Writer in the Dark explained

Writer in the Dark
Type:Song
Artist:Lorde
Album:Melodrama
Recorded:January 2017
Studio:

"Writer in the Dark" is a song recorded by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde for her second album Melodrama (2017). She co-wrote and co-produced the track with Jack Antonoff. It is a piano ballad with sparse production and an outro. Its lyrics are Lorde's lament to an ex-lover, in which she says she will always love him but she also needs to move her life forwards. The song received acclaim from music critics, many of whom commended its songwriting. Lorde performed "Writer in the Dark" and five other songs as part of a re-imagined Vevo song series at Electric Lady Studios, and was included on the set list of her Melodrama World Tour (2017–2018).

"Writer in the Dark" gained exponential popularity years after its release in a viral video clip where Lorde shushes her audience at a concert in order to make the final chorus a solo performance.

Background and development

In an exclusive podcast interview with The Spinoff, Lorde stated that she wrote "Writer in the Dark" from the perspective of "something being finished, but still feeling like I had something I wanted to say".[1] The singer said about the songwriting process, "It's interesting when you're female and you write this confessional, painfully honest music about your life. There's a lot of guilt associated with that."[1] In a separate interview with NME, the singer said she was inspired to write the lyric, "Bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark" after she woke late one night in a bed she was sharing with a stranger.[2]

According to Lorde, the song is her way of saying, "It's what I've always been. It's what I was when you met me. It's what I will continue to be after you leave. That's exactly what was going to happen when you kissed a writer in the dark."[1] She also said the songwriting process felt therapeutic and complex. When asked about writing from a traditionalist perspective, the singer said she felt she made the song unique by implementing words such as "pseudoephedrine", the name of a sympathomimetic drug, which she said would work better in a hip hop song; she enjoyed taking standard forms and putting "spiky bits on them".[1] The singer also compared "Writer in the Dark" and her 2017 song "Liability" to a rap cadence.[1]

Composition and lyrical interpretation

"Writer in the Dark" was co-written and co-produced by Lorde (credited under her birth-name Ella Yelich-O'Connor) and Jack Antonoff. It was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village, New York City. The song is composed in the key of G major with a walking pace tempo of 72 beats per minute while Lorde's vocals span a range of D3 to D5.[3] It is a piano ballad with sparse instrumentation in its production.[4] Its lyrics are Lorde's lament to an ex-lover, whom she tells she will always love but she also needs to move forward.[5] Paste writer Emily Reily said the song "combines Lorde’s defiance with her most desperate and exposed moments."[6]

The song drew comments on Lorde's vocals, which several publications compared to those of English singer Kate Bush.[7] According to Colin Groundwater from Pretty Much Amazing, Lorde vocals on the line "I love you til you call the cops on me" stretch to a "painfully human falsetto",[8] while Chicago Tribune editor Greg Kot said the singer delivers a "resonant line about obsession" as she finds a "way to tunnel out from the wreckage".[9] Drowned in Sound noted a shift in Lorde's vocals from her "usual semi-growl of a delivery to a much more high-pitched warble",[10] while Rolling Stone compared the track to a B-side from Bush's 1985 album Hounds of Love.[11] Entertainment Weekly stated that Lorde acknowledges the "trope of the scorned lover" in the song,[12] while No Ripcord said her vocals turn to grief in the lines, "I am my mother's child, I'll love you 'til my breathing stops".[13]

Critical reception

"Writer in the Dark" received critical acclaim from music critics; several publications compared its songwriting to the works of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.[14] Stuff.co.nz editor Graeme Tuckett called it one of the highlights from the album, saying, "Lorde giving her toughest and least inflected vocal performance in the service of the album's strongest set of lyrics".[15] Alexis Petridis from The Guardian stated that while the song was not the first attempt from a modern female singer to channel Kate Bush, "it may well be the first one that doesn't make you want to die of embarrassment on their behalf".[16]

Sharing similar sentiments, Spencer Kornhaber from The Atlantic called the song a "wonderful nightmare of a piano piece" and concludes by stating that Lorde is saying "something that's been said many times before in song, but she's still saying it more interestingly than most people".[17] DIY writer Will Richards called the song "flooring, showing her to be one of the most emotionally intelligent pop songwriters around", while NMEs Dan Stubbs described it as "deliciously bitter".[18] Jon Pareles from The New York Times compared its lyrics to Swift and its aesthetic to American singer Lana Del Rey, saying it is "sometimes sparse and transparent enough to accompany Lorde's voice with just a piano note or two".[19]

"Writer in the Dark" was ranked by Entertainment Weekly 8th on their list of the Most Emotionally Devastating Songs of the 2010s. Eve Barlow, writing for the publication, called it "triumphant".[20]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Melodrama.[21]

Recording and management

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2017)Peak
position
New Zealand Artist Singles (RMNZ)[22] 7
New Zealand Heatseekers (RMNZ)[23] 2

