LANALYSIS: Relating Songs To Known/Assumed Relationships

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Welcome to LANALYSIS, where we get real unhealthy in our obsessions and absolutely revel in it.

This is a project I've been maintaining for a while now--Lana + Analysis...get it? The basic purpose is to relate every one of her songs (that's right, every last one of them) to her known and assumed relationships. Not a stone is left unturned. Privacy is violated. The fans rejoice. Mind you, it’s all pure speculation, but ~this is what makes us stans~

It’s pretty long but an interesting read, if I do say so myself. I hope you enjoy it in all it’s updated glory, and I will continue to update as new information is revealed and new songs come out. I will also be adding pictures, sources, etc. Stay tuned!

Let’s get started!



EARLY RELATIONSHIPS (1985 - ~2005)

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Songs That Seem to be About K:

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Sirens
- For K/Sirens (In my opinion, the most telling song in her whole discography, and really informs a lot of the other songs here. Something to consider—the only places she’s lived with death row are California, Connecticut, and potentially Florida.)
- Bad Disease (While I think this definitely references alcoholism, I think it also talks about one of K’s major crimes. I do think there are more than one, because she seems to witness this one, but is left at home in “For K” and “Blue Jeans”)
AKA
- Kill Kill (I’m in love with a dying man—we learn in “For K” that K is on death row. Further references to death will be safely categorized here, because nothing has implied that she has also been in love with a terminally ill dude)
- For K Part 2 (Although this doesn’t specifically reference any criminal elements and was in fact originally called “Rehab”, it’s hard to ignore the title in relationship to this lyric of the often considered “part 1” to this song: K is a friend of mine. It’s anyone’s guess as to why this was once titled “Rehab”, but I have some theories later...)
Born to Die
- Off to the Races (The prisoner references are thick on this one. From Ryker’s Island to my old man is a thief to they would rue the day I was alone without you--”they” being the authorities.)
- Blue Jeans (He headed out on Sunday, said he’d come home Monday versus “For K” –It was a drive-by Sunday night. [see the section on the BJ/BTD/VG trilogy towards the end for a fully developed theory on this.])
- Dark Paradise (I wish I was dead, dead like you. It also ties nicely to the ocean references in “Kill Kill”—thinking of it as a sequel to that song seems appropriate.)
- Lucky Ones (Careless con.)
Unreleased
- Backfire (Some key lyrics: Mafiosi rock ‘n’ roll high; You say trouble follows you / It’s been like that since the day you began [as in began drug-dealing?]; and the bit about Officer Brown. CRIMINAL. Although what the fuck, does K suddenly have a name? Salvatore?)
- Elvis (The only thing that keeps this from being a forlorn song of losing a different boyfriend is the “Florida native” line, which justifies a former title of “Kill Kill”, “Florida Dark”.)
- Gangsta Boy (I don’t care if you’re going to prison—more mafia, gangster business. Also long hair, as crooned about in “For K Part 2”.)
- Live or Die (Possibly the most chock-full of mafia and criminal references of any of her songs. Dropping the Bonnie and Clyde name is already a loaded comparison, even if you ignore the Scarface references and talk of robbing a checkout counter and hands “where I can see them, put them in the air”)

Conclusion: To put the pieces together, Lana met K in her Sirens era, which coincides with her teenage alcoholic era, it would appear. She plainly states he committed a crime bad enough for death row, which is usually reserved for murderers. With references to being focused on money in both “For K” and “Blue Jeans”, to call him a drug dealer wouldn’t be such a stretch, although you could also infer that he was in the mafia. From there we’re making a lot of assumptions, but that’s what this analysis business entails. Possibly the biggest thorn in my ass: no one actually knows who K is, or if K is even a name. This, of course, doesn't stop Tumblr theories, which I won't be entertaining.

Songs That Seem to Be About Her English Teacher:
Allow me to quote my fellow Lanalyzer evilentity for this one:

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  'evilentity' said:

Here's something "juicy"...

Some time ago I was reading this interview and wondered if the teacher she mentions was a teacher at her boarding school.


If you do a little digging, using archive.org you can find that there was a Mr. Campbell that was an English teacher at her boarding school when she attended there, though he doesn't teach there now, and that they follow/friend each other on various social media platforms.

I subsequently discovered "Prom Song (Gone Wrong)" which is a love song in a high school setting, which notably has the following lyrics: "You played me Biggie Smalls and then my first Nirvana song."

More recently, in preparing for the covers-themed LanaDelReydio show I'm working on, I was looking up interviews where she mentions Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, or "Heart-shaped Box" and noticed this in one of the interviews I found:


I nearly did a spit take. But then I found something really weird. In another interview published just a couple days later, she changes the story:


Suddenly, Mr. Campbell turns into a she. WTF is that about? Is she trying to hide something?


Now I'm not necessarily saying I think she fucked her teacher. But I think she at least fantasized about it. (Perhaps the fact that it's her teacher is what "Gone Wrong" refers to.) And I think "Lolita" is about him too. Consider that in Nabokov's novel, Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged literature professor.

All of which just makes this serendipitous:

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Biggie: This album is dedicated to all the teachers...

Therefore:
Born to Die
- Lolita
Unreleased
- Paris (A tentative placement, being that Mr. Campbell is the only man listed who might conceivably be sitting in [his] office, dreaming of a different life--"office" being the operative word.)
- Prom Song [Gone Wrong] (For all the astutely stated reasons above)
- Boarding School (Two incriminating lines in this gem ~dedicated~ to said boarding school: Let’s take drugs, make love with our teachers and Get down like your tutor taught you to and do it. Oh, behave, Lana.)

Conclusion: I’ll quote my colleague evilentity again: “Now I’m not necessarily saying I think she fucked her teacher. But I think she at least fantasized about it.”

