This Is Not a Game

Album: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This track was manned by the British production duo, The Chemical Brothers. Most of the vocals are provided by R&B singer, Miguel, who surprisingly raps rather than croons the words. Lorde, the album's overall curator, also contributes to the chorus and sings the outro.
  • Asked by Fader whose idea it was for Miguel to rap on the track, Lorde replied: "There was this very early beat that the Chemical Brothers sent me. They sent me ten beats, and that was the one I kept coming back to."

    "It had no melody, and I was trying to dream up this amazingly melodic person on this amazingly melody-less beat, and I thought of Miguel," she continued. "I said, 'Are you a fan of Chemical Brothers by any chance?' He was, and he was able to deliver in that style. I hadn't heard Miguel in that way, and I haven't heard Chemical Brothers in that way, so it was pretty cool for me."

    "Someone called it 'playing god' earlier, which is a weird way of thinking about it, but it really felt limitless to me to sit in my bedroom on the tour bus and think up dream combinations of people who deserved to be in each other's presence," Lorde added, "people who I thought could learn from each other."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.