Lana Del Rey Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Register
Lana Del Rey Wiki
The Lana Del Rey Wiki
1,260
pages
in: Songs, Released songs, Norman Fucking Rockwell songs,
and 2 more

Changes: Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It (song)

Back to page
Edit
mNo edit summary
Tag: Visual edit
(46 intermediate revisions by 16 users not shown)
Line 3: Line 3:
 
|artist = Lana Del Rey
  
|artist = Lana Del Rey
 
|written = [[Lana Del Rey]]<br>[[Jack Antonoff]]
  
|written = [[Lana Del Rey]]<br>[[Jack Antonoff]]
−
|producer = Jack Antonoff
 +
|producer = Jack Antonoff<br>Lana Del Rey
  +
|recorded = 2015–2018
 
|released = January 9, 2019
  
|released = January 9, 2019
  +
|time = 5:24<br><small>(See [[#Official versions|official versions]])</small>
−
|time = 5:24
  
−
|Source = [[File:TBA3.png|150px|link=Norman Fucking Rockwell (album)]]
 +
|Source = [[File:Nfrlogo.png|link=Norman Fucking Rockwell (album)]]
 
|Singles = {{6S}}
  
|Singles = {{6S}}
  +
|next = N/A
⚫
}}"'''Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have - but I Have It'''" (stylized in all lowercase and previously known as "'''Sylvia Plath'''" and "'''Sylvia'''") is a song by [[Lana Del Rey]] from her upcoming sixth studio album ''[[Norman Fucking Rockwell (album)|Norman Fucking Rockwell]]''. It was released on January 9, 2019, as the third single from the album.
  
  +
|previous = "[[Happiness Is a Butterfly (song)|Happiness Is a Butterfly]]"
  +
|album = [[Norman Fucking Rockwell (album)|Norman Fucking Rockwell]]
  +
|MiX = {{Singles7}}
  +
|Last single image = Venice Bitch cover.png
  +
|Last single link = Venice Bitch (song)
  +
|Last single title = Venice Bitch
  +
|This single image = HIADTFAWLMTH_-_BIHI.jpg
  +
|This single link = Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It (song)
  +
|This single title = Hope Is a Dangerous Thing...
  +
|Next single image = Doin'TimeCover.jpg
  +
|Next single link = Doin' Time (song)
  +
|Next single title = Doin' Time
  ⚫
}}"'''Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It'''" (stylized in sentence case, registered as "'''Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me'''" and previously known as "'''Sylvia Plath'''" or "'''Sylvia'''") is a song by [[Lana Del Rey]] from her sixth studio album ''[[Norman Fucking Rockwell! (album)|Norman Fucking Rockwell!]]''. It was released on January 9, 2019, as the third single from the album.
   
 
==Background and inspiration==
  
==Background and inspiration==
−
Del Rey first mentioned the song on [[2018/February#February 15|February 15, 2018]], during the concert in San Diego, part of the [[LA to the Moon Tour]].
 +
Del Rey first mentioned the song as "Sylvia" on [[2018/February#February 15|February 15, 2018]], during the concert in San Diego, part of the [[LA to the Moon Tour]].
   
−
On October 25, 2018, she posted a snippet of the song on her Instagram account, announcing that it will be featured on ''[[Norman Fucking Rockwell (album)|Norman Fucking Rockwell]]''.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/BpXYuXCAopb/ Lana Del Rey. (October 25, 2018). ''Instagram''. "SYLVIA PLATH from NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL 🎥" (Access date: October 28, 2018)]</ref> She also tweeted lyrics to the song.<ref>[https://twitter.com/LanaDelRey/status/1055523725867593728 Lana Del Rey. (@LanaDelRey). Lana tweets lyrics to new song. (October 25, 2018). ''Twitter''<nowiki>. [Access date: January 8, 2019]</nowiki>]</ref>
 +
On October 25, 2018, she posted a snippet of the song on her Instagram account, announcing that it will be featured on ''[[Norman Fucking Rockwell! (album)|Norman Fucking Rockwell!]]''.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/BpXYuXCAopb/ Lana Del Rey. (October 25, 2018). ''Instagram''. "SYLVIA PLATH from NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL 🎥" (Access date: October 28, 2018)]</ref> She also tweeted lyrics to the song.<ref>[https://twitter.com/LanaDelRey/status/1055523725867593728 Lana Del Rey. (@LanaDelRey). Lana tweets lyrics to new song. (October 25, 2018). ''Twitter''<nowiki>. [Access date: January 8, 2019]</nowiki>]</ref>
   
