Charli goes in the opposite direction of her singles “Boom Clap” and “Break The Rules” exposing her softer side.
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...
[Verse 1: Charli XCX]
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
[Chorus: Charli XCX]
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
[Verse 2: Charli XCX]
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
[Chorus: Charli XCX]
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
[Verse 3: Simon Le Bon]
To every rose with bloody thorn
It lifts 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
[Outro: Charli XCX]
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
Kingdom was written by Charli XCX & CuckooLander & Rostam & Simon Le Bon.
Kingdom was produced by Ariel Rechtshaid & Rostam.
Charli XCX released Kingdom on Mon Nov 17 2014.
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...