litewave

The sand in the hourglass has almost run out, indicating the end of an "era". The symmetric shape of an hourglass may also symbolize a duality (feminine/masculine, heaven/earth...), with emphasis shifting between the two orientations with the passage of time.
 
The chalice is used in both Wiccan and Christian rites. In Wicca it is the Great Rite, which Wikipedia says is performed "when the coven is in need of powerful spiritual intervention to help them through a difficult time". In Christianity it is the Eucharist, which invokes the presence of Christ. The chalice may also represent the Holy Grail from medieval legends, the goal of spiritual quests.

Those UFOs look really ambiguous. Is it clouds or is it spaceships? Or not exactly either? Would a soul qualify as an "extra-terrestrial"?

Bel Air
 
Children's voices, echoes of the time when the ego was still weak and the light of the soul shone more brightly. Here she comes again, emerging from the mists of the unconscious where the ego has relegated her for an age. No longer deterred by his defenses, for the time is ripe for them to meet again, in that place of lush and sublime beauty, in your vehicle of flesh and bones, where spirit and matter unite.

In hindsight I have come to view her first three major albums loosely as a trilogy: Born to Die seemed to emphasize the beginning, the paradise, and the tragic fall that followed. Ultraviolence was deep in the fallen state, especially dark and manic-depressive. And in Honeymoon she seemed to find some peace again, with re-integration of complementary polarities.
 
After this personal analytic-synthetic journey, she emerged reinvigorated from her inner world into the outer world with a more socially/politically conscious Lust for Life. I never know what she will do next, but it seems that her future moves will be influenced by what is going on in the world.

A male voice responds to her but I can't hear it clearly.
 
I always thought she was talking to God, asking why she was chosen for carrying a burden or being in a situation.

Body Electric
 

“Elvis is my daddy, Marilyn’s my mother, Jesus is my bestest friend”

An interplay of the separating masculine archetype and the unifying feminine archetype draws out the potential of their common source into creative manifestation. Their background source could be considered a feminine extreme in that it contains everything in a state of undifferentiated unity. In this unity, the masculine and feminine orientations are inherent as naturally as plus and minus are inherent in a zero. The masculine differentiates reality while the feminine integrates it, the result being individual entities arising and interacting in mutual relations. In my understanding these are the fundamental principles of creation and consciousness. In Christianity Jesus is the ultimate example of this manifestation, being regarded as an incarnation of God in human body.


“Whitman is my daddy, Monaco’s my mother, diamonds are my bestest friend”

In this verse I identified archetypal ideas similar to those mentioned before. Whitman is one of Lana’s favorite poets while Monaco represents her idea of beauty. By words we define things and make them explicit/clear. Beauty, on the other hand, is implicitely/vaguely felt. Words analyze beauty while beauty integrates them in a harmonious whole, both actions enhancing the creation and its meaning. Diamonds symbolize a creation that is simultaneously clearly defined and beautiful. Such a creation is also durable because it prevents disintegration into parts by the analytical process and dissolution into vagueness by the integrating process.


“Heaven is my baby, suicide’s her father, opulence is the end”

Here I represented heaven and suicide with upward and downward tendencies, respectively. Fall leads to death, as the masculine/analytical process separates a part from its source, while ascension leads back to heaven, as the feminine/integrating process reunites the part with a larger reality. The two processes alternate in a cycle, resulting in the creation of multitudes of forms, our planet with its biosphere and human society being the richest place we know of. The Christian God descends to earth to die on the cross on Good Friday, only to be resurrected on Easter Sunday and ascend back to heaven. This story reminds us, who got stuck down here, that there is more to life when we open up and expand our perspectives.

Eye of God

 

 

Trinity

The video sort of makes sense. Lana is hanging out by a transformer and playing with butterflies, a symbol of transformation.
 
The rocky island may symbolize an individual ego, hard and stable but perhaps also lonely, and Lana is the ocean that keeps pestering him with her waves.  

I think this situation is a great opportunity for us to learn more about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. But don’t just look at a couple sources and be done. Really absorb all you can from everywhere before forming a true opinion. Israelis and Palestinians have a complex history, and innocent people are dying. However, do take in account your opinion about other countries, like the US, who have killed several innocent people, and what about that situation makes it different. I’ve been educating myself more since this concert was scheduled, and I’m still looking into it. It really isn’t a simple issue.

Lana has stepped into a big mess with the Israel concert. If she cancels now it will be a victory for Palestinians, which I don't think they deserve because they are not innocent. If she goes ahead it will be a victory for Israelis, who are not innocent either. Maybe the best thing would be to go ahead but to do the performance with a "thematic emphasis on peace", as she indicated.
 
Yes, Israel has become entrenched in a decades long occupation of Palestinian territories that recalls South African apartheid. But remember how they got there. In late 19th century, Jews started to return to their ancient homeland in Palestine, in response to persistent persecution in Europe and in the context of other movements for national self-determination. Their migration culminated during Nazi persecution and the Holocaust. However, their ancient homeland had been settled by Palestinian Arabs since the Middle Ages, so there was now an increasing friction and hostility between the two ethnicities. In 1947 UN voted to divide Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state. Jews accepted it, Arab countries rejected it. Next year, Jews declared the State of Israel and the surrounding Arab countries attacked it, launching a war that Israel survived. Palestine became split, with the Palestinian territories occupied by Jordan and Egypt. In 1967 Arab states mobilized their armies again, triggering another war with Israel, which Israel won and also captured the Palestinian territories. Israel continued to occupy the Palestinian territories for security reasons as Arab states refused to make peace with it. However, Israel also started to create Jewish civilian settlements in the occupied territories, which is considered illegal by international community and complicates the creation of a viable Palestinian state. Negotiations to create a Palestinian state have repeatedly failed, the main stumbling blocks being Palestinian insistence on the return of masses of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war to what is now Israel and Israelis' unwillingness to give up certain settlements, particularly those in East Jerusalem. These failures and the accompanying violence have hardened positions on both sides, with Israel now headed by a government that is de facto against the creation of a Palestinian state, and part of Palestinian leadership is represented by the terrorist organization Hamas whose goal is the destruction of Israel.
 
