“Born to Die” by Lana del Rey, Friday, November 19, 2021

A month before releasing her debut record under her crafted stage name, Lana del Rey, Elizabeth Grant released the title track as the second single for 2012’s Born to Die. Her first record was released on an indie label which eventually was pulled from distribution. Del Rey, at the time known as Del Ray, claimed the label lacked funding. After the album’s release, the singer took to refining her image and writing for her major-label debut. The video for the first single, “Video Games,” went viral after its release in June of 2011. Pitchfork ranked the song as the ninth best song of 2011. “Born to Die” was released in December and introduced listeners to themes of both the album and Lana del Rey’s career, even better than her first single.

THE ROAD IS LONG, WE CARRY ON/ TRY TO HAVE FUN IN THE MEANTIME. The album Born to Die set up Lana del Rey as an old-soul hipster pop singer. The singer didn’t have much in common with the pop singers of the the early ‘10s other than a few lyrics that could shock a conservative listenership. Lana del Rey’s sophomore record reminded me of the spirit of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" mixed with Amy Winehouse's lyrical themes. On top of being highly stylized, Born to Die is highly produced. Listening to the album, I hear hip-hop beats, samples, elaborate string sections, and James-Bond sounding guitar for finishing touches. Born to Die breathes new life into a dusty record. The lyrics on the record have lead a critic to call del Rey's style "Hollywood Sadcore." Born to Die references literature, opera, movie stars of yesteryear, and blends them all into a portrait of American culture. The pieces of Americana del Rey picks up on throughout her career makes her music all the more vivid. "Born to Die," the opening track, sets up the album as American teenager hedonism, a theme she explores throughout the album. Love is the only worthwhile thing and worthy of pursuit, but "life is long . . . try to have fun in the meantime" means numbing the length with drugs, which can cut life short. 

I CAN SEE THAT ONCE I WAS BLIND. We often think that our generation invented sex, drugs, and good music. Some people think of the good ol' days when things were pure. I've been thinking about this golden age argument lately, especially as I've been listening to older music. Tina Turner was born in 1939. The Beatles were born in the 1940s. Rock music has been in our culture for four generations, jazz proceeded rock music. While Leave It to Beaver was on television, playwrights Eugene O'Neill, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams were exploring different aspects of what it meant to be American through their plays. Also the Beats were writing counter-cultural works which would influence the hippies of the '60s. Sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll were just a rehashing of sex, drugs, and jazz, which was a rehashing of sex, alcohol, and bar tunes. The constant wheel of cultural reincarnation makes Del Rey nihilistic in her message. The singer uses the past to show us that really nothing is new under the American banner. Individualist souls who believe that "money is the reason we exist," men who can teach women "what fast is," all the while numbing themselves through drugs and alcohol is the America that Del Rey brings to light. While many would say that Del Rey is condoning this lifestyle, and she certainly is glamorizing it, the singer is wrapped in layers of irony, perhaps playing a character. I take Born to Die to be a poignant critique of American culture. I just wish I could feel the same way about Trump's presidency.  

 Read “Born to Die” by Lana Del Rey on Genius.