LOCAL ROCKSTARS (~2005 - 2009)

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Songs That Seem to be About Jimmy Gnecco:

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AKA
- Brite Lites

- Yayo (We have no proof that Jimmy is a cocaine addict, but we do have proof that he has a big ol’ blue dragon tattoo across his torso and that she posted a link to this song on his Facebook. One important thing to take away from the lyrics: ‘50s baby-doll dress for my “I do” / It only takes two hours to Nevada / I wear your sparkle, you call me your mama. This implies that they were engaged and eloping in Vegas. Her earliest performances of this song were in 2006-2007—right around the time she recorded “Jimmy Gnecco”.)
Born to Die
- Born to Die (Foremost, she cast Bradley Soileau as her leading man in the music video based on his resemblance to a former boyfriend, and it’s kind of hard to deny that they share some long-haired, tattooed elements. [see the section on the BJ/BTD/VG trilogy towards the end for a fully developed theory on this.])
Unreleased
- Back to tha Basics

- Daddy Issues

- Hundred Dollar Bill (Jimmy pulls up in his blue Chevy Nova— Jimmy is our Chevy dude, yes sir. Also: he knows that I be selling the body. I think she was at her poorest after K left, living in a trailer park and go-go dancing.)
- Jimmy Gnecco (It uses his name, of course. It leaked as “Jimmy Necco”, but it’s not registered anywhere under either name and, what with prior evidence, assumptions are almost irrefutable)
- On Our Way (Kiss me in your Chevrolet– Lana’s got a thing for them cars, and we already know Jimmy has a Chevy. You found me when I had lost my way—she was hard-up, go-go dancing and recovering from her alcoholism. Perhaps this song is about their elope previously hinted at in “Yayo”)
- Put the Radio On (Uses two previous Jimmy song titles in the lyrics—match made in heaven and yayo, not to mention the line so rock ‘n’ roll, sold your soul)

- Velvet Crowbar
- You’re Gonna Love Me (Jim I’mma dedicate this whole album to you)

Conclusion: Jimmy Gnecco is the lead singer of the rock band Ours. This ties right in to one statement she gave on one of her previous relationships, that she met a small-time celebrity type in rehab, but she was so fascinated that he seemed much more famous to her. Meeting him in rehab is great in lending to the theory that he loves his yayo (indeed, a slang term for cocaine). Unique to most of Lana’s speculated relationships, they have never been pictured together and only a handful of songs specifically implicating him exist. However, this screenshot is decidedly damning...

Therefore, he’s my personal favorite Lana Mystery™, but this isn’t about me.

Songs that Seem to be About Jimmy Gnecco AND Reeve Carney:

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Unreleased
- Get Drunk (Of course this song really focuses on her alcoholism, but it opens with I am sleeping with your best friend--knowing that, we shouldn’t overlook that Lana dated both Reeve Carney and Jimmy Gnecco, who have a public friendship. Too coincidental to be coincidental.)
- Never Let Me Go (Love me like your best friends did--likely the same story from “Get Drunk”, only the flip side of it. If you take into account lyrics from one definite Jimmy song “Hundred Dollar Bill”--I like it when you treat me mean--then it’s easy to believe their relationship paralleled that of another rockstar, Sid Vicious, and his wife Nancy--I can be your Nancy, you can be my Sid. However, I’m not assigning it to him because this particular story could go either way.)

Conclusion: Reeve Carney and Jimmy Gnecco have been recorded

(dig the similarities to “Put Me in a Movie” in those intro instrumentals--wonder which way direction the inspiration went!). Maybe she met Jimmy in rehab, they got engaged a la “Yayo”, and it fell apart because she slept with his best friend Reeve. Maybe she dated Reeve while she was in rehab, saw Jimmy there, slept with him and had an extended relationship that led to the demise of her and Reeve. Maybe she was with one, slept with the other in a dark period of her life, and stayed with the one she was originally with...it’s difficult to gauge which direction this goes.

Songs that Seem to be About Arthur Lynn:

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Born to Die
- Diet Mountain Dew (Arthur founded the unofficial label Diet MTN Dew in 2006, “showcas[ing] the top unsigned acts in New York City”--one of which was probably our Elizabeth. They were musically involved, that much is certain, and she also happened to write a song named after his defunct MySpace page. This interview reveals how much deeper it goes than just a name: the chorus came as a result of a boyfriend’s words. A boyfriend who likes Diet Mountain Dew and has ties to Greenwich, Connecticut. Which brings us to...)
Unreleased
- Axl Rose Husband (An unlikely companion to "Diet Mtn Dew"? Perhaps, but the lyrics tie together oh-so-well. Take, for instance, the line Greenwich, I need you--as in, the same Greenwich from that interview talking about “Diet Mountain Dew”? The same Greenwich that Arthur Lynn lived for some period of time, perhaps still? And what of the phrase white Pontiac heaven, which appears in both songs? Now consider Record executive, I need you to live--perhaps Arthur wasn’t technically a record executive with his Diet Mtn Dew label, but couldn’t he have been close enough in Lizzy’s eyes? Isn’t the rest of the evidence enough?)

- Motel 6

- You Can Be the Boss

Conclusion: Arthur Lynn was the guitarist in Lana’s short-lived bands The Rich Whores and Lizzy Grant and the Phenomena. Distressingly, he rounds out a total of three rockstar-types that she was almost undoubtedly involved with. Let’s develop that theory, shall we? In the meantime, consider this post from his blog.

