Friday 19 September 2014

Lana Del Rey- Carmen lyric analysis







Darlin', darlin'



Doesn't have a problem



Lyin' to herself


Cos her liquor's top shelf


It's alarming, honestly,

How charming she can be

Fooling everyone

Telling them she's having fun



She says, "You don't want to be

like me, don't want to see all

the things I've seen"

I'm dyin', I'm dyin'

She says, "You don't want to
get this way, famous and dumb
at an early age"
Lyin', I'm lyin'

The boys, the girls,
They all like Carmen
She gives them butterflies
Bats her cartoon eyes

She laughs like God
Her mind's like a diamond
Audiotune lies
She's still shinin'
Like lighting
White lightning

Carmen, Carmen
Staying up till morning
Only 17 but she walks the
streets so mean
It's alarming truly
How disarming you can be
Eatin' soft ice cream
Coney Island queen

She says, "You don't want to
be like me, lookin' for fun,
gettin' high for free"
I'm dyin', I'm dyin'
She says, "You don't want to
get this way, street walk at
night and a star by day"
It's tirin', tirin'

The boys, the girls,
They all like Carmen
She gives them butterflies
Bats her cartoon eyes

She laughs like God
Her mind's like a diamond
Audiotune lies
She's still shinin'
Like lighting
White lightning

Baby's all dressed up with
nowhere to go
That's the little story of the
girl you know
Relying on the kindness of 
strangers
Tying cherry knots
Smiling, doing party favours
Put your red dress on, put your
lipstick on
Sing your song, song, now the
camera's on
And you're alive again

The boys, the girls,
They all like Carmen
She gives them butterflies
Bats her cartoon eyes

She laughs like God
Her mind's like a diamond
Audiotune lies
She's still shinin'
Like lighting
White lightning

Darlin', Darlin'
Doesn't have a problem
Lyin' to herself
Cos her liquor's top shelf
This song is quite autobiographical as it tells the tale of the struggles that Lana went through as a young girl, Carmen is actually Lana.

"Darling, darling, doesn't have a problem. Lying to herself cause her liquors top shelf." She thinks that she's completely fine and that she has no addiction but in reality she's addicted to alcohol and needs help.

"It's alarming honestly how charming she can be, fooling everyone telling them she's having fun." Everyone thinks how she's that girl who's never upset and how shes always having a good time when Lana actually feels depressed and sad about how bad her life has gotten.

"She says you don't wanna get this way, famous but dumb at an early age."
Lana got addicted to alcohol at the age of 14 ("dumb at an early age"), got sent to boarding school to fix her addiction, then she ran away and technically lived on the streets. Everyone knew who she was because she would do whatever she could for money even prostitute herself sometimes.

"Buy her tonight, she's still shining like lighting."
I think this is the part when she prostituted herself. She's saying how people should buy her for the night while she's there .

"She says you don't wanna get this way, street walk at night but a star by day."
This is another part when she talks about how she sold her self as a prostitute at a young age.

"Babys all dressed up with nowhere to go, that's the little story of the girl you know." In this quote I feel like she's always looking for a party to go to and spend her time somewhere or the fact that she's walking on the streets all dressed up waiting for someone to buy her for the night.

"Relying on the kindness of strangers."
She hopes that someone would be nice to her and help her get her life back on track or give her some money so she can support herself. It's like a perspective from a homeless person kind of thing. 


"Tying cherry knots smiling doing party favors. Put your red dress on, put your lip stick on." Being able to tie a cherry stem into a knot is a sign of being a good kisser. Lana is saying how she's doing party favors probably such as hooking up with people and doing sexual acts or drugs for the money. Then she says how she's putting on her red dress and her lipstick, here she is saying how she's ready to go out and sell herself again or do whatever she can to get money.

"Mon amour, je sais que tu m'aimes aussi
Tu as besion de moi
Tu as besion de moi dans ta vie 
Tu ne peux plus vivre sans moi
Et je mourrais sans toi
Je tuerais pour toi."

Translation: “My love, I know that you love me too.
You need me, you need me in your life.
You can’t live without me
And I’d die without you.
I’d kill for you.”

Here she is talking about her addiction to alcohol and how much she craves it in her life and how she can't live without it.

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