There are so many hidden bee references in this song that I don't know where to start. I think the best thing to do would be to go through the song, line by line. [quote]I've never seen a diamond in the flesh [/quote] Most bees have never seen a diamond, since the two occupy different habitats. [quote]I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies [/quote] Non-bee related line near the start, to throw us off the scent. [quote]And I'm not proud of my address [/quote] Who would be proud of living in a hive? Like, just hanging from a tree or whatever. Rubbish accommodation. [quote]In the torn up town, no postcode envy [/quote] A hive, with its hexagonal structure, could be interpreted as being "torn-up", and it certainly houses enough bees to be considered a sort of bee town. And there would be no postcode envy if all your homes were identical parts of the same superstructure. [quote]But every song's like gold teeth [/quote] Honey is gold colored. [quote]Grey Goose [/quote] Geese are the natural enemies of bees. [quote]trippin' in the bathroom [/quote] If you were in the bathroom and encountered a bee, you may panic, and the ensuing chaos may cause you to trip. [quote]Blood stains [/quote] If you were stung by a lot of bees in the same place, it could, conceivably, draw blood. [quote]Ball gowns [/quote] Some balls are held outside, where bees can be found. [quote]Trashin' the hotel room [/quote] You may trash your hotel room if there were a bee in it and you were trying to kill it. [quote]We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams [/quote] Bees are aspirational creatures. [quote]But everybody's like Cristal [/quote] The color of Cristal is not wholly dissimilar to that of honey. [quote]Maybach[/quote] May is the month in which people are most frequently stung by bees, and Bach's 9th Concerto is called The Flight of the Bees. [quote]diamonds on your timepiece [/quote] One of the many things most bees will never own. [quote]Jet planes [/quote] Jet planes can fly, as can bees. [quote]Islands[/quote] Bees are found on some islands. [quote]Tigers on a gold leash [/quote] Tigers are the natural enemies of bees. [NOTE: At this point - essentially the start of the chorus - the song stops being about bees, and switches to being from the perspective of bees, before switching back for the second verse.] [quote]We don't care, we ain't caught up in your love affair [/quote] Bees are unable to experience love. Their lives are given in devotion to the hive and the Queen, and they would have no time for romantic entanglements even if their brains were capable of them. [quote]And we'll never be royals, it don't run in our blood [/quote] Worker bees will never become the Queen Bee because those are two different bee castes. [quote]That kinda lux just ain't for us [/quote] Worker bees are born to be busy, not sit around all day like the lazy Queens. 'Lux' is also a reference to Luxor, in Egypt. Some ancient Egyptian pharaohs were buried with honey that is still edible today. [quote]We crave a different kind of buzz [/quote] They love the sound of their buzzing in the open air, not the louder, tinnier, more echo-y buzz within the hive, where a Queen would spend most of her time. They also enjoy the "buzz" of flying, as opposed to sitting around all day. [quote]Let me be your ruler [/quote] The second part of the chorus comes from the POV of the Queen, who is, of course, the ruler of the bees. [quote]you can call me Queen Bee [/quote] The Queen Bee is the Queen Bee, which is why she wants to be called Queen Bee. [quote]and baby I'll rule [/quote] The workers are all her babies and she will rule them. [quote]Let me live that fantasy [/quote] She's invested in her job. [quote]My friends and I, we've cracked the code [/quote] An acknowledgement of the fact that there is a code to crack. Also, bees have cracked the code of how to make honey, which no other species has managed to do. [quote]We count our dollars on the train to the party [/quote] This is to highlight the contrasting lifestyles of Lorde, who enjoys money, transport, and good times, and bees, which have no need or desire for any of those things, and simply toil for the good of the hive. [quote]And everyone who knows us knows, that we're fine with this [/quote] Both Lorde and bees have accepted their lot in life. [quote]We didn't come from money [/quote] This line was originally meant to be "we didn't come from honey", but some meddlesome record exec made Lorde change it. The line was originally meant to indicate that Lorde, despite accepting her lot, is still somewhat jealous that she isn't a bee. [NOTE: At this point the song goes back into the pre-chorus and the chorus, followed by a bridge - which I will analyze below - and then a final chorus before the song ends. This bridge is, once again, told from the Queen's perspective.] [quote]Ooh ooh, ooh ooh [/quote] A really bad impression of the sounds bees make. [quote]We're bigger than we ever dreamed [/quote] The Queen cannot believe the amount of bees in her hive, as the number is quite high and bees are incapable of arithmetic. Also Queen Bees are fairly large. [quote]And I'm in love with being Queen [/quote] She enjoys her job. [quote]Ooh ooh, ooh ooh [/quote] Lorde doesn't know what bees sound like. [quote]Life is great without a care [/quote] Queen Bees have it easy, and don't have to worry. [quote]We aren't caught up in your love affair [/quote] But the workers cannot feel romantic love. Tragic. So, that's my analysis. I think it's pretty clear at this point that this song is literally all about bees, from start to finish. Hopefully, I will open a few eyes, and maybe even start a discussion about bee allegories in popular music in general - the number of songs that are, ultimately, about bees are simply too numerous to count, but getting the word out about this song is a start.