Songs that Seem to Be About the “Local Rockstar”:

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Sirens
- My Momma (Jimmy, Reeve, and Arthur are all under 40, long-haired, and might have enticed her with a “pretty song”. Compare this to her current boyfriend for fun--might Lana have a type?)
AKA
- Smarty (She refers to the subject as the dirty heavy metal king, which is a sufficient description of old Jim and Arthur--perhaps not the outwardly prissier Reeve. Consider this, as well: Neccos are a kind of candy, as are Smarties…I think that’s a definite stretch, though, but we can have fun with that one. Anyway, nothing too definitive.)
Unreleased
- Ghetto Baby (My local rockstar – They’re all rockstars, and all decidedly local.)
- Match Made in Heaven (My local rockstar – See above.)
- Push Me Down (You’re my Mr. Rock ‘n’ Roll King)

Conclusion: We can’t fault Lana for developing relationships in the music scene, being that she was deeply involved in it, but damn it makes things difficult. It’s almost impossible to say who, if anyone, was the most important to her. Evidence points to Jimmy, but there’s a lot to back-up Arthur and she’s been photographed the most with Reeve. Let us pray this is someday illuminated.

YOU MADE ME NICE FOR A WHILE (2009 - 2011)

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Songs that Seem to be About Mike Mizrahi:

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Born to Die
- Video Games (Lana herself has said this song is about two different relationships--the way things were with one man in the verses, and the way she wished they were with another in the chorus. I think it’s her life with Mike in the verses, although the chorus is up for interpretation. [see the section on the BJ/BTD/VG trilogy towards the end for a fully developed theory on this.])

- Without You
Unreleased
- Afraid (Mike is much older than her, so I take issue with them meeting when they were teenagers. However, the verse including You should never come between a woman and her dream fits with statements she’s made in interviews on “Video Games”, saying in this relationship she wasn’t focusing much on her career. Then again, there’s a common belief that Mike was controlling her career. Either fits, really.)
- American Dream (Obviously heartbroken, but this differs from other such heartbroken songs in that now there’s another woman to be royally pissed about. This fits best with Mike because, well, he’s currently married)
- Butterflies (I think her mak[ing] the decision that [she] can’t be with [him] goes back to “Afraid”, but the uncertainty of this song is an essential bridge between that one and some of the more heartbroken songs associated with Mike.)
- Dum Dum (Here I am assuming that all songs in what I refer to as “The Saga of Scorned Lana” are about Mike. Maybe that’s not accurate, this is the only song presenting that now you want me even more point-of-view)
- Kinda Outta Luck (I was born bad, but then I met you / You made me nice for a while, but my dark side’s true. He’s a normal guy and they had a normal life. But she lost him, for no reason that’s especially clear)

- Noir
- She’s Not Me (Another woman, a pretty straightforward “fuck your wife”)

Conclusion: Mike was on older “filmmaker” who Lana met around 2009, perhaps the focus of much of Born to Die, whereas they met when many songs for AKA were already written. There are many pictures of them together and he even interviewed her about songs like “Mermaid Motel”, “Queen of the Gas Station”, and “Jump” for some website. Based on this Facebook post*, it's likely that he saw her show in January, interviewed her in February, and they started dating not long after that. She let him control the direction of her career to the point where it was straight-up restricted. Maybe he had his vices, it’s hard to say. One interview that remains constantly elusive to me had Lana describing “Video Games” as a relationship where she was content and her and her man were sober, recovering. Their relationship dissolved maybe due to these vices, maybe due to him controlling her. He’s moved on and married.

*I do not condone invading the privacy of her Facebook, but this screenshot was floating around and I use what's readily available to most of the fanbase.

Songs that Seem to be About “Chris C.”:

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Probably none, but we oughta talk about him, hmm?

Conclusion: To quickly summarize the Chris C. story, we know she had an internet "relationship" with this guy before she was famous based on some posts and poems on his blog, circa 2009. On her @MissDaytona twitter account, she tweeted some lines from his poetry, along with his name:

This was a fling at best, but Lana loves to be adored. It is more than possible that she didn’t write any songs about him and it was entirely one-sided, but for now we speculate. I believe this relationship persisted while she was with Mizrahi, so maybe we’re dealing with nothing here.

POST-BREAKTHROUGH (2011+)

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Songs that Seem to be About Bradley Soileau:

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Unreleased
- Fake Diamond (Stop laughing and hear me out. If she wrote this in 2011 and also shot the “Born to Die” video in 2011, it’s plausible. Perhaps they did have a fling. This song comes across as Lana being accustomed to being treated like a trophy girlfriend to parade around in front of people. You’re like my ex-boyfriend, kissing me when the camera’s on. I think this is a reference to Mizrahi interfering with her career, treating her like a trophy, all the things we’ve just completely assumed about him. But the subject isn’t Mizrahi, it’s a new romance. Who the fuck has she dated since then? That’s the difficult part. But all the elements here add up to Bradley. They did happen to kiss while the camera was on, and both Bradley and the subject of the song seem immature. And wouldn’t a romance between the two really justify his Twitter rant when she did eventually abandon him for A$AP Rocky? She belongs to nobody—he didn’t like that.)

Conclusion: I’m probably crazy.

Songs That Seem to Be About Barrie James-O’Neill:

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BTD: The Paradise Edition
- American (I can’t just justify this by just saying it’s the happiest current song she’s ever written, can I? Well, if you need to be convinced, Barrie is Scottish--perhaps describing him as having the spirit of an American without actually being one is apt. We can certainly say he’s the first non-American we know of her dating.)

- Body Electric
- Gods & Monsters (Allow a personal interpretation: “Gods & Monsters” is a song written in response to her fame and her resulting mindset. The land of gods and monsters perhaps being the limelight/Hollywood/fame in general? I don’t know. But there is a love interest here, one who seems to alleviate her pain. Barrie is the first public relationship she’s taken up after garnering so much fame.)
- Ride (This song is almost certainly about Lana’s current life, as opposed to her tradition of singing about past loves. We glean that it’s her reaction to the backlash that came with her fame based on the monologue in the music video and statements she’s given relating the song to touring. But while this song is deeply personal, the first verse invokes a “full-time daddy”. Barrie is her current boyfriend. For her, singing blues has been getting old and she’s rather just be happy with him.)

Conclusion: Barrie is the first boyfriend she’s been very open about--the first one that probably occured as a result of her celebrity. The songs aren’t bound to be melancholy and don’t number among her back catalogue.

