Lorde, who is tasked with curating the entire Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1 soundtrack, released the film's haunting lead-off single Monday.
Seemingly stepping into Katniss Everdeen's shoes, the Grammy-winning teen aims to convey the rebellious heroine's mindset in musical form with "Yellow Flicker Beat."
[seealso slug="hunger-games-mockingjay-full-trailer-video/"]
"It's my first offering from what I hope will be a soundtrack you love," Lorde wrote in a thank-you note on Tumblr. "It's my attempt at getting inside her head, Katniss’. I hope you like it."
Lionsgate, Republic Records and Songs Music Publishing picked Lorde in July to select the artists who will appear on the soundtrack, a daunting challenge for a 17-year-old, let alone one who is constantly playing shows on the road.
The two previous Hunger Games soundtracks featured music A-listers, including Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Christina Aguilera, Arcade Fire, Miranda Lambert, Ellie Goulding, Sia, Imagine Dragons and more. The second soundtrack in 2013 featured a track from Lorde, who catapulted into superstardom last year with her hit single "Royals."
"Her immense talent and keen understanding of Mockingjay’s characters and themes not only have enabled her to create a song of her own that completely captures the film’s essence," director Francis Lawrence said in a statement, "but her insight and passion for our project make her the perfect creative force to assemble the other songs on our soundtrack."
The soundtrack will reach fans on Nov. 18, just days before the movie's Nov. 21 release.
Push play on the video above, and check out the song's lyrics below:
I'm a princess cut from marble, smoother than a storm
And the scars that mark my body, they're silver and gold
My blood is a flood of rubies, precious stones
It keeps my veins hot, the fires find a home in me
I move through town, I'm quiet like a fire
And my necklace is of opal, I tie it and untie it
And our people talk to me, but nothing ever hits
So people talk to me, and all the voices just burn holes
I'm going in
This is the start of how it all ever ends
They used to shout my name, now they whisper it
I'm speeding up and this is the
Red, orange, yellow flicker beat sparking up my heart
We rip the start, the colors disappear
I never watch the stars there's so much down here
So I just try to keep up with them
Red, orange, yellow flicker beat sparking up my heart
I dream all year, but they're not the same kinds
And the shivers move down my shoulder blades in double time
And now people talk to me I'm slipping out of reach now
People talk to me, and all their faces blur
But I got my fingers laced together and I made a little prison
And I'm locking up everyone that ever laid a finger on me
I'm going in
This is the start of how it all ever ends
They used to shout my name, now they whisper it
I'm speeding up and this is the
Red, orange, yellow flicker beat sparking up my heart
We rip the start, the colors disappear
I never watch the stars there's so much down here
So I just try to keep up with them
Red, orange, yellow flicker beat sparking up my heart
And this is the red, orange, yellow flicker beat
Sparking up my heart
And this is the red, orange, yellow flicker beat beat beat beat ooooh
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