Christina De Los Santos
“hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it”
Lana Del Rey has the voice of an angel that can soothe even the darkest of souls. Musical souls, that is. Her new single--released the 8th of January--is a preview to her new album: Norman ****ing Rockwell. YouTuber Miriana Mimi Pepe believes that the song is not just a song but poetry. I wholeheartedly agree. Lana Del Rey does curse once or twice, but she keeps it sparse. It suits the song very well.
In the song, hope is a feeling of expectation or desire for a certain thing to happen. Her intriguing title mentions that “hope is dangerous.” She claims to have gotten this from the film The Shawshank Redemption with Morgan Freeman. (See here for more information on her references).
The film says: “Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane….”
The pain and passion in the song can be felt by anyone who listens to it. Fans who know Lana, who have followed her through the years, know that she has gone through some rough times and channels them into her music. She recently has turned to church as a support for herself and she seems to be doing much better. In the song she also mentions “this black narcissist,” referring to her own dark side that she’s constantly fighting against. She is an amazing singer and her success was not achieved without a battle. She is a strong woman and I look forward to hearing more of her songs!
Sources:
Genius is the biggest source since they ask the Singer/ Songwriter directly what their song is about.
2. The Shawshank Redemption movie by Frank Darabont