IN THE LAND OF DISCREPANCIES

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Unfortunate confusions:
- Cocaine addiction (K’s “cocaine heart” versus Jimmy’s “yayo”)
- Many older, sugar daddy types—none of the known relationships justify namedropping a goddamn Bugatti Veyron, let’s be real
- We don’t know who Lana associates with what region—New York, LA, dare I say Alabama?

Songs That Implicate More than One Guy:

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Sirens
- Try Tonight (As a drug dealer, it’s plausible that K had a drug addiction. What with “Yayo”, the same goes for Jimmy. He’ll try tonight to not get high, but he will)
AKA
- Queen of the Gas Station (Utah love could be worth investigating. [see “1949” for a decent theory tying this song to some others])
- For K Part 2 (I know I already put this under K, and I’m confident with that, but think about this: she met a rockstar type in rehab, certainly implying Jimmy Gnecco. The demo to this song was titled “Rehab”. Knowing that, maybe K isn’t a name? But a state of being, concept, etc.)
- Pawn Shop Blues (I think, after boarding school, she abandoned parental income and left with K, so when he was imprisoned, she really was left on her own. Then again, the “higher consciousness” verse might imply that she gave up this relationship, rather than having it taken from her. This best man I knew could be Arthur or Jimmy, as well)
Born to Die
- National Anthem (As far as the actual song goes, it’s a pretty simple LDR love song, as opposed to a depressive break-up song. It’s the monologue in the music video that is telling. Based on it, it would appear this man left her, he was struggling with some past addiction, and everybody loved him. This could reflect a charismatic older man, a local rockstar, or a drug dealer)

Paradise

- Bel Air
Unreleased
- Dangerous Girl (Has some Gnecco elements, i.e. referencing Italian heritage and her time in a trailer park, relating back to “Hundred Dollar Bill”. Those are arbitrary, though, so here it shall stay until evidence surfaces.)
- Every Man Has His Wish (Curiously, everything I have to say about this song has already been said under the “1949” header--I think it’s the same subject matter, just a little less specific.)
- Heavy Hitter (The only thing supporting that this might be K is You’re the king mafia baby, suggesting criminal history. Or she legitimately fucked a mobster. That would be awesome. Do I consider that enough evidence for either? No)
- Lift Your Eyes (This songs references a relationship with an alcoholic man—shoulda let me know I’d lose you to the drink. This could be about Mizrahi, Gnecco, or another man entirely—not K, though. The demise here is focused on alcoholism, a former girlfriend, a work schedule...not prison.)

- Us Against the World

- You & Me
- 1949 (Companion to “Queen of the Gas Station”. Evokes a grand, escapist road trip already fetishized in the aforementioned song as well as “On Our Way”. That could conveniently put these two songs under Jimmy’s header, but this theory is a little too far-fetched to instantly settle on that. Consider: you say we’re gonna run away…flying around on the highway versus It’s a motel flower nation / Day and night on our last vacation, we gonna see it all; and the references to small-town Americana throughout “Queen of the Gas Station”. On the other hand, this includes the lyric big jail break--might this roadtrip be a final hurrah before getting locked up? Hey, you tell me how that works.)

Conclusion: It would appear many of her boyfriends were bad for her, had some significant vices, and eventually left her. Poor thing.

Songs that Seem to Be About Other Dudes:

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BILL:

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Unreleased
- Driving in Cars With Boys (Lots of boys. But it explicitly mentions a “Billy” and his pickup truck. Likely the same as “Bill”.)
- Trash Magic (YES, BILL, I WILL!)

Conclusion: Bill could be an alternate or fake name. Bill could have no meaning. Bill could be a regular at her go-go bar. Bill could be a type of alcohol. Bill could be a fucking frog. Bill could have some ties to drugs. Bill could be a drug dealer. The “Bill” songs don’t immediately implicate either anyone in particular, and in fact remain the most difficult to relate to anything, so under the "Other Dudes" section Billy goes.

THE REST:
Sirens
- Next to Me (A married man. Not necessarily a committed relationship she had. Thoughts of prostitution/go-go dancing are a-teeming in my mind.)
- Westbound (I don’t think this one is about either Jimmy or K. An earlier relationship, which I believe a lot of Sirens is about)
- I’m Indebted to You (A really mysterious song that I believe to be entirely fictitious/about someone else’s life)
- Find My Own Way (Possible companion to “Westbound”)
- Pride (Definite companion to “Find My Own Way”, possible companion to “Westbound”)
AKA
- Mermaid Motel (We don’t know how serious she ever was with Reeve Carney, but they’re certainly been pictured together more than others and he’s rumored to be in some of her homemade videos. Reeve is a musician himself, with a song on his album called “Lavender”—that’s right, as in You call me lavender, you call me sunshine. The lyrical content references Delilah a lot, a traitorous woman in the Bible, so it seems that any love connection they had may have ended on Lana’s terms [see “Get Drunk”]. On the other hand, heavy metal hour implicates Jimmy and Arthur, and the song’s really not that specific to begin with.)
- Raise Me Up (The demo is known to be called “Rayse”, an intentional misspelling of the original word which points right back to a lyric from “Kill Kill”—tell me about Ray and his girl. Let’s not forget the “ray-ray” in the chorus, which could be intentional. Furthermore: What is this Mississippi South business? She lived in the Alabama south!)
Born to Die
- Radio (This is a curious one. She’s the most candid about this song in this interview, claiming it’s a song about a recent relationship--a man returning to her life after she started playing on the radio. It could be about anyone, although I have some far-fetched theories.)
Unreleased
- Butterflies Part 2

- Hit & Run

- Playing Dangerous (Disclaimer: This song very well could be fictitious. Basically she seduces herself out of an arrest. What a badass. Did she continue dating this policeman? I mean I’m in love in a hurricane is quite the grand statement. Is he Officer Brown? Is it relative to any other song she’s ever done? Lyrical evidence will have us believe “no”, but I retain hope)

Conclusion: Even though Sirens begins with “For K”, I don’t think too much of it necessarily focuses on just him. Maybe these were songs she’d collected for years, writing them as a teenager and going from one relationship to another. As for the nonspecific stuff, a lot of Sirens focuses on her relating to her relationships, and not just wailing about her past lovers. I wish we had some definite Reeve Carney songs to add in here.