−
On December 3, 2018, ''Elle'' magazine reported that the song would be the next single of the upcoming ''Norman Fucking Rockwell'' album, although no official confirmation was given by Del Rey's team.<ref>[https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a25357389/best-female-pop-singers-2018/ Tang, Estelle. (December 3, 2018). "How Ariana Grande, Robyn, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Lana Del Rey Are Changing Pop Music". ''Elle''<nowiki>. [Access date: January 8, 2019]</nowiki>]</ref>
 +
On December 3, 2018, ''Elle'' magazine reported that the song would be the next single off the ''[[Norman Fucking Rockwell! (album)|Norman Fucking Rockwell!]]'' album, although no official confirmation was given by Del Rey's team.<ref>[https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a25357389/best-female-pop-singers-2018/ Tang, Estelle. (December 3, 2018). "How Ariana Grande, Robyn, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Lana Del Rey Are Changing Pop Music". ''Elle''<nowiki>. [Access date: January 8, 2019]</nowiki>]</ref>
   
−
On January 2, 2019, Del Rey announced the song would be the third single, changing its name from "Sylvia" to "Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have - but I Have It", in an since deleted Instagram post featuring a slightly extended snippet.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/lanadelrey/videos/134513980802530/ Lana Del Rey. (January 2, 2019). Lana teases 2nd snippet of 'Sylvia Plath' as 'Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It". ''Facebook''<nowiki>. [Access date: January 8, 2019]</nowiki>]</ref>
 +
On January 2, 2019, Del Rey announced the song would be the third single, changing its name from "Sylvia Plath" to "Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It", in an since deleted Instagram post featuring a slightly extended snippet.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/lanadelrey/videos/134513980802530/ Lana Del Rey. (January 2, 2019). Lana teases 2nd snippet of 'Sylvia Plath' as 'Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It". ''Facebook''<nowiki>. [Access date: January 8, 2019]</nowiki>]</ref>
   
  +
The song's producer, [[Jack Antonoff]], revealed via Twitter that this song was one of two songs him and Del Rey recorded during their first session in the studio. He added that it was recorded without a click track in mostly live takes over felt piano.<ref>[https://twitter.com/jackantonoff/status/1083508601409454080 Jack Antonoff. (@jackantonoff). Jack tweets about Hope Is a Dangerous Thing. (January 10, 2019). ''Twitter''<nowiki>. [Access date: January 10, 2019]</nowiki>]</ref>
⚫
The song was inspired by Sylvia Plath, who is a famous American poet, novelist, and short-story writer.
  
