Music is something that has always been important to me, and probably always will be. I don’t sing and I don’t play instruments, but that’s not why it’s important to me. It’s important because music makes me feel like I can escape reality for a little while and just be. That’s why when I saw that there was a Lana Del Rey concert near me, I freaked out and immediately bought a ticket. My experience at the concert has inspired me to write song reviews about a couple of her songs, “Summertime Sadness” and “The Blackest Day.”
Artist Lana Del Rey’s hit song, “Summertime Sadness,” with over one billion streams on Spotify, is perhaps one of her most misunderstood songs. With many people blowing past its deeper meaning and focusing on the fact that it’s a “local” song. Local, meaning someone who doesn’t really listen to her music, someone who just listens to her so they can say that they do. Honestly, the way “Summertime Sadness” reads is confusing, that’s why there are so many interpretations of the song. Senior Emma White said, “I think it’s about a forbidden romance, you know? Like there’s obviously these two people who love each other, but they can’t have each other.” But that interpretation is different from some of the ones I’ve heard before.
In the beginning of the song, Del Rey is chilling with her partner, who we learn is the person who brings out the best in her. But in the chorus we soon hear her instructing her partner to “Kiss me hard before you go” And then in the bridge we hear her expressing her grief over losing her partner. Overall it’s a bittersweet song, which is amplified by the lyrics and the meaning behind it.
The other song I would like to discuss, “The Blackest Day,” is relatively more unknown than “Summertime Sadness.” Like many of her songs, there’s many interpretations and thoughts behind what the meaning of the song is. Senior Emma White said “I think it’s about a woman who just got broken up with and there’s a bunch of little things that remind her about her past boyfriend.”
I believe that the song “The Blackest Day” is a breakup song, which showcases Del Rey going through the five stages of grief; denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The opening verse tells about how she doesn’t really want to break up, despite the feeling that her relationship is not going to work out. Then, the chorus tells us that it’s been “the blackest day” since her boyfriend left. In the chorus she also talks about how all she’s heard since the breakup was Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday is well known for her songs about heartbreak and tragedy. In the post-chorus “searching for love in all the wrong places” suggests that she is desperately looking for love from not very good people. Finally, the bridge suggests that Del Rey is playing mind games with her ex boyfriend, maybe as some form of revenge. Overall, the song is a beautiful representation of the heartbreak and hopelessness that comes with a bad breakup.