Songs that are Distressingly Nonspecific:

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Sirens
- Out With a Bang (A lot of answers could be hidden in this song [consider: Benny Mason lying in a coma], but nothing relationship-wise. I’d guess K because it details a relationship between two people who are really, darkly fucked up)
- All You Need
- Pretty Baby
- Birds of a Feather (This is a weird-ass song, but I’m hideously proud of myself because, after getting caught up on the lyric You were sorting pictures and you gave me one of a nun who was playing the drums / She was crazy, her name was Katie, I found this:

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AKA
- Oh Say Can You See
- Jump (What with his hair thinning in the wind, I think it’s at least safe to say this isn’t about the long-haired Jimmy, Arthur, or Reeve)
- Put Me in a Movie (I'd love to say this song is about Mike Mizrahi because he makes short films, but alas it was written in 2007 at the latest and they had not yet met. Jimmy, on the other hand, is old enough for her to feel that Lolita complex coming on. I shudder to think this might be about Mr. Campbell.)
Born to Die
- Million Dollar Man
- Summertime Sadness (The parts that actually talk about a guy are pretty generic “lost love” type stuff. COULD BE ANYONE, THANKS FOR THE HELP, LANA.)
- Without You (It's lyrical parallels to "Afraid" and "American Dream" would normally have me happily putting this under Mizrahi, but the first demo was recorded around 2008--which isn't to say later versions with updated "dark side of the American Dream" bridges might not be about him)
BTD: The Paradise Edition
- Bel Air
- Body Electric
- Burning Desire
Unreleased
- Big Bad Wolf
- Come When You Call Me America
- Delicious

- Dynamite
- Hollywood’s Dead
- I Don’t Wanna Go
- Methamphetamines (Although it does reference the ocean, similar to “Kill Kill” and “Dark Paradise”, that’s just not enough to go on)
- Moije Joue (A song that tells us more about Lana than the men in her life. Sigh.)

- My Best Days
- Paradise
- Puppy Love (Elizabeth, this is more about Marilyn Monroe than you. You've got to meet me halfway.)
- Ooh Baby
- Serial Killer (Along with “Summer of Sam”, this song is more about Lana than the man in question, even if it is about love. It’s about her femme fatale, killer attitude towards relationships)
- Summer of Sam (Companion to “Serial Killer”)
- Trash Magic [“The Man I Love” demo] (I’ve been convinced that this song is about her first love, alcohol. I can’t be with the man I love, I can’t be if he treats me rough, I can’t see him, I can’t call him up, with none of the verses implying a real man)
- You Can Be the Boss

Conclusion: Lana’s allowed to write love songs that don’t mention drugs or Lolita references or rock ‘n’ roll. Does it irk me? Indeed it does.

ADVANCED LANALYSIS

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The VIDEO GAMES / BORN TO DIE / BLUE JEANS Trilogy:

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Lana has gone on record saying that her first three singles--"Video Games", "Born to Die", and "Blue Jeans"--are a trilogy. As a fanbase, it's our job to read really far into this. A safe point to jump to is that these songs are a trilogy in the sense that they're all about the same love story. I readily accepted this for a while and assigned this trilogy to her criminal love story, K. "Blue Jeans" has the most detail of any of these three songs, specifically relating back to "For K", so this as a logical jump of intuition. But if you think about it, really think about it, these songs don't have any particular details in common. Sure, they're all mournful. But it ends there.

Just recently, some stalkers insiders made it vaguely apparent that they were positive "Video Games" is about Mike Mizrahi. Mike's story doesn't cohesively fit with the mysterious K's, so we're all left in the dust of that trilogy theory. But that's how Lana herself described it--a trilogy. So what if these three songs aren't a trilogy in the sense that they all connect back to one guy, but that they connect to three separate things she holds dear. For instance, what if this trilogy is about the three most important loves of her life?

It makes sense, doesn't it? She cast Bradley Soileau in "Born to Die" based on his appearance, which bears some striking similarities to Jimmy Gnecco's. And just reading this thread, it's impossible not to get the sense that these were Lana's most important relationships--held above Bill and possibly Chris and whoever she dated as a teenager. "Video Games" being about Mike, "Born to Die" being about Jimmy, and "Blue Jeans" being about K.

Problems with this:
- Born to Die. Very K, right? Wrong. Who's to say that she means die in the literal sense? She sings last thing I saw before I died, and lo and behold, she's not dead.
- Bradley Soileau, the model equivalent of Jimmy Gnecco, is also in "Blue Jeans". So that song must be about Jimmy, right? Wrong. See, she was already in a professional relationship with Bradley at that point, and maybe even a less-than-professional one. People were fascinated with his image. Business-wise, casting Bradley was a natural move. She originally cast him for "Born to Die" based on his looks--but did she ever say the same for the decision in "Blue Jeans"? As far as I know, the answer is no.

Songs that Aren’t About Romance:

  Reveal hidden contents

Sirens
- A Star for Nick (I don’t think Nick is a romantic interest, and if he is, this isn’t about him. It’s about her dreams—being bigger than Nick’s junkie pride? Oh snap!)
- Aviation
AKA
- Gramma
Unreleased
- Fordham Road (Interesting song--it’s certainly telling, if not in a romantic sort of way)
- Money Hunny
- Motel 6
- Last Girl on Earth (Sort of a romance story with the entire world. But only sort of.)

