Lorde on the Don Henley lyric that asks “the most incredible fucking question of the universe”
Lorde had already made a cultural splash before she even turned 18. Unleashing her debut album, Pure Heroine, into the world, the weight and wonder in her dark electropop soundscapes endeared her to Tumblr teens and critics alike. Since then, her musings have often led her to be seen as the voice of a generation, but she prefers to listen to the words of her wiser predecessors.
While Lorde was creating her sophomore record, 2017’s Melodrama, her surrounding listening habits and inspirations were somewhat surprising. She wasn’t studying the art pop of eras past or the electropop of her peers. Rather, she was enjoying the songwriting of Paul Simon and Don Henley.
Part of Lorde’s love for these artists came from their age and the greater perspectives on life that come with it. She’s certainly infused her own output with her own contemplations and observations of love and loss, but she doesn’t feel that she has the experience to write about the full weight of those themes just yet.
“I don’t think you can sing about love or breakups in such a full way at 20,” she admitted during a conversation with Rolling Stone. The ‘Royals’ singer went on to share her enthusiasm for about one lyric Henley penned from his 1989 track ‘The Heart of the Matter’, which she believes does attain that fullness.
Over clean guitars, Henley sings of lost love, asking the question, “What are these voices outside love’s open door that make us throw off our contentment and beg for something more?” Lorde was taken in by this lyric, deeming it the “most incredible fucking question of the universe”. It certainly is a beautiful depiction of heartache and longing, of the human tendency to yearn for something more and miss what’s right in front of us.
It’s a form of lyrical poetry and philosophy that Lorde doesn’t believe she’s quite matched yet, but one she hopes to with more time and experience. “I don’t think I can do that,” she shared, “Even when I try really hard to not see things in very simple ways, those confines do still exist because I’m just so new to living. I’m excited to get older and get better and be able to do it like they can do it.”
Though she may feel limited by her age, a theme that also seeps into her lyrics, Lorde’s discography is full of promise. There’s no doubt that she will, one day, attain the same fullness of emotion contained in that one Henley lyric.
Listen to ‘The Heart of the Matter’ below.