  +
  ⚫
The song was inspired by Sylvia Plath, who was a famous American poet, novelist, and short-story writer.
  +
  +
Del Rey revealed in an interview for ''Vogue Korea'' that it took 3 years to finish this song.<ref>[http://www.vogue.co.kr/2019/05/13/자레드-레토와-라나-델-레이의-기묘한-여정/ Joo-Hyun, Lee. (May 13, 2019). "The curious itinerary of Jared Leto and Lana Del Rey". ''Vogue Korea''<nowiki>. [Access date: May 13, 2019]</nowiki>]</ref>
  +
  +
An extended version of the song was registered on PPL Repertoire. It lasts 5 minutes and 58 seconds.<ref>ISRC Code: GBUM71903509</ref>
  +
  +
August 22, 2019, in her interview with Billboard magazine, she said this about the track: “It was staggered with references from living in Hollywood and seeing so many things that didn’t look right to me, things that I never thought I’d have permission to talk about, because everyone knew and no one ever said anything,” she says in a tangle of sentences as knotty as the lyrics themselves. “The culture only changed in the last two years as to whether people would believe you. And I’ve been in this business now for 15 years! So I was writing a song to myself.” She exhales deeply, sinking back into the sofa. “Hope truly is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have, because I know so much.” Del Rey pauses. “But I have it.”"<ref>https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8527901/lana-del-rey-billboard-cover-story-2019</ref>
  +
  +
==Cross-references==
  +
* Mention of a debutante is also found in "[[Fake Diamond (song)|Fake Diamond]]".
  +
* Revolution is also mentioned in "[[Children of the Bad Revolution (song)|Children of the Bad Revolution]]".
  +
* "Writing in blood on my walls" is a line echoed from "[[Heroin (song)|Heroin]]".
  +
* Del Rey also describes herself as a sociopath in "[[Serial Killer (song)|Serial Killer]]".
  +
* The keys are also mentioned in "[[Bartender (song)|Bartender]]".
  +
* Sylvia Plath is also mentioned in poems "[[Bare Feet on Linoleum (poem)|Bare Feet on Linoleum]]" and "[[Patent Leather Do-Over (poem)|Patent Leather Do-Over]]".
  +
* Coffee is also mentioned in "[[Queen of the Gas Station (song)|Queen of the Gas Station]]", "[[In My Feelings (song)|In My Feelings]]", "[[Love (song)|Love]]", "[[Vacation (song)|Vacation]]" and the poem "[[Never to Heaven (poem)|Never to Heaven]]".
  +
* Her dad is mentioned in songs like "[[Radio (song)|Radio]]", "[[Ride (song)|Ride]]", "[[Cola (song)|Cola]]", and "[[Old Money (song)|Old Money]]".
  +
* Slim Aarons was a famous photographer that used to take glamorous pictures of celebrities.
  +
* "Hope is a dangerous thing" is a quote from Stephen King and his 1982 novel "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption".
  +
* "The Bowery Bums" is a term used to describe alcoholic and homeless people from New York after the World War I.
  +
* The stage is also mentioned in "[[Fuck It I Love You (song)|Fuck It I Love You]]".
  +
  +
==Official versions==
  +
* Single version — 5:24
  +
* Extended version — 5:58
   
 
==Lyrics==
  
==Lyrics==
  +
===Physical version===
 
{{Scroll box|content=<poem>
  
{{Scroll box|content=<poem>
 
I was reading Slim Aarons 
  
I was reading Slim Aarons 
Line 35: Line 76:
 
That I’m not
  
That I’m not
   
−
I've been tiding around in my fucking nightgown
 +
I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown
  +
24/7, Sylvia Plath
  +
Writing in blood on my walls
  +
'Cause the ink in my pen don't work in my notepad
  +
Don't ask if I'm happy
  +
You know that I'm not but at best I can say
  +
I'm not sad
  +
'Cause hope is a dangerous thing
  +
For a woman like me to have
  +
  +
I had fifteen year dances
  +
Church basement romances yeah I've got
  +
Spilling my guts with the Bowery Bums
  +
Is the only love I've ever known
  +
Except for the stage which I also call home when I'm not
  +
Serving up God in a burnt coffee pot
  +
For the triad
  +
Hello it's the most famous woman you know on the iPad
  +
Calling from beyond the grave, I just wanna say "Hi, dad"
  +
  +
I've been tearing up town in my fucking white gown
  +
Like a goddamn near sociopath
  +
Shaking my ass is the only thing that's
  +
Got this black narcissist off my back
  +
She couldn't care less
  +
And I never cared more
  +
So there's no more to say about that
  +
Except hope is a dangerous thing
  +
For a woman like me to have
  +
Hope is a dangerous thing
  +
For a woman with my past
  +
  +
There's a new revolution
  +
A loud evolution
  +
That I saw
  +
Born of confusion
  +
And quiet collusion of which
  +
Mostly I've known
  +
  +
A modern day woman
  +
With a weak constitution
  +
'Cause I've got
  +
Monsters still under my bed
  +
That I could never fight off
  +
A gatekeeper carelessly dropping the keys on my nights off
  +
  +
I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown
  +
24/7, Sylvia Plath
  +
Writing in blood on your walls
  +
'Cause the ink in my pen don't look good in my pad
  +
They write that I'm happy
  +
They know that I'm not
  +
But at best you can see I'm not sad
  +
But hope is a dangerous thing
  +
For a woman like me to have
  +
Hope is a dangerous thing
  +
For a woman like me to have
  +
Hope is a dangerous thing
  +
For a woman like me to have
  +
  +
But I have it
  +
Yeah, I have it
  +
Yeah, I have it
  +
I have
  +
  +
''‘Cause I had you in- in my head. Are you real? Are you real? Yeah? Is there any chance that I’m just gonna wake up on the floor and the song won’t exist? I’ll be very sad. If I wake up, and you don’t exist, and the song doesn't exist... yeah, I hope you’re real.''
  +
</poem>
  +
}}
  +
  +
===Digital version===
  +
{{Scroll box|content=<poem>
  +
I was reading Slim Aarons 
  +
And I got to thinking that I thought 
  +
Maybe I’d get less stressed, if I was tested less like 
  +
All of these debutantes 
  +
Smiling for miles in pink dresses and high heels 
  +
On white yachts
  +
  +
But I’m not
  +
Baby I’m not
  +
No, I’m not
  +
That I’m not
  +
  +
I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown
 
