Still Sane Lyrics
Hair is dripping, hiding that I'm terrified
But this is summer, playing dumber than in fall
Everything I say falls right back into everything
But what I really mean is
Not in the swing of things yet
I won’t be her, tripping over on stage
Hey, it’s all cool,
I still like hotels, but I think that'll change
Still like hotels, and my newfound fame
Hey, promise I can stay good
(Everything feels right) I'm little, but I'm coming for the crown
I'm little, but I’m coming for you (chase paper, get it)
I'm little but I’m coming for the title, held by everyone who’s up
Never made me lose it
All business all day
Keeps me up a level
All work and no play
Keeps me on the new shit, yeah
Let me count the bruises
All business all day
Keeps me up a level
All work and no play
Lonely on the new shit yeah
Yeah
Their likeness set in stone
Their likeness set in stone
What does that make me?
But what I really mean is
Not in the swing of things yet
But what I really mean is
Not in the swing of things yet
Never made me lose it
All business all day
Keeps me up a level
All work and no play
Keeps me on the new shit, yeah
This, to me, is very clearly about her become famous.
'In not in the swing of things. But what I really mean is, I'm not in the swing of things yet.'
She is saying she is not used to the fame, but she will get there.
'Riding around on the bikes, we’re still sane I won’t be her, tripping over on stage.'
She is not going to slip up on stage. (maybe I'm being too literal.)
'Hey, it’s all cool, I still like hotels, but I think that'll change Still like hotels, and my newfound fame.'
On tours you practically live in hotels and busses. She knows and will grow tired of that and as also she states, CLEARLY, her new found fame.
'Hey, promise I can stay good'
She is saying she won't turn out like every other pop star, she'll stay her, and virtually the same person.
'(Everything feels right) I'm little, but I'm coming for the crown I'm little, but I’m coming for you (chase paper, get it) I'm little but I’m coming for the title, held by everyone who’s up'
She is saying, to these big mega pop starts, hey, she might not be big now, but shes coming up, she will be bigger greater than you. She will be the next big thing a nd you will be looking up at her.
'All work and no play Never made me lose it ('let me count the bruises' The second time) All business all day Keeps me up a level All work and no play Keeps me on the new shit, yeah.'
She can never be a normal teen and hang with friends or do things for fun. And she knows. She is saying doing so will keep her above.
'Only bad people live to see Their likeness set in stone
Only bad people live to see Their likeness set in stone What does that make me?'
Pop star after pop star have been drove crazy by their fame in many different ways. We see it today. She is saying that here, and that that, she doesn't know how she will turn out.
And so on with the song.
I could be off, but the message here (as with many of her songs) is very straight forward and easy to read.
Thanks and hope I helped anyone out there.
Fav Song on the album.I think this songs is about Lorde trying to deal with her new found fame. "Im not in the swing of things" Then later it adds "Not in the swing of this, yet." Also the song says "Still like hotels but I think that will change" referring to her touring and trying to think normally of herself being this big. "I'm little but I'm coming for the crown" Meaning she is ready to work hard to get to the top.
This song is a direct allusion to The Shining. First off, the title is obviously alluding to sanity, which is a central theme of the story of The Shining, since the people who live in the resort lose this. But more specifically, the lines:
"I still like hotels, but I think that'll change Still like hotels, and my newfound fame Hey, promise I can stay good"
The shining is about a hotel, and Lorde is touring the world with her music, spending a lot of time in hotels. Touring and fame can make a person lose it, just like the hotel in the shining made Jack go insane. He thought he could "stay good" and avoid the fate of the people who stayed in the hotel before him, but he couldn't. Lorde is hoping she can "stay good" even though she's seen so many celebrities before her go bad.
Also the line, "riding round on bikes, we're still sane" is a direct reference to the bike scene(s) in the shining where the son rides around on his little toy bike exploring the hotel. He does this innocently and this curiosity is what leads him to lose his innocence when he discovers the truth of the hotel.
OH MY GAWD, YOU'RE SO RIGHT!
OH MY GAWD, YOU'RE SO RIGHT!
I am pretty sure that this song contains a reference to the WHY? song "By Torpedo or Crohn's." The WHY? lyric is
"only those evil live to see their own likeness in stone my brother said that" (Yoni Wolf referring to his brother Jonathan I guess)
It sounds far-fetched for Lorde to paraphrase WHY? but she did name-drop a Broken Social Scene song on "Ribs" so anything is possible. Girl knows her shit, and as soon as I heard this song I caught the reference. My interpretation is that she's seriously thinking about that quote and what it means to watch oneself get famous-- no literal statues yet, but you get the idea.
THE SHINING ALLUSION PT 2
I forgot to write, perhaps the most obvious reference to The Shining;
All work and no play Never made me lose it All business all day Keeps me up a level All work and no play Keeps me on the new shit, yeah
This is a DIRECT quote taken from the movie, and possibly one of the most famous movie quotes of all time. During the turning point of Jack's downward spiral in the movie, his wife discovers that the manuscript of the book he has been writing for months consists of one phrase repeated for hundreds of pages: "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
I think this song is just Lorde dealing with her "newfound fame." It is new and cool to her now probably, hence the lines "I still like hotels but I think that'll change. I still like hotels and my newfound fame." The line "I'm not in the swing of things yet," is just the singer saying that she hasn't totally gotten used to being famous and all that comes with that yet. "Promise I can stay good", is an reference to the fact that a lot of celebrities and famous people end up "bad" or whatever; not genuine and just have broken lives, and she is saying that she hopes she can stay good, and thinks she can. "I'm little but I'm coming for the crown. I'm little but I'm coming for you." is just a reference to the music industry, and she is "coming for the crown" by way of writing and singing.