Hope is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have - But I Have It [Sylvia]

[daytonadeath 3,597]

Um I’m not. I was saying that I thought that line was about Siri, and her interpretation is so much deeper, so she s a genius

 

oh okay, I thought that you're being ironic lol sorry sis

lots of communism to you 

[Beautiful Loser 49,647]

lots of communism to you 

I don't know why, but I love that you wrote this, it feels so... you, lol. x) ♥

[daytonadeath 3,597]

I don't know why, but I love that you wrote this, it feels so... you, lol. x) ♥

   

[cherryblossoms 10,432]

How do you guys interpret the "Hello, it's the most famous woman you know on the iPad // Calling from beyond the grave, I just wanna say 'Hi, dad'"? I might be really stupid, I don't know, but I think of it as something literal - she video calls her dad and Lana, being a celebrity, is the most famous woman he'll see on that tablet screen. And, being depressed and maybe staying in bed all day (a "grave" or "tomb") is like being dead in a way, and she does her best just to call her dad just to hear him, maybe let him soothe her or just to let him know that she's still ok.

This might sound cringe but I don’t take this definition too seriously myself but I think that line addressses how much she’s changed over the years from being his daughter to this extremely popular celebrity figure.

 

“Hello, it’s the most famous woman you know on the iPad.” Unlike Lana, Rob and Lana’s family are ordinary people for the most part so this line is a nod to her celebrity status. I agree with you, I think she’s being literal about how she’s probably the most famous woman they know when they FaceTime.

 

“Calling from beyond the grave, I just wanna say ‘hi dad.’”

Maybe she feels that she’s changed so much from her past self that she kind of considers that part of her self dead (which is why she says she’s calling from beyond the grave). I interpret the “hi dad” bit as a way of her reminding him that she’ll always be his daughter despite all the fame, money, etc. I can see how this line is personal because Lana rarely addresses family/overly personal topics in her music but it kind of forces the listener to see her as a person in the sense that she’s somebody’s daughter, sister, etc and not just LDR.

[Beautiful Loser 49,647]

“Calling from beyond the grave, I just wanna say ‘hi dad.’”

Maybe she feels that she’s changed so much from her past self that she kind of considers that part of her self dead (which is why she says she’s calling from beyond the grave). I interpret the “hi dad” bit as a way of her reminding him that she’ll always be his daughter despite all the fame, money, etc. I can see how this line is personal because Lana rarely addresses family/overly personal topics in her music but it kind of forces the listener to see her as a person in the sense that she’s somebody’s daughter, sister, etc and not just LDR.

I love this, wow.

[DeadAgainst 1,515]

I was reading Slim Aarons and I got to thinking that I thought

Maybe I’d get less stressed

If I was tested less, like all of these other debuntates

Smiling for miles in pink dresses

And high heels on white yachts

But I’m not, baby, I’m not

No, I'm not that. I'm not.

 

I’ve been tearing around in my fucking nightgown

24/7 Sylvia Plath,

Writing in blood on the walls

‘Cause the ink in my pen don't work in my notepad

Don't ask if I'm happy—you know that I'm not,

But at best I can say I'm not sad

‘Cause hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have

Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have

 

I had fifteen-year dances

Church basement romances

Yeah, I've got...

Spilling my guts with the Bowery Bums is the only love I've ever known

Except for the stage, which I also call home, when I'm not..

Servin' up God in a burnt coffee pot for the Triad...

Hello—it's the most famous woman you know on the iPad

Callin' from beyond the grave, I just wanna say: "Hi Dad"

 

I've been tearing up town in my fucking white gown

Like a goddamnit near sociopath

Shaking my ass is the only thing that's got this black narcissist off my back

She couldn't care less and I never cared more, so there's no more to say about that.

Except hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have

Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman with my past

 

There's a new revolution, a loud evolution

That I've saw

Born of confusion and quiet collussion of which mostly I've known

A modern-day woman with a weak constitution 'cause I've got..

Monsters still under my bed that I could never fight off

A gatekeeper carelessly dropping the keys on my nightsock off

 

I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown

24/7 Sylvia Plath

Writing in blood on your walls, 'cause the ink my pen don't look good in my path?

They write that I'm happy, they know that I'm not

But at best, you can see I'm not sad

But hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have

Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have

Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have

But I have it— it

Yeah, I have it;

Yeah, I have it...

I have

 

I literally work in audio transcription during the day, so I took the liberty of correcting some of these

[longtimeman 9,011]

Writing in blood on your walls, 'cause the ink my pen don't look good in my path?

 

'pad' is correct.

[Sugar Venom 9,658]

idk if anyone has mentioned this already but i’m not gonna read thru 20 pages to check lol but anyways there’s a 1947 film called Black Narcissus which is probably what she’s saying instead of black narcissist

[longtimeman 9,011]

idk if anyone has mentioned this already but i’m not gonna read thru 20 pages to check lol but anyways there’s a 1947 film called Black Narcissus which is probably what she’s saying instead of black narcissist

The consensus is that she says 'narcissist', but is referencing the movie.

[Creyk 11,727]

Lana's interpretation of the song from the harper's bazaar interview:

 

HB: Your latest single, "hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it" seems very prescient of the time we're in. Where was your head at when you were writing it?

