IN THE LAND OF GODS
&
LANA DEL REY
Body Electric
The song “Body Electric” by Lana Del Rey is featured in her short film Tropico. It is the first song in the film and it is playing when Eve, Del Rey, wakes up in the Garden of Eden with Adam. Jesus, along with Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, is there which explains Del Rey’s line “Jesus is my bestest friend.” Through this line I think Del Rey is trying to communicate how close she feels to Jesus. She also references heaven in this song and Mary. While it is not stated that is Mary, Jesus’ mother, she does say “Mary prays the rosary for my broken mind” which leads me to believe that this is the Mary she is referencing.
RELIGIOUS LYRICS
Like many other artists, Lana Del Rey has a deep personal meaning with many of her lyrics. Several themes of her songs have come from inspirations from her own life. Her song entitled “This is What Makes us Girls” is about her teenage years and how because of her problems with alcohol she was sent to a boarding school to finish high school. It is no surprise, given Del Rey’s open display of her relationship with God, that many of her lyrics and music videos reference God, religion or have other Biblical mentions.
God Knows I Tried
“God Knows I Tried” is a newer song by Lana Del Rey that is on her latest album “Honeymoon.” To me, the song is about Del Rey admitting to her sins and then saying how God will forgive her. It is the idea that no matter what sin you commit, if you confess, God will grant you forgiveness. She states in the lyrics “God gave me life and God knows I tried.” Here I believe she is showing remorse, asking God, the creator of her life, to forgive her. Towards the end of the song she says, “Let there be light” which is a quote from Genesis 1:3. Even from the title of this song, it is clear that Del Rey believes in God and that she believes God will forgive her in life no matter what she has done.
Religion
Lana Del Rey’s song, “Religion”, is also featured on her newest album Honeymoon. In this song Del Rey describes the way she feels about a man as him being her religion. She takes the term and coins it as a way she worships the man she is in love with. At one point she says, “When I’m down on my knees, you’re how I pray.” This to me is showing her belief in pray, which ties in with her belief in religion. Another religious aspect of this song is her repetition of “Hallelujah” which is considered a word of praise to God.
Born to Die
The music video for Born to Die, shown just above, is a clear representation of what Del Rey believes happens after death: you go to heaven. Heaven is strongly associated with the Christian religion, the religion of which Del Rey was raised as. In one of the very first scenes of the video, it shows the ceiling which is painted with pictures of angels. Similarly, after only a few lyrics, she says: “but I’m hoping at the gates they’ll tell me that you’re mine”, which is obviously a reference to the gates of heaven. The next thing that shows religious reference, is that in every scene Del Rey is in, she’s wearing white, the colour most commonly associated with heaven. As the video starts to end it shows Del Rey wandering around a building, walking towards a bright light and then the next shot is of her dead in a man’s arms. From this video you can tell that this is what Del Rey believes will happen after death, it shows her belief in heaven.