Charli wrote this song with Rostam Batmanglij (of Vampire Weekend) while drunk after a Miley Cyrus show:
“We went back to his house and I sat on top of Batmanglij’s piano, and we wrote ‘Kingdom,’” Charli said. “We sung it into his phone. I remember thinking in the morning, ‘Ugh, this is going to be the worst thing ever,’ but it was really good.“
After receiving a demo of the song for the Mockingjay Soundtrack, Lorde had the idea of adding Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran on it.
In an interview with Pitchfork, Charli talked about how “Kingdom” came about:
“I also worked with Rostam [Batmanglij] on that song. We went to the Miley Cyrus show in L.A. and got really wasted. Then we went back to his house and I sat on top of his piano, and we wrote ‘Kingdom’. We sung it into his phone. I remember thinking in the morning, ‘Ugh, this is going to be the worst thing ever,’ but it was really good. So when Ella reached out to me about the soundtrack, I decided to send her that song even though it’s really different than my usual shit. She was really complimentary about it.“
Kingdom
Charli XCX Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your kingdom's turned me blank
I'm paper and I'm snow
I'm lost, but I can't slow
I'm lost, but not alone
It's so light, the dark it burns my eyes
My bones, they used to glow
I'm losing where to go
Shadows on my back are moving slow
They twist behind like white leaves in the wind
And as I ride, these horses will take flight
Falling hard, falling high, through your arms
Shadows in my head don't need no light
They stay through the night
Without you, my lips are turning blue
The water pulls me down
And drowns under your sound
This silence booms so loud
I'm locked up, your kingdom's like a drug
The chains are made of glass
I'm breaking through your blood
I'm never strong enough
Shadows on my back are moving slow
They twist behind like white leaves in the wind
And as I ride, these horses will take flight
Falling hard, falling high, through your arms
Shadows in my head don't need no light
They stay through the night
To every rose with bloody thorns
It lift you up and lets you fall
To rivers flowing 'yond the factory halls
Your kingdom's come, it's waiting still
The space between you'll never fill
I tried, but I could not change your mind
I dance around, and I lost you now
I breathed you out, I kept you out
But if I could, I'd turn back around
In the song “Kingdom” by Charli XCX, the singer portrays herself being trapped in an imaginary world created by her significant other or “kingdom,” which has disorientated her and made her lost in the process. The opening line, “It’s all black, your kingdom’s turned me blank,” suggests that the kingdom has sucked the color out of her life and left her emotionally empty. The following line, “I'm paper and I'm snow,” is a metaphor for how fragile and easily influenced she has become in the kingdom. Charli also mentions being lost in the kingdom but cannot slow down, suggesting that she’s aware of the toxic nature of the kingdom but cannot escape its grasp.
She uses a lot of imagery to describe her pain and emotions; she references “Shadows on my back” that are “moving slow,” indicating the mental and emotional burden that she’s carrying. The “chains made of glass” used to describe being “locked up” in the kingdom highlights the invisible, yet powerful chains that control their relationship. However, in the chorus, Charli mentions that she’s “never alone,” implying that her partner is equally lost in this kingdom.
“Kingdom” touches on themes of control, emotional abuse and the power dynamic in relationships. The song highlights how the influence of one person can drastically affect the emotional and mental state of an individual in a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
It's all black
The surroundings have turned pitch black
Your kingdom's turned me blank
The place where you reign has left me feeling blank
I'm paper and I'm snow
I feel delicate like paper and snow
I'm lost, but I can't slow
I'm confused, but I can't take a break
I'm lost, but not alone
Although I'm lost, I'm not by myself
It's so light, the dark it burns my eyes
The brightness of the area is so intense that it's hurting my eyes
My bones, they used to glow
I used to feel powerful and strong
But now I'm throwing stones
But now I'm rejecting that previous sense of strength
I'm losing where to go
I'm not sure about my next steps
Shadows on my back are moving slow
The shadows behind me are slowly and gradually moving
They twist behind like white leaves in the wind
They are rotating like white leaves in the breeze
And as I ride, these horses will take flight
And as I move forward, these animals will begin to soar
Falling hard, falling high, through your arms
Experiencing both highs and lows while in your embrace
Shadows in my head don't need no light
The negative thoughts in my mind don't require any illumination
They stay through the night
These negative thoughts remain all night
Without you, my lips are turning blue
Without you, I'm not alive
The water pulls me down
I'm pulled down by the water
And drowns under your sound
And I'm drowning in and because of your voice
This silence booms so loud
This deafening silence is louder than anything else
I'm locked up, your kingdom's like a drug
I'm trapped, your domain is like an addiction
The chains are made of glass
The chains keeping me captive are transparent
I'm breaking through your blood
I'm attempting to free myself from your hold
I'm never strong enough
I don't possess enough strength to break free
To every rose with bloody thorns
This message goes out to every person in a painful or traumatizing situation
It lift you up and lets you fall
Your circumstances can provide you with temporary relief but also cause you to collapse
To rivers flowing 'yond the factory halls
To the rivers that continue to run beyond the industrial establishments
Your kingdom's come, it's waiting still
Your position of power is present and active, but waiting for its next action
The space between you'll never fill
The void between us can never be closed
I tried, but I could not change your mind
I made an effort, but was unsuccessful in altering your thought process
I dance around, and I lost you now
I was merely going around in circles, and now I've lost you
I breathed you out, I kept you out
I exhaled you out, and then prevented you from coming back in
But if I could, I'd turn back around
If it were possible, I'd reverse the process and bring you back into my life
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Charlotte Aitchison, Holly Hardy, Rostam Batmanglij, Simon Le Bon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@16sike
Lyrics:
It's all black
Your kingdom's turned me blank
I'm paper and I'm snow
I'm lost, but I can't slow
I'm lost, but not alone
It's so light, the dark it burns my eyes
My bones, they used to glow
But now I'm throwing stones
I'm losing where to go
Shadows on my back are moving slow
They twist behind like white leaves in the wind
And as I ride, these horses will take flight
Falling hard, falling high, through your arms
Shadows in my head don't need no light
They stay through the night
Without you, my lips are turning blue
The water pulls me down
And drowns under your sound
This silence booms so loud
I'm locked up, your kingdom's like a drug
The chains are made of glass
I'm breaking through your blood
I'm never strong enough
Shadows on my back are moving slow
They twist behind like white leaves in the wind
And as I ride, these horses will take flight
Falling hard, falling high, through your arms
Shadows in my head don't need no light
They stay through the night
To every rose with bloody thorns
It lift you up and lets you fall
To rivers flowing 'yond the factory halls
Your kingdom's come, it's waiting still
The space between you'll never fill
I tried, but I could not change your mind
I dance around, and I lost you now
I breathed you out, I kept you out
But if I could, I'd turn back around
*
This is one of the best songs I've ever heard. So insanely beautiful
@idletalk240
can't believe it took a viral pandemic for Charli to watch a movie she did a song for lol
@jaffetblanco
IDLE TALK i literally saw the tweet and came to see if someone had said something about it ancjsjcjac
@mariapawlak2813
Literally only looked this up bc of the tweet lmfao
@arnavibaidya5650
can't believe we're here because of the tweet
@argisellek9249
Ikr lmao
@nadyas.737
Lmaoooo I'm here because of the tweet too
@jfll29
"Lorde sent me an email" I can't
@DiamantisHell
hahahhaahahaha
@andersonvillamarg
JAJAJAJAJAJAJA
@user-gh6zh6dx7m
with a plot summary and a vibe she wanted