The chances are that more of you will know this song as it
was only released a couple of years ago and has most definitely been widely
promoted. Regardless of this I still think it's a beautiful song, so I'm gonna
discuss it a little.
Anyway, the song is 'Summertime Sadness'
by Lana Del Rey.
This is pretty obvious (if you know it),
but it is in fact quite a sad song (I suppose the title ever so slightly gives
that away). Lana/the song's narrator, sings about a past lover who brought
great happiness to her life. Basically, I view the song as a trip down memory
lane; the narrator is reliving treasured memories that she had with the
individual she was once involved with, but ultimately this can only bring her
sadness.
In the verses of the song these memories
are described in the present tense, 'I got my red dress on tonight', 'I'm feeling alive',
'Nothing scares me anymore.' As listeners, we know that the narrator is
actually picturing these memories in her head, and we can hear through her tone
how happy they make her feel. It's obvious that this individual brought her
incredible happiness; they made her feel alive and utterly fearless. It would
seem that this person was the 'perfect partner'. The trouble is that it is this
perfection that is making it so hard for the narrator to move on and be happy
again. She has come to be completely dependent on the individual as a source
for happiness. The love she felt for them is well highlighted through the
phrase, 'I know if I go, I'll die happy tonight.' The narrator truly feels that
even if her life were to end she wouldn't mind, as she'd die happy because of
how in love she is.
The saddest part of the song is its bridge, where the narrator's
realisation is revealed; 'Think I'll miss you forever, like the stars miss the
sun in the morning sky.' After reliving some happy times, she comes to realise
just how much she'll miss having this person in her life and how difficult
it'll be to forget them. The next bit is a little more complex to interpret,
'Later's better than never/Even if you're gone I'm gonna drive'. However in my
view, what the narrator is saying is that she is willing to wait for the
individual to love her again, and even if that never happens her love for them
will still continue to exist. It's at this point that the whole song starts to
make sense to me. It's title features the word 'summertime'. The summer has connotations
of being a positive, uplifting period of time, however temporary in nature. It
would appear that this was a summertime romance, and therefore was perhaps
destined to be short lived. We've all been in that position though haven't we
(or can at least can sympathise with it)? You're deeply in love with someone
and maybe deep down you know that it's not going to last forever, yet you're so
blissfully happy that you kid yourself into believing otherwise. Maybe that's
why it hurts so much. The fact that out of nowhere you're hit with an
unexpected blow that completely knocks you down. You go through that phase
where it feels like you'll never stop missing that person and that's just so apparent
in Lana's song. Ah this is a little depressing but some relationships are just
like that, and then others are really, really great. So, how to conclude this?
'Summertime Sadness' depicts a situation which its listeners can relate to and
are therefore compelled to sympathise with the narrator. Being with a person
you love is incredible at the time, but it's the memories that you'll treasure
forever.
Watch the video for 'Summertime Sadness' on YouTube.
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