"POWDER" is a song by Melanie Martinez featured as the fourteenth track on the deluxe edition of her third studio album, PORTALS. It was released on April 5, 2023, with no prior promotion.
Theme[]
The song's theme seems to be about a person in a toxic relationship with someone who is struggling with addiction and destructive behaviors. The lyrics suggest that the narrator knows the other person needs help, but they refuse to seek it. The repeated reference to "powder" could be a metaphor for drugs or a symbol of the destructive behavior the person is engaging in. The chorus and post-chorus suggest a sense of helplessness and inability to answer the other person's calls for help. Overall, the song may be exploring themes of codependency, enabling, and the difficulty of breaking away from a toxic relationship.
This is also one of the conflict songs that Melanie intentionally added on PORTALS. This song, "BATTLE OF THE LARYNX", "THE CONTORTIONIST", and "EVIL" are the only known conflict songs to reveal by Melanie herself.
Lyrics[]
[Intro]
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
[Verse 1]
Don't wanna know where you go when you’re not around
I'd rather stay naive, too much to believe
Blood falling out from your nose and I'm wondering, "How?"
You glamorize your pain, wear it on display
[Pre-chorus]
And I know it's a cry for help, go help yourself
I opened a million doors, you never go
It's past point of no return, when will we learn?
Alert me when this shit is over
[Chorus]
Lying loud (Through it all)
Cut your face (From the fall)
When you're hurt (Who'd you call?)
I can't answer now
Spent the rent (On a high)
One-way street (To thе scythe)
Clean it up (Watch you die)
It's yours to decidе
[Post-chorus]
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
[Verse 2]
Show me a picture you painted of someone else
Lived a double life, wish I was surprised
Eyes rolling back to your head, and I'm wondering, "How?"
I recognize your face, put it all to waste
[Pre-chorus]
And I know it's a cry for help, go help yourself
I opened a million doors, you never go
It's past point of no return, when will we learn?
Alert me when this shit is over
[Chorus]
Lying loud (Through it all)
Cut your face (From the fall)
When you're hurt (Who'd you call?)
I can't answer now
Spent the rent (On a high)
One way street (To the scythe)
Clean it up (Watch you die)
It's yours to decide
[Post-chorus]
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
[Pre-chorus]
And I know it's a cry for help, go help yourself
I opened a million doors, you never go
It's past point of no return, when will we learn?
Alert me when this shit is over
[Chorus]
Lying loud (Through it all)
Cut your face (From the fall)
When you're hurt (Who'd you call?)
I can't answer now
Spent the rent (On a high)
One way street (To the sythe)
Clean it up (Watch you die)
It's yours to decide
[Post-chorus]
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
[Intro]
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
[Verse 1]
Don't wanna know where you go when you’re not around
I'd rather stay naive, too much to believe
Blood falling out from your nose and I'm wondering, "How?"
You glamorize your pain, wear it on display
[Pre-chorus]
And I know it's a cry for help, go help yourself
I opened a million doors, you never go
It's past point of no return, when will we learn?
Alert me when this shit is over
[Chorus]
Lying loud (Through it all)
Cut your face (From the fall)
When you're hurt (Who'd you call?)
I can't answer now
Spent the rent (On a high)
One-way street (To thе scythe)
Clean it up (Watch you die)
It's yours to decidе
[Post-chorus]
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
[Verse 2]
Show me a picture you painted of someone else
Lived a double life, wish I was surprised
Eyes rolling back to your head, and I'm wondering, "How?"
I recognize your face, put it all to waste
[Pre-chorus]
And I know it's a cry for help, go help yourself
I opened a million doors, you never go
It's past point of no return, when will we learn?
Alert me when this shit is over
[Chorus]
Lying loud (Through it all)
Cut your face (From the fall)
When you're hurt (Who'd you call?)
I can't answer now
Spent the rent (On a high)
One way street (To the scythe)
Clean it up (Watch you die)
It's yours to decide
[Post-chorus]
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
[Pre-chorus]
And I know it's a cry for help, go help yourself
I opened a million doors, you never go
It's past point of no return, when will we learn?
Alert me when this shit is over
[Chorus]
Lying loud (Through it all)
Cut your face (From the fall)
When you're hurt (Who'd you call?)
I can't answer now
Spent the rent (On a high)
One way street (To the sythe)
Clean it up (Watch you die)
It's yours to decide
[Post-chorus]
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Powder, pow-pow-powder
Official versions[]
| Version | Released on | Release date | Producer(s) | Creation date | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▶ | Final | PORTALS | April 5, 2023 | CJ Baran | 2022-2023 | 3:58 |
Live performances[]
"POWDER" was performed at:
- PORTALS Tour (debut performance)
Trivia[]
- Powder is a euphemism of cocaine, thus integrating into the magical imagery of the album as a probable link to pixie dust.
- It could also be linked to the imagery of mushroom spores as seen in the song's background visuals for the PORTALS Tour.
- "Blood falling out from your nose" alludes to the common side effect of cocaine usage causing nose-bleeding.
- Additionally, samples of sniffing, exhaling, and inhaling can be heard throughout the song.
- The chorus's melody of this track interpolates the song "Hookers" by Tierra Whack.[1]
- This is the first released song by Melanie to be entirely sung using a vocoder.
- This track is considered non-explicit on Spotify and Apple Music despite containing the word "shit".
- During the pre-chorus, Melanie sings "go help yourself" in the lead vocals, but sings "boy help yourself" in the backing vocals.
- Melanie cried during the performance of this song during the PORTALS Tour show at Fillmore Auditorium on May 30, 2023.
- It was also the first show she performed this song.
- This is Melanie's least streamed song from deluxe version on PORTALS, amassing a total of over 24 million streams on Spotify.
- On the standard version, "LEECHES" is the least streamed.
References[]
[]
v • e  | |
|---|---|
| Featured tracks | DEATH • VOID • TUNNEL VISION • FAERIE SOIRÉE • LIGHT SHOWER • SPIDER WEB • LEECHES • BATTLE OF THE LARYNX • THE CONTORTIONIST • MOON CYCLE • NYMPHOLOGY • EVIL • WOMB |
| Bonus tracks | THE HATCHING • POWDER • PLUTO • MILK OF THE SIREN |
| Scrapped tracks | Barely Juice • Corpse • Death • Dragon's Blood • Emerald • Fairy Dance • Fingers Crossed • Garden • Hawaii Space Guitar • Inconsistent Flame • Jinx • Labyrinth (version 1) • Labyrinth (version 2) • Magnets • Menace to Society • Mother of Pearl • Needle and Thread • Not Dead, Just Expired • Puzzles • Synchronicities • Tunnel Vision • Void • Walkie Talkie |
| Related tracks | Gravitate • Fragile |
| Characters | The Creature (Cry Baby) • Masked Dancers • Faeries |
| Producers | Melanie Martinez • One Love • CJ Baran • Verde • The 23rd • Pearl Lion • Simon Says • Cautious Clay (deluxe) |
| Extras | Egg hatching • Film • Merchandise • Portals Parfums • Melanie Madness |
| Tour | PORTALS Tour • The Trilogy Tour |