On “Mood Ring,” Lorde satirically sings about the ways in which people try to stay emotionally and spiritually connected to themselves and the world. A mood ring is a ring that changes its color depending on the temperature of the person wearing it, reflecting the current emotional state of the bearer.

In the pre-premiere livestream of the song’s music video, she said:

“Mood Ring” is a song about trying to feel spiritually connected in our modern world and all of the little tools and systems that we all use to try and feel that. […] I thought “Mood Ring” was a really cool metaphor for the magical thinking that we all employ at times to feel well.

A few days before the song’s release on August 17, 2021, she updated her website and included an “official mood chart.”