Notes and References

  1. News: The Spinoff Exclusive: Lorde explains the backstory behind every song on her new album. The Spinoff. Oliver. Henry. 19 June 2017. 26 December 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171223215719/https://thespinoff.co.nz/music/19-06-2017/the-spinoff-exclusive-lorde-explains-the-backstory-behind-every-song-on-her-new-album/. 23 December 2017.
  2. News: Morgan Britton . Luke . Lorde says she felt 'empowered' writing new album break-up songs . 3 September 2020 . NME . 16 June 2017 . 17 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200117023943/https://www.nme.com/news/music/lorde-empowered-new-album-breakup-songs-2089295 . live .
  3. Web site: Lorde "Writer in the Dark" Sheet Music in G Major (transposable) . musicnotes.com . 16 June 2017 . 1 July 2018 . 2 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180702093549/https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0175022 . live .
  4. News: Dorsett. Andrew. Lorde: Melodrama. 4 January 2018. PopMatters. 20 June 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180105013039/https://www.popmatters.com/lorde-melodrama-2495387943.html. 5 January 2018.
  5. News: Thompson . Erik . An invite to Lorde's anguished party of the damned . 2 July 2018 . The Line of Best Fit . 22 June 2017 . 24 September 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190924091304/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/lorde-melodrama . dead .
  6. News: Reily . Emily . Lorde: Melodrama Review . 2 July 2018 . Paste . 26 June 2017 . 28 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171228150848/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/06/lorde-melodrama-review.html . live .
  7. Web site: Lorde, Melodrama, album review: Unconventional pop that still bangs. The Independent. O'Connor. Roisin. 15 June 2017. 15 June 2017. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170616204519/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/lorde-melodrama-album-review-how-to-listen-tour-tickets-green-light-liability-a7792266.html. 16 June 2017.
    Web site: Lorde: Melodrama. Pitchfork. Anderson. Stacey. 16 June 2017. 16 June 2017. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170616083604/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/lorde-melodrama/. 16 June 2017.
  8. News: Groundwater . Colin . Review: Lorde, Melodrama . 2 July 2018 . Pretty Much Amazing . 19 June 2017 . 5 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180105011327/https://prettymuchamazing.com/reviews/lorde-melodrama . live .
  9. News: Review: Lorde and the 'Melodrama' of innocence lost. The Chicago Tribune. Kot. Greg. 16 June 2017. 17 March 2018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180317102421/http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/kot/sc-ent-0616-music-lorde-melodrama-20170616-column.html. 17 March 2018.
  10. Web site: Album Review: Lorde – Melodrama. Drowned in Sound. 17 June 2017. 23 July 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170912191517/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/19984/reviews/4151138. 12 September 2017.
  11. Rolling Stone Staff . The Biggest Influences on Pop in the 2010s . 3 September 2020 . Rolling Stone . 23 December 2019 . 24 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210224214324/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/biggest-pop-influences-on-2010s-927808/kate-bush-4-927838/ . live .
  12. Lorde Makes Partying Sound Holy on 'Melodrama': EW Review. Entertainment Weekly. Feeney. Nolan. 16 June 2017. 16 June 2017. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170616175146/http://ew.com/music/2017/06/16/lorde-melodrama-review/. 16 June 2017.
  13. News: Marvilli . Joe . Lorde: Melodrama – Music Review . 2 July 2018 . No Ripcord . 21 June 2017 . 28 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171228054254/http://www.noripcord.com/reviews/music/lorde/melodrama . live .
  14. News: Jenkins . Craig . Lorde's Self-Deprecating Melodrama Is a Stunning Achievement . 27 August 2018 . Vulture . 18 June 2017 . 18 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220418143119/https://www.vulture.com/2017/06/lorde-melodrama-album-review.html . live .
    News: Willman . Chris . Album Review: Lorde Acts Her Age on 'Melodrama' . 27 August 2018 . Variety . 15 June 2017 . 4 October 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171004035118/http://variety.com/2017/music/reviews/album-review-lorde-acts-her-age-on-melodrama-1202467649/ . live .
  15. News: Tuckett . Graeme . Review: Lorde's Melodrama: First listen, first reactions . 2 July 2018 . Stuff.co.nz . 16 June 2017 . 18 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220418143120/https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/93747870/review-lordes-melodrama-first-listen-first-reactions . live .
  16. Web site: Lorde: Melodrama review – a cocky challenge to her pop rivals. The Guardian. Petridis. Alexis. 16 June 2017. 17 June 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170616185013/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/16/lorde-melodrama-review-cocky-challenge-pop-rivals. 16 June 2017.
  17. News: Kornhaber . Spencer . Lorde Is Older but Somehow Less Jaded . 2 July 2018 . The Atlantic . 16 June 2017 . 2 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180702093342/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/06/lorde-melodrama-review-older-less-jaded/530496/ . live .
  18. News: Richards . Will . Lorde – Melodrama . 2 July 2018 . DIY . 23 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171223215821/http://diymag.com/2017/06/20/lorde-melodrama-album-review . live .
    Web site: Lorde – 'Melodrama' Album Review. NME. Stubbs. Dan. 16 June 2017. 16 June 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170616142940/http://www.nme.com/reviews/album/lorde-melodrama-album-review-nme. 16 June 2017.
  19. News: Pareles . Jon . Lorde Learns She Can't Party Away Her Melancholy on 'Melodrama' . 2 July 2018 . The New York Times . 16 June 2017 . 27 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171227085806/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/16/arts/music/lorde-melodrama-review.html . live .
  20. Entertainment Weekly Staff . The most emotionally devastating songs of the 2010s . 3 September 2020 . Entertainment Weekly . 4 December 2019 . 28 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200728150226/https://ew.com/music/2019/12/04/the-most-emotionally-devastating-songs-of-the-2010s/ . live .
  21. Melodrama. Lorde. 2017. CD. Lava/Republic Records. B0026615-02 . United States.
  22. Web site: Top 20 New Zealand Singles Chart . . 26 June 2017 . 2 September 2020 . 18 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220418143217/https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/nzsingles?chart=4374 . live .
  23. Web site: NZ Heatseeker Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ. 26 June 2017. 2 September 2020. 28 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170728210433/http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/singles?chart=4374. live.

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