So this is the mess Lana has stepped into.

Lana has stepped into a big mess with the Israel concert. If she cancels now it will be a victory for Palestinians, which I don't think they deserve because they are not innocent. If she goes ahead it will be a victory for Israelis, who are not innocent either. Maybe the best thing would be to go ahead but to do the performance with a "thematic emphasis on peace", as she indicated.
 
Yes, Israel has become entrenched in a decades long occupation of Palestinian territories that recalls South African apartheid. But remember how they got there. In late 19th century, Jews started to return to their ancient homeland in Palestine, in response to persistent persecution in Europe and in the context of other movements for national self-determination. Their migration culminated during Nazi persecution and the Holocaust. However, their ancient homeland had been settled by Palestinian Arabs since the Middle Ages, so there was now an increasing friction and hostility between the two ethnicities. In 1947 UN voted to divide Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state. Jews accepted it, Arab countries rejected it. Next year, Jews declared the State of Israel and the surrounding Arab countries attacked it, launching a war that Israel survived. Palestine became split, with the Palestinian territories occupied by Jordan and Egypt. In 1967 Arab states mobilized their armies again, triggering another war with Israel, which Israel won and also captured the Palestinian territories. Israel continued to occupy the Palestinian territories for security reasons as Arab states refused to make peace with it. However, Israel also started to create Jewish civilian settlements in the occupied territories, which is considered illegal by international community and complicates the creation of a viable Palestinian state. Negotiations to create a Palestinian state have repeatedly failed, the main stumbling blocks being Palestinian insistence on the return of masses of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war to what is now Israel and Israelis' unwillingness to give up certain settlements, particularly those in East Jerusalem. These failures and the accompanying violence have hardened positions on both sides, with Israel now headed by a government that is de facto against the creation of a Palestinian state, and part of Palestinian leadership is represented by the terrorist organization Hamas whose goal is the destruction of Israel.
 
So this is the mess Lana has stepped into.

Would love to see her final thesis or something. Some time back I was searching for it in the online catalogue of Fordham library but the only thing I found was Born to Die CD (linked to author name Lizzy Grant).

Do you know at which point you hear that male voice? I've been trying to listen closely and the only male voice I can hear is this sampled piece (Mountain's Long Red). Is it the sample?
 
Interesting to note is that the "goddamn"-sample was used in a demo version of BTD.

A male voice responds to her but I can't hear it clearly.
 
I always thought she was talking to God, asking why she was chosen for carrying a burden or being in a situation.

In hindsight I have come to view her first three major albums loosely as a trilogy: Born to Die seemed to emphasize the beginning, the paradise, and the tragic fall that followed. Ultraviolence was deep in the fallen state, especially dark and manic-depressive. And in Honeymoon she seemed to find some peace again, with re-integration of complementary polarities.
 
After this personal analytic-synthetic journey, she emerged reinvigorated from her inner world into the outer world with a more socially/politically conscious Lust for Life. I never know what she will do next, but it seems that her future moves will be influenced by what is going on in the world.

I've read every single post on this thread and damn, am I impressed with all of your perspectives and analyses. Thanks to you guys, especially @@DeadAgainst and @litewave, I've come to appreciate Lana's artistry even more. Thank you so much!
 
Which album do you guys think is the "richest" in terms of meanings?
 
And what do you think she'll bring to the table for future albums? Like, what else do you expect her to write about? 

Now a bit of a plot twist:
 
What if Lizzy Grant is a character created by Lana Del Rey, and when Lizzy Grant "created" Lana Del Rey she actually awakened to her original self?
 
The original self that has incarnated as Lizzy Grant. And as many others.

I think in this video Ariana represents a deity who walks around in the enclosed material world and manifests in many faces. In one scene she has her faces arranged in front of her while her own face is undefined, "faceless". If you need more proof it's in that sheet of paper, underlined three times: God is a woman.
 
She studies Kabbalah btw.

In his own words, "Avicii" means the lowest level of Buddhist hell. In the light of this, the song Wake Me Up has a more poignant meaning.
 
Farewell, Tim.

In his own words, "Avicii" means the lowest level of Buddhist hell. In the light of this, the song Wake Me Up has a more poignant meaning.
 
Farewell, Tim.

Tropico is a documentary

invented the three laws of robotics. invented Isaac Asimov fanfiction 
not to mention Joseph Campbell (who wrote the Hero's journey and worked with Del Rey publishers) was besties with Isaac asimov.
 
And also the main character of Isaac Asimovs longest series secretly controlled everything from the moon. with magic. because they loved humanity and they wanted to save it from political decadence and turmoil during dark times.

we always knew she was a time traveling queen
 

 
The title of the story is "Carhunters of the Concrete Prairie" (which is the best title ever) and it was actually written by Robert Sheckley in honor of Asimov's stories.

I'm afraid there's another fact that counts against Lana: she blatantly references Crowley, who was a creep.
 
The whole song is about a creep getting free.