LDR: If you read in between the lines so that you're listening carefully, you can tell there's a lot jam-packed into that song. I actually tried to do all my interviews before I released it, so that I wouldn't talk about it, because it's just one of those songs that is really personal to me for a lot of different reasons and that's often how my music is. I jam-pack a lot of Easter eggs, one-liners that only I know what they mean. Throw in couple of phrases that are significant to my group of friends, and then just put it out online and let it live.

But I put a couple of words in there in the last lines about collusion and confusion, and evolution, and perhaps a subtle nod to a bit of the women's movement. Also on a deeper level for me, having reference to family of origin and lineage, karmic lineage, and confusion that gets passed down through generational passages. I was trying to get clarity on a lot of my own stuff by putting it out. Actually the three singles—that, "Venice Bitch," and "Mariner's Apartment Complex"—I just kind of put them out because they were my most personal and I liked them the most. I said to the label, "That's my plan. I'm just putting out the stuff that's 11 minutes and that I want to put out." They were kind of like, "Okay, great."

[ilovetati 15,299]

I still can’t decide if it’s actually “and I got to thinking. Yeah, I thought.” Sometimes Lana’s pronunciation makes it deceiving.

[ivy 1,693]

Seems like this is the era of recycled visuals. The cover picture seems to be from the same "series" as this one (the hair):

The post is from October 20th 2017 

 

Compare:

 

[ThisIsRusko 1,521]

Seems like this is the era of recycled visuals. The cover picture seems to be from the same "series" as this one (the hair):

The post is from October 20th 2017 

 

Compare:

the hair is definitly longer in the sylvia shot. i don't think its the same day.. just the same place

[ivy 1,693]

the hair is definitly longer in the sylvia shot. i don't think its the same day.. just the same place

 

It's hard to tell because of the angle, but you could be right.

 

Btw, I just looked at the rest of her instagram posts around that time frame, and it seems that the place she took those pictures at is from her bed! Now, I don't want to be negative, but I've heard many people here describe her as lazy and well...     

[niandra lades 2,455]

This might sound cringe but I don’t take this definition too seriously myself but I think that line addressses how much she’s changed over the years from being his daughter to this extremely popular celebrity figure.

 

“Hello, it’s the most famous woman you know on the iPad.” Unlike Lana, Rob and Lana’s family are ordinary people for the most part so this line is a nod to her celebrity status. I agree with you, I think she’s being literal about how she’s probably the most famous woman they know when they FaceTime.

 

“Calling from beyond the grave, I just wanna say ‘hi dad.’”

Maybe she feels that she’s changed so much from her past self that she kind of considers that part of her self dead (which is why she says she’s calling from beyond the grave). I interpret the “hi dad” bit as a way of her reminding him that she’ll always be his daughter despite all the fame, money, etc. I can see how this line is personal because Lana rarely addresses family/overly personal topics in her music but it kind of forces the listener to see her as a person in the sense that she’s somebody’s daughter, sister, etc and not just LDR.

 

I'm crying... I was just thinking it was some weird lyric lol. Now I'm sad!

[Lanalouis1 2,511]

Whattt does she mean by "serving up God in a burnt coffee pot for the triad"? 

 

I'm usually pretty clever when it comes to understanding cryptic lyrics but whatever she's talking about here confuses me. 

 

Any enlightenment? 

[DLT 7,592]

Whattt does she mean by "serving up God in a burnt coffee pot for the triad"? 

 

I'm usually pretty clever when it comes to understanding cryptic lyrics but whatever she's talking about here confuses me. 

 

Any enlightenment?

 

I take it as her referencing her time and experience in recovery. Specifically AA or NA meetings!

[ilovetati 15,299]

I take it as her referencing her time and experience in recovery. Specifically AA or NA meetings!

Or working with addicted individuals, yeah

[Lanalouis1 2,511]

I take it as her referencing her time and experience in recovery. Specifically AA or NA meetings!

Thanks for that, I guess the song is very personal to her and might have hidden meanings she'll never reveal, but thanks, that clears it up!

[ivy 1,693]

I take it as her referencing her time and experience in recovery. Specifically AA or NA meetings!

 

Agreed. I think the other previous three lines also refer to those meetings. They made me think of what she said in the GQ 2012 interview:

 

A lot of the time when I write about the person that I love, I feel like I'm writing about New York. And when I write about the thing that I've lost I feel like I'm writing about alcohol because that was the first love of my life. Sure, there have been people, but it's really alcohol.

 

I feel kind of uncomfortable for doing this, because I feel like I'm being very invasive. But I think these lyrics are one of the best examples that show her skills as a writer and how eloquently she constructs a narrative to express her feelings.

 

Spilling my guts with the Bowery Bums

Speaking freely with other alcoholics (in possibly an AA meeting). A reference to New York. Things she's loved and lost: alcohol.

 

Is the only love I've ever known

Confirming that alcohol is/was indeed the only love she's ever known.

 

Except for the stage which I also call home when I'm not serving up God in a burnt coffee pot

A hopeful notion: she's found another sort of love.

 

And in a more recent interview (L'Officiel 2018):

 

So much of your music is about love. What has it taught you? —Emily

"That it’s not what I thought. And that the best is yet to come."

 

Love is not alcohol; it is hope. And both are dangerous for her.