Songs That Are About Her Teenage Days:

  Reveal hidden contents

Born to Die
- Carmen (Only seventeen but she walks the streets so mean)
- This is What Makes Us Girls (Sweet sixteen and we had arrived)
Unreleased
- Boarding School (She was sent to boarding school at age 14)
- Driving in Cars With Boys (Mommy’s Mercedes, not to mention discussing future plans and emphasis on “boys” over “men”)
- Children of the Bad Revolution (“Children”)

Songs That Imply She Was a Gogo Dancer:

  Reveal hidden contents

AKA
- Brite Lites (This is a really vague song. I think it’s about go-go dancing, I really do. Perhaps she took off the engagement ring she received from Jimmy to seem more available while dropping it like it’s hot on the pole, on the pole)
Born to Die
- Carmen
- This is What Makes Us Girls (Baby’s table-dancing at the local dive)
Unreleased
- Daddy Issues (Having “daddy issues” is a common way to describe women who get their validation from men because they didn’t have it from their father—i.e., every stripper ever. Also consider: rock rock baby, throw money come and save me)
- Disco (Disco, go-go dancer so rare / Move down, up slow / Prostitute stare. Dancing without making a sound. A simple object of lust)
- Gogo Dancer (The most straightforward song on the topic, I mean the chorus is pretty blatant: I’m your go-go dancer)
- Hundred Dollar Bill (Selling the body, and let’s not forget the strippers from the homemade music video)
- Pin-Up Galore (Dance at night back in Alabama. Oh now, did we just learn a fact about her much-questioned sojourn in the South?)

IN SUMMARY..

Lingering questions…
- Who the fuck is K?
- Who the fuck is Ray?
- Who the fuck is Bill? Is Bill really K? Does Bill matter at all?
- What significance do cars play? She mentions eight in total (white Corvette, white Pontiac, blue Chevy Nova/Chevrolet, Cadillac convertible, Mercedes, pickup truck, Lamborghini, Bugatti Veyron)
- When was she/who was she with in New York City and New Jersey? Ditto LA? Most mysterious and pressing, her time in the South?
- Did she have a fling with Bradley Soileau?
- Did Chris C. matter enough to her for her to write songs about him?

Assumptions Made:
- Lana was a gogo dancer.
- K is a drug dealer/murderer, dead or on death row.
- Jimmy is her ex-fiancé, addicted to cocaine despite a Wikipedia page stressing how healthy he is, associated with Chevrolets.
- Much of Sirens is about completely different relationships.
- She fucked Bradley.
- Mike controlled her career but their relationship wasn’t associated with anything fucked up like drugs or stripping.


Thanks for reading! I crave both your feedback and theories! This remains a forum collaboration and I don't claim to have the final say on Lanalytical manners.

For the sake of believability, I'm always hunting receipts, and currently:
- The interview where she refers to "Yayo" as the prequel to "Video Games"
- The interview where she describes "Video Games" as dealing with mutual sobriety in a relationship--her and her partner both staying clean.
- The interview where she talks about meeting her boyfriend in rehab and being dazzled by his small-scale celebrity.

[Lana Del Rey 755]

This thread is back

[teethclick 899]

You had to post when I have to leave, right? :imbeingsarcasticbitch2:

[Lana Del Rey 755]

I found this on http://www.songmeani...22107858877556/

And I believe this, it may not be true, but it sounds great, and gave me a clearer explanation on Lana's past (If it is true)

BUT I don't agree that Lana has a child. The child could be refering to a relative. And Lana is the carer of the child

  Reveal hidden contents

  Quote

---- "CHAPTER ONE" ----

Swinging in the backyard

Pull up in your fast car whistling my name

Open up a beer

And you say get over here and play a video game

 

INTERPRETATION:

Childhood memories. A young girl is playing in the backyard, on a swing set. Someone - in my mind a stepfather - drives up, lures the child inside the house with the promise of entertainment (play a video game) but in fact his intentions are more sinister.

 

Cleverly, this segues into the next segment, where the girl in the fist chapter has grown up, and now has a child of her own:

 

 

--- "CHAPTER TWO"---

I'm in his favorite sun dress

Watching me get undressed

take that body downtown

I say you the bestest

Lean in for a big kiss put his favorite perfume on

Go play your video game

 

INTERPRETATION:

A mother has had enjoyed a sunny afternoon with her child (presumably a boy) who is watching as the mother gets ready for work, which is to "take that body downtown": She is a prostitute, preparing to meet a particular client. She gives a "big kiss" for goodbye, then asks the child to stay here, play your videogames - I'll be home late.

 

--- CHORUS ---

It's you, it's you, it's all for you

Everything I do

I tell you all the time

Heaven is a place on earth with you

 

INTERPRETATION:

She is singing to the child, everything she does is for her child, everything she has to put up with is worth it for the time the two of them has together.

 

--- CHAPTER THREE ---

Tell me all the things you want to do

I heard that you like the bad girls honey, is that true?

It's better than I ever even knew

 

INTERPRETATION:

She's talking to a client now.

As she is getting busy, her mind drifts to other, happier things; her child and the live they share. The line "It's better than I ever even knew", could both be a (dishonest) line delivered to her client, but it could also be an earnest thought sent to her child, who is playing video games back home. In the next two lines her thoughts are more clearly aimed at the child:

 

---

They say that the world was built for two

Only worth living if somebody is loving you

Baby now you do

 

--- CHAPTER FOUR---:

Singing in the old bars

Swinging with the old stars

Living for the fame

 

Kissing in the blue dark

Playing pool and wild darts

Video games

 

INTERPRETATION:

She's out working - or maybe she's just hanging out in a bar, getting drunk. "Swinging" is a particularily apt choice of words - it was also used in the first line of the song - but most likely in a different meaning here. She passes the time playing pool. Waiting for the next client is like wild darts, the outcome is unknown and random.

 

She is distant and disconnected. To her, this part of her life it's like playing a video game: she is controlling a character (herself) doing strange things.

 

She meets a client, she is drunk and possibly a drugged.

