Lorde’s song “What Was That” is a synth-pop single released on April 24, 2025, through Universal Music New Zealand as the lead single from her upcoming fourth studio album.
This release marks her first single from a studio album in nearly four years and signals a return to the hypnotic synth-pop style reminiscent of her Melodrama era.
Lorde co-wrote “What Was That” with Jim-E Stack, who also co-produced the track alongside Daniel Nigro. The production features piano, drums, keyboards, synthesizers, electric guitar, and bass guitar, with contributions from Andrew Aged on electric guitar.
The song includes an upbeat arrangement with minimalist bassline, light percussion, and subtle synths that gradually build throughout the track.
What Was That Lyrics by Lorde
A place in the city
A chair and a bed
I cover up all the mirrors
I can’t see myself yet
I wear smoke like a wedding veil
Make a meal I won’t eat
Step out into the street, alone in a sea
It comes over me
Oh, I’m missin’ you
Yeah, I’m missin’ you
And all the things we used to do
MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up
We kissed for hours straight, well, baby, what was that?
I remember sayin’ then, “This is the best cigarette of my life”
Well, I want you just like that
Indio haze, we’re in a sandstorm and it knocks me out
I didn’t know then that you’d never be enough, oh
Since l was seventeen, I gave you everything
Now, we wake from a dream, well, baby, what was that?
What was that?
Baby, what was that?
Do you know you’re still with me
When I’m out with my friends?
I stare at the painted faces
That talk current affairs
You had to know this was happenin’
You weren’t feelin’ my heat
When I’m in the blue light, down at Baby’s All Right
I face reality
I tried (I tried) to let (To let)
Whatever has to pass through me
Pass through, but this is stayin’ a while, I know
It might not let me go
MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up
We kissed for hours straight, well, baby, what was that?
I remember sayin’ then, “This is the best cigarette of my life”
Well, I want you just like that
Indio haze, we’re in a sandstorm and it knocks me out
I didn’t know then, but you’d never be enough, oh
Since l was seventeen, I gave you everything
Now, we wake from a dream, well, baby, what was that?
What was that?
‘Cause I want you just like that (When I’m in the blue light, I can make it alright)
What was that? (When I’m in the blue light, I can make it alright)
Baby, what was that?
