The many pop culture references in Lana Del Rey’s ‘The Greatest’
Posted On
(Credits: Lana Del Rey)
Good songwriting is a tightrope. People want to feel like a song someone writes connects to them on a deep emotional level as if the writer has created an unspoken bond that only exists between the two of them. But at the same time, in order to connect with a writer, that person needs to reference things they can relate to and picture, which opens a song up to a broad audience. Falling in between that overlap of being accessible and intimate is incredibly difficult, but Lana Del Rey makes it look easy.
Lana Del Rey is one of the most prolific songwriters in the modern age. Her ability to create music that feels incredibly profound yet entirely relatable is an art form in itself. Her words sound like they have been plucked from the deepest depths of obscurity, yet they also pay homage to modern themes, which means audiences can fully understand her emotions. She makes the songwriting tightrope look like a football field as she easily navigates every corner of it.
One of the best examples of her songwriting ability can be heard on her track ‘The Greatest’. Here, we see her reflect on a previous relationship and write about how much she misses an ex-partner; however, as well as talking about personal experiences, she also references a number of different aspects of pop culture, talking about destinations in California and the Beach Boys.
“I miss Long Beach and I miss you, babe / I miss dancing with you the most of all,” she writes, “I miss the bar where the Beach Boys would go / Dennis’s last stop before Kokomo.”
The references to pop culture don’t just stop there either, as she also begins referencing more controversial topics later in the song, talking about how she feels as though Kanye West has lost his way after endorsing Trump. While she disagrees with his political views, she also admits that the lyric is more than just a blanket rejection of his ideas and runs much deeper than that. The meaning is there for people to read into, but it could represent somebody losing themselves.
“LA is in flames, it’s getting hot / Kanye West is blond and gone,” she says, “’Life on Mars’ ain’t just a song, oh, the live stream’s almost on.”
Del Rey has admitted to being a fan of Kanye’s music and seemed close to him and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, given she performed at their wedding. This bond was severed somewhat when Kanye started sprouting far-right views and wearing “Make America Great Again” hats.
“Kanye just means so much to us,” she explained, “And by the way, I’m grateful to be in a country where everyone can have their own political views. I’m really not more of a liberal than I am a Republican – I’m in the middle. But it was more like the mood and the vibe around, ‘Yo, this man is the greatest!’ Really? The greatest? It hurt me. Did I have to say anything? No. But it’s more just a line that represents a lot of things.”
On ‘The Greatest’, Lana Del Rey really flaunts her talent as a songwriter. She references modern pop culture and politics in a way that reflects her views on those topics while relating them to something personal. This is an excellent example of what makes her one of the best lyricists in modern music.
[embedded content]
Related Topics
