“Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All)” by Lorde

Letting the cat out of the bag early, Lorde’s “Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen It All)” is a song in which the songstress is addressing herself. In other words, the narrator would be future Lorde, and the addressee is a younger of herself. 

So that is why the singer is able to present herself as “a girl who’s seen it all”, because by this point in the future she would be well matured and experienced, beyond her current 24 years of age.

And as far as the “secrets” she is imparting go, these aren’t factual statements but rather, comprehensively put, a sentiment. And basically what she is telling herself is to remain strong in all endeavors of life. 

For example, as put in the second verse, “no one is going to feel pain for you”. This notion is put largely in a social and romantic context. So if faced with disappointment in her love life for instance, then Lorde is advised to remain optimistic that a new proper beau will eventually materialize, as long as she doesn’t get too bent out of shape about the past. 

Also as put forth in the pre-chorus, time passes in the “blink” of an eye. And if Lorde really wants to maximize her potential, then she’s letting her younger self know that there has to be a genuine inner drive to do so as opposed to being prodded by others to achieve greatness.

The Long and Short of “Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All)”

So it’s like on one hand this song is a bit complex, but on the other its rather simple. “Secrets from a Girl” is premised on the idea, as perhaps most explicitly presented in the outro, that life can sometimes be woefully depressing and demoralizing. 

And Lorde has personally experienced such feelings of melancholy. But the conclusion is that relief, i.e. “euphoria”, is also on its way. However, the prerequisite to achieving this ideal state of emotional satisfaction, as implied, is that one has to remain optimistic that such is actually forthcoming.

Interesting Facts

This track came to us via Republic Records and Lava Records on 20 August 2021 as part of Lorde’s third full-length, Solar Power. 

Her two prior studio albums, especially the singer’s debut effort Pure Heroine (2013), proved to be notable successes. 

In fact by the looks of things the Lorde’s appeal as a true international music star has waned as time progressed, which is to be generally expected when one blows up from the jump like she did. However, she remains enduringly popular in Oceania, with the songstress actually hailing from New Zealand.

Lorde wrote and produced this song with American hitmaker Jack Antonoff. Also Robyn, a tenured singer from Sweden who holds down the spoken-word outro, is credited as a writer of this piece, though she’s not acknowledged as an official feature.

According to Lorde, this song was inspired by a track she came out with in 2013 entitled Ribs that wasn’t a big hit but ranks amongst her fan favorites.