By Kai McMillian
“Ribs” by Lorde came out alongside her album Pure Heroine on September 27, 2013 (the best indie alternative album of all time in my opinion), while us teens were still children. When we listened to this song when we were very young, the lyrics didn’t really resonate or stick with us, we most likely couldn’t even comprehend the words Lorde was saying. Now that most of us are between the ages of 14-18+ in high school, we realize our lives are moving way faster than before and now the severity and amount of responsibilities we have now have increased by 1,000%.
We are no longer the kids, where we have no other responsibilities other than finishing homework that takes 10 minutes at most and worrying if we have enough time to play. Now, we have to worry about school, grades, discovering ourselves, our academic and career future, social pressures/oppression, mental health, and a lot more. Our decisions now can literally ruin or better our futures while only before, our decisions only affected if we were able to have 10 more minutes of play time. We no longer have the innocent lifestyle and mindset we had when we were children and that’s the truth.
The song “Ribs” is about the experiences Lorde has had as a child and she’s looking back at them. While looking back at those memories, she realizes that growing up is very bittersweet and that she wants to be young again and experience that innocence she had. The nostalgia that comes with wishing you were younger and looking back at those times feels good but it’s also very depressing. This song encapsulates how a majority of teens feel, including me. Ironically, Lorde made this song when she was 17 years old, which is around the age group us teens are in. Although we still have our whole lives ahead of us and we have so much more to experience and discover, we still look back and yearn for our younger selves. That childlike carelessness, freedom, happiness, and everything in between is what we are looking for and what we want to feel again.
Some lyrics include “It drives you crazy getting old”, “And I’ve never felt more alone, It feels so scary getting old”, “I want ’em back, I want ’em back, The minds we had, the minds we had”, and “This dream isn’t feeling sweet”. These lyrics are the main ones that stick to people and hit home for them. Hard.
Over the years, starting from when this song came out till now, this song has been my number one and I’ve listened to it nonstop. With this, I started to realize what this song was telling me all these years and I slowly started to relate more and more to it, and so have millions of other teens. This feeling of longing for the past is not uncommon due to the fact people of all ages, mostly teenagers and older, always look at the past and wish they were back to that time in their life. People just miss when life is simpler, fun, and easier. Not to say life now isn’t fun but that feeling of childlike joy is just something everyone desires.
“Ribs” is definitely that type of song where the meaning can resonate with many generations as its meaning is timeless and millions can relate to it. No matter how many times you definitely should give this song a listen here
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