They have "relations":

 

---

He holds me in his big arms

Drunk and I am seeing stars

---

 

Again, her mind wanders to her "happy place":

 

---

This is all I think of

Watching all our friends fall

In and out of Old Paul's

This is my idea of fun

Playing video games

 

---

INTERPRETATION:

She's thinking of happier times, calling up happy memories,

The song then goes into repetitions of the chorus:

It's you, it's you, it's all for you (etc.)

 

At his point, the song opens up to several possible interpretations of what is going on in the present or future:

Maybe she's escaping to her happy place as the client is becoming more demanding/active - he's strong, she's "seeng stars" - often a result of being beaten/hit in the head. Is he violent?

Maybe her lifestyle is bringing her into a vicious cycle; she looses custody and start doing more drugs, more booze, becoming less and less critical of what clients she picks up in order to sustain her substance abuse, which is her gateway to her "happy place" where she deams of her times with child (interspersed by references to "bad girls", presumably herself).

Maybe she, instead, does strike up a more lasting relationship with one of her clients, bringing one into her family, as her child needs a father. One day in the future, this new stepfather might pull up in his fast car as the child is swinging in the back yard. 'COme here', the stepfather says to the playing child as he opens a can of beer, 'let's go into the hous and play some video games'.

[Roses 19]

when did she met M. Mizrahi ?

Put Me in a Movie is from 2007, I thought she met him in 2008/2009 ?

[Sitar 22,229]

  On 9/24/2012 at 6:41 AM, Lana Del Rey said:

I found this on http://www.songmeani...22107858877556/

And I believe this, it may not be true, but it sounds great, and gave me a clearer explanation on Lana's past (If it is true)

BUT I don't agree that Lana has a child. The child could be refering to a relative. And Lana is the carer of the child

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Gosh that's fucked up. It's would actually be pretty convincing, had she not basically explained the meaning of the video games. What a cool explanation, though.

 

  On 9/24/2012 at 9:34 AM, Roses said:

when did she met M. Mizrahi ?

Put Me in a Movie is from 2007, I thought she met him in 2008/2009 ?

 

The only definite dates we have, relationship-wise: K was already out of the picture by the time she released Sirens in 2006, and already broken up with Mizrahi by 2009. This opens up to even before 2006 for her to have a relationship with Jimmy, Mike, and even Reeve Carney. There's a chance her relationship with Jimmy could have been over by the time she wrote Put Me in a Movie.

[Your Girl Lana 550]

In my opinion Blue Jeans and Born To Die are about Gnecco.....why did she used Bradley in the booth videos? Because of the tattos....Gnecco has a lot of tattos,right ? And because he wasnt "good" for her because of the drugs, etc.... She would die.....

[IamThatGirlLily 535]

What strikes me is that:

1. she had a lot of boyfriends (actually not that surprising since she's a beautiful girl) and

2. So many of them were important enough for her to write several songs about them.

 

There are people who put their career, friends or family first, Lana def is the kind of person that puts her relationship first (This Is What Makes Us Girls). When she's into a relationship she's in at 100% and forget about all the rest. it must be hard for her actual bf to inconsciously compete w/ the others who had such an impact on her life. Damn, if her songwritting was cheesier/less mature and inspired/and country she'll be like Taylor Swift.

[Sam Gho 117]

My timeline:

 

K: 1999-2004, 2004 spent in Alabama

Van Wilson: A&R 5 points, 2006 met him at the WLSC 2006, probably a short fling.

Jimmy G: 2007/2008. I think it was also platonic, and more driven from Lana's side. Probably covered the period she was at the trailer park in NJ

Mike M: Met him first for the interview at Arlene's Grocery in February 2009. With him for 2009, and early 2010 (dated by tweets), but I guess he did not want her to pursue her music anymore, and they broke up (lyrics of Afraid really encapsulate their break-up). The guy rebounded quickly to the woman he got married to in October 2010. I think many of her songs deal with this relationship and the break-up.

 

Reeve Carney, can't place him in the timeline, maybe 2008 after JG.

 

I don't think Lana has had many relationships. She has said in multiple interviews that in real life she is very quiet, lonely, does not talk much, and therefore continues to feel very strongly about her main relationships (K and MM), because few people really understand her. I think the rings she wears is significant, particularly the one that covers both fingers, because I guess that indicates her eternal feelings for two men. I just hope she can move on at some point, and find someone (I hate thinking of her lonely and alone), although any boyfriend would have to learn to live with the ghosts of two people in the room, K and MM.

[IamThatGirlLily 535]

@Sam Gho, I think she tries desperately to find someone who'll understand her and fill the emptiness she feels, know who she is and what's going on in her head and heart. As you said she's a shy and lonely person, she need someone else to make her feel enthousiast, excited and "electric". She keeps holding on these memories because of that even though these relationships were far from being perfect or healthy.

[Sam Gho 117]

  On 9/24/2012 at 12:00 PM, IamThatGirlLily said:

@Sam Gho, I think she tries desperately to find someone who'll understand her and fill the emptiness she feels, know who she is and what's going on in her head and heart. As you said she's a shy and lonely person, she need someone else to make her feel enthousiast, excited and "electric". She keeps holding on these memories because of that even though these relationships were far from being perfect or healthy.

 

I agree.

[IamThatGirlLily 535]

  On 9/24/2012 at 6:41 AM, Lana Del Rey said:

I found this on http://www.songmeani...22107858877556/

And I believe this, it may not be true, but it sounds great, and gave me a clearer explanation on Lana's past (If it is true)

BUT I don't agree that Lana has a child. The child could be refering to a relative. And Lana is the carer of the child

TROLOL I have to agree with Sitar, this is fucked-up... but being honest w/ you, I have already had imagined that. I remember seing a picture of her and one of her friend on tumblr, then I saw the pic of her w/ that little girl from NA. I thought, "how cute are they, they have the same smile... Oh imagine she had a child,.. " And then my imagination went wild again. :smiles:

[evilentity 13,358]

Discussing public figures like Jimmy Gnecco and Reeve Carney in this manner is one thing, but I have to say that naming regular people she had relationships with and speculating wildly about them makes me uncomfortable, especially when you get some details wrong (i.e. there's no evidence she was more than friends with Chris C.). As a celebrity, it comes with the territory that some of her personal life will be made public. But don't regular people who had relationships with her before she was famous deserve some privacy? I feel this is a far more important matter in respecting privacy than leaks.