24/7, Sylvia Plath
  
24/7, Sylvia Plath
 
Writing in blood on my walls
  
Writing in blood on my walls
Line 104: Line 228:
 
==Credits==
  
==Credits==
 
;'''Personnel'''
  
;'''Personnel'''
−
*Lana Del Rey — vocals, songwriting
 +
* Lana Del Rey — songwriting, production, vocals
−
*Jack Antonoff — songwriting, production
 +
* Jack Antonoff — songwriting, production, piano, synthesizer
  +
* Laura Sisk — engineering, mixing
  +
* Chris Gehringer — mastering
  +
  +
;'''Technical'''
  +
* Mastered at Sterling Sound
  +
* Recorded at Rough Customer Studio, New York, United States / Sunset Banana Split, Los Angeles, United States
  +
* Mixed at Rough Customer Studio, New York, United States
  +
  +
== External links ==
  +
* [http://smarturl.it/LDRhope Buy/stream] "Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It"
   
 
==References==
  
==References==
 
{{Reflist}}
  
{{Reflist}}
  +
{{Navbox album NFR}}
 
[[Category:Songs]]
  
[[Category:Songs]]
 
[[Category:Released songs]]
  
[[Category:Released songs]]

Revision as of 18:37, 28 September 2020

"Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It" (stylized in sentence case, registered as "Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me" and previously known as "Sylvia Plath" or "Sylvia") is a song by Lana Del Rey from her sixth studio album Norman Fucking Rockwell!. It was released on January 9, 2019, as the third single from the album.

Background and inspiration

Del Rey first mentioned the song as "Sylvia" on February 15, 2018, during the concert in San Diego, part of the LA to the Moon Tour.

On October 25, 2018, she posted a snippet of the song on her Instagram account, announcing that it will be featured on Norman Fucking Rockwell!.[1] She also tweeted lyrics to the song.[2]

On December 3, 2018, Elle magazine reported that the song would be the next single off the Norman Fucking Rockwell! album, although no official confirmation was given by Del Rey's team.[3]

On January 2, 2019, Del Rey announced the song would be the third single, changing its name from "Sylvia Plath" to "Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It", in an since deleted Instagram post featuring a slightly extended snippet.[4]

The song's producer, Jack Antonoff, revealed via Twitter that this song was one of two songs him and Del Rey recorded during their first session in the studio. He added that it was recorded without a click track in mostly live takes over felt piano.[5]

The song was inspired by Sylvia Plath, who was a famous American poet, novelist, and short-story writer.

