Ribs Lyrics

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

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About

Genius Annotation

“Ribs” is an ethereal lament about adolescence, and the bittersweet experience of growing up. Lorde has said she especially likes the song.

Lorde sings in the same deep, smoky voice showcased in her cover of “Swingin' Party”, and then switching to a younger, higher voice in the choruses.

She debuted it live in New York at Le Poisson Rouge on August 6. She later premiered the track on KCRW.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Lorde say about "Ribs"?
Genius Answer

Lorde talked about what inspired this song at a concert:

I wrote this song on a Monday in February, last year. And I wrote it following this weekend where my and my sister and our best friend threw this huge house party at my place. Like the kind of house party where people eating all the shit out of your fridge and freezer, like, defrosting things in your microwave… And at the end, everyone just crashed at my house, on the floor of every room. And there was one guy who came around after lights out… and he crashed with me and my best friend in my bed. And I couldn’t sleep. And he’s like ‘What is it?’ and I was like ‘What we just did is cool. It’s cool. You know, doing this thing, throwing this house party, it’s adult. And there’s something scary about doing something that is in a different world than the one you know. My whole life I’ve been doing the things that kids do, you know, fucking around and not having any responsibility. It’s scared me to think of having one foot in that adult world because who says that we can go back? Like, can you be a kid and still do adult things? Do you have to leave that world behind? And this is the thought that keeps me up at night, all the time.

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