Anthems

## Audio

**Anthems** (stylized on lowercase as "**anthems**") is a song by Charli XCX, from her fourth studio album How I'm Feeling Now. It serves as the tenth track from the album. The song is produced by Dylan Brady and Danny L Harle.

## Background

On April 18th, 2020, she posted lyrics of the song for the first time, and then other lyrics the next day.  Charli first played a snippet of the song on April 20th, originally the beat was called "*Generation*" and Charli wanted to call the song "*Project XCX*", as a reference to the movie "Project X".

Then, on April 22nd, she did a live stream on Instagram, where she wrote the second verse of the song with help by fans.  On April 24th, Charli played the song on her set on the Square Garden Festival.

On April 30th, she confirmed that the song will be on the album, under the title of "Anthems".

## Theme

Charli said on Apple Music:

*"Well, this song is just about wanting to get f\*\*ked up, essentially. I had a moment one night during lockdown where I was like, ‘I just want to go out.‘ I mean, it feels so stupid and dumb to say, and it’s obviously not a priority in the world, but sometimes I just feel like I want to go out, blow off some steam, get f\*\*ked up, do a lot of bad things and wake up feeling terrible. This song is about missing those nights. When I first heard the track—which was produced by Dylan and Danny L Harle—it immediately made me want to watch [2012 film] Project X as that movie is the closest I’m going to feel to having the night that I want to have. So I wrote the song, and co-wrote the second verse with my fans on Instagram—which was very cool and actually quite a quick experience. After finishing it, I really felt like it definitely belongs on the Project X soundtrack. I think it captures the hectic energy of a once-in-a-lifetime night out that you’ll never forget."*

## Leak History

* Decembeer 26th, 2021 - Demo leaks online.

## Lyrics

[Intro]

Uh, uh

[Verse]

I'm so bored, what

Wake up late and eat some cereal

Try my best to be physical

Lose myself in a TV show

Staring out to oblivion

All my friends are invisible

Twenty four-seven, miss 'em all

I might cry like a waterfall

I feel afraid when I feel alone, yeah, uh

Have sex, me and my Romeo

He says I'm irresistible

I'm gassed up like I'm Texaco

I ride, ride, ride, ride, ride, ride, ride, ride, ride, ride it

Sometimes I feel okay, some days I'm so frightened

[Chorus]

I want anthems

Late nights, my friends, New York

I sleep, wanna wake up brand new

I sleep, wanna wake up with you (you)

I want anthems

Late nights, my friends, New York

Finally, when it's over

We might be, even closer, uh, uh

[Verse 2]

Uh, uh, uh, uh

These days exhausting

Uh, uh, uh, uh

Go online shopping

I'm so uninspired, I just wanna breathe

Flowers in the trees, dirt all my knees

Got some hands to hold on to

Uh, I get existential and so strange

Uh, I hear no sounds when I'm shouting

I just wanna go to parties

Up high, wanna feel the heat from all the bodies

[Chorus]

I want anthems

Late nights, my friends, New York

I sleep, wanna wake up brand new

I sleep, wanna wake up with you

I want anthems

Late nights, my friends, New York

Finally, when it's over

We might be, even closer, uh, uh

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/FckyeahCharli/status/1251664701789999105
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/charli\_xcx/status/1252034649527709696
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/FckyeahCharli/status/1252376226422874113
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/charli\_xcx/status/1253129055819325440
5. ↑ https://twitter.com/FckyeahCharli/status/1253869192744493057
6. ↑ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AXZ5wailoKC9ynSVD6O02mNB-WGHldKC/view?usp=sharing