Being desperate to get away from your current life and longing to be a part of exclusive groups is a shared experience of most high school students. Feeling left out and wanting to escape your status is the one thing every teenager goes through.
In the song “The Love Club,” Lorde perfectly conveys the intricacies of wanting to be something you are not along with the rush of emotions that comes along with growing up.
“The Love Club” by Lorde follows the story of, presumably, a high schooler longing to join the cooler clique and subsequently realizing that it is not at all what she wanted. Throughout the song, Lorde reiterates how she wants to get out of the group. Many speculate that this song is also a metaphor for becoming famous and craving the escape of the spotlight.
The song starts off with “I’m in a clique but I want out, it’s not the same as when I was punched.” The “punched” is a symbol for a sort of initiation into the group, showing that there are prices to be paid when you join.
Throughout the song she tries to convey that things are not always what they seem from the outside. She was looking for love, acceptance, and freedom but ended up getting stuck in a group of people so wildly unlike herself.
In the first chorus she sings, “Be a part of the love club, everything will glow for you. Go get punched for the love club, for the love club.” This is an almost sarcastic line, encouraging the listener to sacrifice so much for so little in return.
In the second verse, she sings, “There are fights for being my best friend […] There’s something about hanging out with the wicked kids.” Within the group, there is competition for being close to her as well as acknowledges that the people she is surrounding herself with are manipulative.
Being so far removed from her old life she says, “The other day, I forgot my old address […] there’s nothing more I want, except to be alone.” The new life she finds herself in is not at all what she imagined when she yearned for freedom.
Going into the bridge, she says, “how you’re severed from the people who watched you grow up,” showing how you will leave behind the most important people in your life throughout the hunt for popularity.
“The Love Club” is a song off of Lorde’s 2013 EP of the same name. This song as well as the EP is widely considered to be the kickstart to Lorde’s rise to pop stardom. Her unique voice and punk pop sound aided in setting her apart in the music industry.
You can listen to “The Love Club” by Lorde on all streaming platforms.