24/7 Sylvia Plath

Lana Del Rey - 'Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but I Have It' (Norman Fucking Rockwell! - 2019)

Lana Del Rey, born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant in 1985, is an American singer-songwriter whose unique blend of cinematic soundscapes, melancholic themes, and vintage Americana has cemented her place as one of the defining artists of the 2010s. Bursting onto the scene with her viral hit ‘Video Games’ in 2011, she quickly became a polarising figure in the music industry. Her sultry voice and themes of doomed romance, nostalgia, and the American Dream became her signature. Over the years, Del Rey has evolved musically and thematically, drawing upon various influences from 1960s pop to hip-hop.

Her 2012 debut, Born to Die, blended cinematic melodies with contemporary hip-hop beats. The album effortlessly bridges the opulence of old Hollywood with the digital age's disconnection. 2014's Ultraviolence marked a notable shift. Produced with The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, this record delved deeper into Del Rey's haunting melancholy, reminiscent of dimly lit bars and desolate streets. Subsequent albums like 2015's Honeymoon and 2017's Lust for Life exhibited Del Rey's willingness to experiment. While the former indulged listeners with dreamlike ballads, the latter introduced a more optimistic Del Rey, underlined by collaborations with The Weeknd and Stevie Nicks. These albums signified musical growth and the evolution of an artist who never compromised on her authentic sound.

Lana Del Rey's distinct style, whether it's her appearance or the nostalgic artwork from her albums, brings to mind the 1960s, especially a standout fictional character from that era: Betty Draper, Don Draper's wife in Mad Men. Betty embodies the societal expectations of women during the 1960s: the perfect suburban housewife on the surface, but beneath that facade, there’s a palpable sense of yearning and unrest. Much like Del Rey's music, which often interweaves glamour with melancholy, Betty's character mirrors the same duality — a radiant exterior masking deeper complexities. In a way, Del Rey and Betty Draper showcase the timeless dichotomy of womanhood, where societal ideals and personal desires often clash. Both characters’ beauty and poise mask an undercurrent of unhappiness and unfulfillment, much like the melancholic undertones of Del Rey’s music and much like David Lynch’s squirming beetles in the sub-urban lawn in 1986’s Blue Velvet.

By the time of her 2019 album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!, she had secured her status as a mainstream artist and garnered significant critical acclaim. The album marked a shift in Del Rey’s artistic expression. The album's closing track, ‘hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it’, embodies this evolution. A poetic masterclass in itself, the song draws heavily from the shadows of American poet Sylvia Plath, whose writings grapple with themes of depression, societal expectations, and identity. Lana Del Rey interweaves these with her struggles and observations, creating a haunting reflection on the challenges of hope in a challenging world.

This highlights the album’s broader theme, questioning societal norms and challenging the expectations placed on women, both in the limelight and in everyday life. The chorus nods explicitly to Plath with the 24/7 namecheck, but deeper dives reveal further connections. Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’, a semi-autobiographical novel, captures the stifling societal pressures of the 1960s, paralleling Del Rey's lyrical acknowledgement of societal expectations thrust upon her. Another echo comes from Plath’s ‘Morning Song’, where postpartum depression colours the lines. While Del Rey hasn’t directly experienced this, she speaks to the shared experience of unexpected sadness amid anticipated joy.

Her lyrics, filled with metaphor and allusion, reference works like Stephen King’s Shawshank Redemption. By taking Red’s line about the danger of hope and adapting it, Lana Del Rey offers a feminist perspective, tying the idea of hope to the complexities and vulnerabilities of being a woman in modern society.

Additionally, there’s a darker note in her lyrics about writing in blood¹, possibly nodding to the infamous Manson family murders of 1969, amplifying the song's haunting undertones. Yet, mentioning journals and hinting at Sylvia Plath's diaries reiterates the cathartic role of writing in managing pain and confusion.

The intricacies of Lana Del Rey's song doesn’t stop there. With references to her past struggles with alc0holism, hints at a turbulent relationship with her father, and commentaries on societal expectations and feminism, she crafts a narrative of vulnerability and resilience.

Del Rey told Q magazine in 2019;

I think it’s dangerous for a woman who is too kind, I really do.That’s what it’s about. Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman who is told to bend to whatever comes along because it’s the right thing to do. So it’s less dangerous if you never give a fuck, but if you care it’s dangerous on seven different levels.

Her producer Jack Antonoff remarked on Twitter in 2019 that,

hope is a dangerous thing is one of 2 songs that happened the first day that lana and i were in the studio. recorded no click mostly live, felt piano + lana’s perfect vocal. sounded exactly like that in the room. this one means a lot. listen at night alone

So, we have a confirmation that even though this is a closing track, it was right at the start of the recording process. It works to finish the album by tying the allusions, references, and autobiographical hints together. It's a closing testament to the trials of womanhood, the challenges of living under the gaze of societal expectations, and, ultimately, the power of hope in the face of it all.

The Run Out Grooves Infinite Loops

1. On her 2017 track, ‘Heroin’, she had a similar line around writing on walls with blood.