Reflection Task 2b

  Summertime Sadness

"Summertime Sadness" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from her second studio album, Born to Die, released on June 22, 2012, by Interscope Records as the fourth single of the album. The reason of my choice is that I love Lana Del Rey, I think she's doing real art.

 After just hearing the song, my initial reaction was that it was about some sort of summer romance that for some reason had to end at the end of the summer. The main reason for having this impression is the line "kiss me hard before you go, summertime sadness." After doing some research, I found most people who only heard the song seemed to get the same impression. However people who had seen the video had a different impression. How I interpreted it also changed after seeing it. It turns out, Lana del Rey had a best friend who committed suicide, and this song was dedicated to her. However, some people believe that she and her best friend were in love. But, the mood of the video really seems to follow the best friend dying theme. The bad quality and dull colours give it a sort of dark and kind of creepy vibe. The whole video is basically composed of very short clips, which also makes it sort of creepy in a way. The dull expression on Lana's face throughout the whole video adds to mood as well. The sound of the music, and Lana's voice itself all create a very melancholy sound. This, of course, fits the lyrics, video, and theme. The sort of numb sound makes it very relaxing song to listen to. 

The song "Summertime Sadness" by Lana Del Rey teaches us that we can always move on, no matter how sad we may feel at the time. Even if it takes awhile, "later's better than never." Overall, the song's tone is clearly melancholy, somber, sad, etc. And, although many would disagree, my opinion is that it is definitely dedicated to her best friend who died and not someone whom she used to be in a relationship with.

Kiss me hard before you go
Summertime sadness
I just wanted you to know
That, baby, you're the best

I got my red dress on tonight
Dancing in the dark in the pale moonlight
Done my hair up real big beauty queen style
High heels off, I'm feeling alive

Oh, my God, I feel it in the air
Telephone wires above are sizzling like a snare
Honey, I'm on fire, I feel it everywhere
Nothing scares me anymore

(1, 2, 3, 4)

Kiss me hard before you go
Summertime sadness
I just wanted you to know
That, baby, you're the best

I got that summertime, summertime sadness
S-s-summertime, summertime sadness
Got that summertime, summertime sadness
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

I'm feelin' electric tonight
Cruising down the coast goin' 'bout 99
Got my bad baby by my heavenly side
I know if I go, I'll die happy tonight

Oh, my God, I feel it in the air
Telephone wires above are sizzling like a snare
Honey, I'm on fire, I feel it everywhere
Nothing scares me anymore

(1, 2, 3, 4)

Kiss me hard before you go
Summertime sadness
I just wanted you to know
That, baby, you're the best

I got that summertime, summertime sadness
S-s-summertime, summertime sadness
Got that summertime, summertime sadness
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Think I'll miss you forever
Like the stars miss the sun in the morning sky
Later's better than never
Even if you're gone I'm gonna drive (drive, drive)

I got that summertime, summertime sadness
S-s-summertime, summertime sadness
Got that summertime, summertime sadness
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Kiss me hard before you go
Summertime sadness
I just wanted you to know
That, baby, you're the best

I got that summertime, summertime sadness
S-s-summertime, summertime sadness
Got that summertime, summertime sadness
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh