Lorde – What Was That Lyrics

A place in the city a chair and a bed
I cover all the mirrors I can’t face myself yet
Smoke clings to me like a wedding veil
I cook for one step into the crowd alone in a sea

It hits me all at once I’m missing you
The weight of your absence in all we used to do
It haunts the quiet fills the space
A love I can’t erase

MDMA in the back garden eyes wide with light
We kissed for hours lost in the night
I swore This is the best cigarette of my life
And I still want you just like that

Indio haze a sandstorm swallowing sound
It knocked me over spun me around
Back then I didn’t know you’d never be enough
Since seventeen I gave you all of my love

Now we wake from a dream it slips through our hands
Was that real? Did we ever stand a chance?
What was that baby tell me what was that?
I keep asking but silence is all I have

You’re still with me when I’m out with friends
Painted faces talk pretending trends
You must have known I was fading away
No warmth in your words nothing left to say

Down at Baby’s All Right under blue neon light
I try to face truth give up the fight
I let it pass through or at least I try
But this pain it lingers refuses goodbye

MDMA in the back garden eyes like blown glass
Kissing through hours we wished would last
I said it then This is the best cigarette of my life
And I ache for you just like that night

Indio haze lost in the storm’s embrace
Didn’t know then you’d leave no trace
From seventeen you had all of me
Now we wake from what used to be

What was that? Was it love or just a flash?
‘Cause I want you still I want you just like that
When I’m in the blue light I can make it alright
Tell me baby what was that

The song captures the aftermath of a love that once felt all-consuming but has since faded into memory, leaving behind traces of longing and unanswered questions. With vivid imagery—like “Indio haze,” “blue neon light,” and “eyes like blown glass”—the lyrics trace a journey through emotional landscapes filled with grief, nostalgia, and quiet despair. The speaker reminisces about intimate, euphoric moments, especially under the influence of MDMA, which once intensified their connection. These memories are juxtaposed with the stark loneliness of the present, where even familiar places feel hollow without the presence of their lost love.

The song reads like a confessional diary entry, reflecting on a relationship that began with youthful passion and vulnerability—“Since seventeen I gave you all of my love”—and dissolved into silence and emotional distance. There’s a yearning not just for the person, but for the intensity and purity of those shared experiences. The refrain-like lines about “the best cigarette of my life” echo the transient yet powerful nature of those moments. Ultimately, the song is a meditation on love, loss, and the struggle to understand whether what once felt so real was ever truly meant to last.