!

English Teacher KP

That definitely makes sense! It totally works since she's established the sarcastic tone early on. I love the way she plays with contrast in order to create meaning! Thanks for watching!

I think her secret power she might be referring to might be writing. I had never thought about it up until now but it makes sense in the song.

stef

i feel like the "slow like pseudoephedrine" line is maybe her being sarcastic in a way to say that she feels it now and then in a sense where the memories and feelings come and go fast in her head, but in reality it feels like its taking forever to actually move on? im not sure if that makes sense, but i feel like she's using it in a sarcastic tone to portray that it seems like she got over it fast to everyone around her and even to herself but in reality the memories come and go making the getting over it process last even longer