The performance of “Liability” by Lorde on Saturday Night Live is a piece about the artist coping with her newfound fame and how it has affected her personal life. “Liability” discusses how fame hurts a person indirectly because it draws loved ones into the spotlight and causes them to back out of the person’s life because they didn’t like all the consequences of being with a person who was famous.
The first thing that is seen when the performance starts is Lorde sitting back to back with a piano player. She is wearing something that looks remotely similar to a wedding dress with a light beaming down on the both of them. She looks sad and is slouched over looking at the ground. After a few measures of the piano playing, she starts to sing. “Baby really hurt me; Crying in taxi; He don’t wanna know me; Says he…show more content… “So I guess I’ll go home; Into the arms of the girl that I love; The only love I haven’t screwed up; She’s so hard to please, but she’s a forest fire; I do my best to meet her demands; Play at romance, we slow dance in the living room; But all that a stranger would see; Is one girl; Swaying alone; Stroking her cheek.” The girl that she loves is herself. This is not some shallow narcissistic statement about her being the greatest thing in the world. This statement is about the world trying to change and tear her down, however, the love she knows that she is perfect the way she is and doesn’t need societal approval to confirm this feeling. It is said that you are your harshest critic, but she loves herself so much that it doesn’t matter. At the end of day, you have yourself to live with and she understands and thrives under this love. However, at the same time, she knows it’s sad. This can be heard when the notes start decending in “But all that a stranger would see.” Although she loves herself, she still wishes she could love other people without being