 

This can be a murky issue. I know a lot more information about two of the people talked about here. And there are things that are of legitimate interest to fans. But I'd been sitting on the information for some time because I didn't know how to present it without naming names. However, now that these names have been circulating quite a bit, maybe I might as well share it. :\

 

I'm curious what people think about the issue in general. Should we start a separate thread to discuss what personal information about Lana and people connected to her we think is appropriate to share?

[NEAL 751]

  On 9/24/2012 at 12:42 PM, evilentity said:

Discussing public figures like Jimmy Gnecco and Reeve Carney in this manner is one thing, but I have to say that naming regular people she had relationships with and speculating wildly about them makes me uncomfortable,

 

Maybe discussing it via PM would be hm, idk.. a bit safer?

There was once this very disturbing piece of info (regardless the fact/fiction) that I shared to only one member, and decided never to post publicly :shrugs:

 

I understand and respect your decision Sitar, to post this--as I myself felt similar urges to let out what I had in mind and see what other people might think/add to it. I hope this thread fares well.

 

  Quote

Should we start a separate thread to discuss what personal information about Lana and people connected to her we think is appropriate to share?

 

How to implement that, tho? When...

 

Lana Del Rey Online, on 21 September 2012 - 12:13 PM, said:

 

You know what. Do whatever you want. Delete this topic and go wild. I won't be here to watch this forum be shut down. Forget the rules. You have free will and speech and you are entitled speak of your opinions. So forget all this. Just do what you do. You try and help a fanbase survive and all you get is argumentative people and disobedience. I'm not here for it. Officially leaving the forum, and you can do whatever you want. I've tried to help. You're not the ones getting into the trouble. You may have a few things taken away from you like a petty topic on a forum and a radio show which you already have a new link for, but you're not the one getting bunches of emails with tons of questions on how you've got this infomational, and all I can say is this forum because some of you do not give the specific link to the source you got your information from. It takes up my time trying to save your backs and providing the sources for him so you lot do no come across as potential hackers. After me doing this, I am not seen as a potential hacker. So goodbye.

 

...it has potential of being labeled as such.

 

..how you've got this infomational..

*quietly pat myself on the back a lil bit--felt like a Samsung Galaxy*

[Mariann 255]

  On 9/24/2012 at 12:42 PM, evilentity said:

Discussing public figures like Jimmy Gnecco and Reeve Carney in this manner is one thing, but I have to say that naming regular people she had relationships with and speculating wildly about them makes me uncomfortable, especially when you get some details wrong (i.e. there's no evidence she was more than friends with Chris C.). As a celebrity, it comes with the territory that some of her personal life will be made public. But don't regular people who had relationships with her before she was famous deserve some privacy? I feel this is a far more important matter in respecting privacy than leaks.

 

I tend to agree with this. I don't mind if the majority here wants to discuss the topic but I personally feel no need to know these details.

[Guest Maru the Cat]

This is insane! I don't really have anything to add at the moment, but your sleuthing is remarkable and it wouldn't surprise me if your a lot of your assumptions/intuitive leaps are correct

 

O _ O

 

As for whether or not this is an acceptable topic to post, I suppose we'll have to let majority rule. This is surprisingly intimate and you have an incredible amount of detail that I wouldn't have thought anyone would know. Daaaayum. Smart cookie :3

 

Also, you're hilarious and the commentary is great :3

 

EDIT: I'm also working on my own version of LANALYSIS, which will be MUCH BETTER. Stay tuned for that!

[IamThatGirlLily 535]

  On 9/24/2012 at 12:42 PM, evilentity said:

 

I agree with evil, I'm interested in the way Lana grew from all her relationships but I really don't want every bits and details of her life/their life being thrown in public place. She kept her mouth shut for a reason and said repeatedly that she wants to protect her family and friends from all that fuss. I think we can discuss it but not in a place where everybody can just capy/paste all the info.

And evil you're a mod now, you can use your "power"

Hell, that's a lot of work! Hands up, I give you a standing ovation.

[Hundred Dollar Bill 21,821]

You have too much time on your hands, boo.

 

Also, I am Bill. DICWB and Trash Magic are about me. Deal with it.

[teethclick 899]

This thing about wether or not to post info is really driving me insane. I want to know everything, but at the same time it's kinda mean. :imbeingsarcasticbitch2:

[evilentity 13,358]

  On 9/24/2012 at 1:18 PM, IamThatGirlLily said:

And evil you're a mod now, you can use your "power"

While I'm sometimes uncomfortable about personal information people post here (especially namedropping regular people), I'd also feel somewhat uncomfortable using my mod powers this way, although some circumstances may warrant it. I once PMed someone on LDR.FM suggesting they take some information they'd posted down, but I'm not sure if I was right to do so. And I'm not trying to shit on Sitar's post, just trying to foster a discussion over an issue I think we should grapple with. I'd like to see us come to a consensus as a community about what should or shouldn't be posted.

 

However, I'd be lying if I denied that a part of me likes seeing people name names because then I feel more free to share the information of legitmate interest surrounding these people without having to feel guilty for being the one to spill their names.

 

  On 9/24/2012 at 1:17 PM, Maru the Cat said:

EDIT: I'm also working on my own version of LANALYSIS, which will be MUCH BETTER. Stay tuned for that!

Please be the return of your Kill Kill/Dark Paradise connection.