The Path

Album: Solar Power (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Lorde pulls back the curtain on her Solar Power album with this opening track. Summing up the record's theme, the song's message is that rather than looking to celebrities like the New Zealand singer for answers, we should turn to the natural world. She told The Guardian it's an odd place to start, "But I know enough about how people view me - we're taught to view famous people as gods now – and I just wanted to dismantle that."
  • The first verse recounts Lorde's rise from a New Zealand bush girl to a "teen millionaire." She talks of the overwhelming pressure and anxiety she endured as a famous singer still in her formative years.
  • Lorde sets the second verse at the 2016 Met Gala, where the teen was one of many superstars present. She recalls stealing a fork to show her mother, showing she still is the same down-to-earth Kiwi girl.
  • The chorus acts as a thesis statement for the album, as Lorde rejects being seen as a role model. Instead, she says we should let the sun show us "the path."
  • This was the first song Lorde wrote for Solar Power; she always knew it would be the opening track. The "Royals" singer told Apple Music she wrote it to bring her fans "right up to speed" on her frame of mind. "As I get older, I feel the absurd nature of our modern life more every day, and some of the images in this song really play into that," she explained.

    Lorde added that she's unworthy of the devotion that comes to people like her. She wanted to disengage from that and say, "It's not going to be me. I'm sorry. Let's redirect."
  • Lorde wrote the song by herself. She co-produced it with her go-to producer, Jack Antonoff, and Malay, who is best known for his work on Frank Ocean's Channel Orange album.
  • Lorde dropped a video for the song on June 21, 2022, midsummer's day in the Northern Hemisphere. It serves as a prequel to her "Solar Power" clip. "You see my character joining her friends and family on the island where they've chosen to start life anew," she explained, "arriving in her trademark suit and quickly being transformed by nature's strange magic."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.