Del Rey revealed in an interview for Vogue Korea that it took 3 years to finish this song.[6]

An extended version of the song was registered on PPL Repertoire. It lasts 5 minutes and 58 seconds.[7]

August 22, 2019, in her interview with Billboard magazine, she said this about the track: “It was staggered with references from living in Hollywood and seeing so many things that didn’t look right to me, things that I never thought I’d have permission to talk about, because everyone knew and no one ever said anything,” she says in a tangle of sentences as knotty as the lyrics themselves. “The culture only changed in the last two years as to whether people would believe you. And I’ve been in this business now for 15 years! So I was writing a song to myself.” She exhales deeply, sinking back into the sofa. “Hope truly is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have, because I know so much.” Del Rey pauses. “But I have it.”"[8]

Cross-references

Official versions

  • Single version — 5:24
  • Extended version — 5:58

Lyrics

Physical version

I was reading Slim Aarons 
And I got to thinking that I thought 
Maybe I’d get less stressed, if I was tested less like 
All of these debutantes 
Smiling for miles in pink dresses and high heels 
On white yachts

But I’m not
Baby I’m not
No, I’m not
That I’m not

I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown
24/7, Sylvia Plath
Writing in blood on my walls
'Cause the ink in my pen don't work in my notepad
Don't ask if I'm happy
You know that I'm not but at best I can say
I'm not sad
'Cause hope is a dangerous thing
For a woman like me to have

I had fifteen year dances
Church basement romances yeah I've got
Spilling my guts with the Bowery Bums
Is the only love I've ever known
Except for the stage which I also call home when I'm not
Serving up God in a burnt coffee pot
For the triad
Hello it's the most famous woman you know on the iPad
Calling from beyond the grave, I just wanna say "Hi, dad"

I've been tearing up town in my fucking white gown
Like a goddamn near sociopath
Shaking my ass is the only thing that's
Got this black narcissist off my back
She couldn't care less
And I never cared more
So there's no more to say about that
Except hope is a dangerous thing
For a woman like me to have
Hope is a dangerous thing
For a woman with my past

There's a new revolution
A loud evolution
That I saw
Born of confusion
And quiet collusion of which
Mostly I've known

A modern day woman
With a weak constitution
'Cause I've got
Monsters still under my bed
That I could never fight off
A gatekeeper carelessly dropping the keys on my nights off

I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown
24/7, Sylvia Plath
Writing in blood on your walls
'Cause the ink in my pen don't look good in my pad
They write that I'm happy
They know that I'm not
But at best you can see I'm not sad
But hope is a dangerous thing
For a woman like me to have
Hope is a dangerous thing
For a woman like me to have
Hope is a dangerous thing
For a woman like me to have

But I have it
Yeah, I have it
Yeah, I have it
I have

‘Cause I had you in- in my head. Are you real? Are you real? Yeah? Is there any chance that I’m just gonna wake up on the floor and the song won’t exist? I’ll be very sad. If I wake up, and you don’t exist, and the song doesn't exist... yeah, I hope you’re real.

Digital version

I was reading Slim Aarons 
And I got to thinking that I thought 
Maybe I’d get less stressed, if I was tested less like 
All of these debutantes 
Smiling for miles in pink dresses and high heels 
On white yachts

But I’m not
Baby I’m not
No, I’m not
That I’m not

I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown
24/7, Sylvia Plath
Writing in blood on my walls
'Cause the ink in my pen don't work in my notepad
Don't ask if I'm happy
You know that I'm not but at best I can say
I'm not sad
'Cause hope is a dangerous thing
For a woman like me to have

I had fifteen year dances
Church basement romances yeah I've got
Spilling my guts with the Bowery Bums
Is the only love I've ever known
Except for the stage which I also call home when I'm not
Serving up God in a burnt coffee pot
For the triad
Hello it's the most famous woman you know on the iPad
Calling from beyond the grave, I just wanna say "Hi, dad"

I've been tearing up town in my fucking white gown
Like a goddamn near sociopath
Shaking my ass is the only thing that's
Got this black narcissist off my back
She couldn't care less
And I never cared more
So there's no more to say about that
Except hope is a dangerous thing
For a woman like me to have
Hope is a dangerous thing
For a woman with my past

There's a new revolution
A loud evolution
That I saw
Born of confusion
And quiet collusion of which
Mostly I've known

A modern day woman
With a weak constitution
'Cause I've got
Monsters still under my bed
That I could never fight off
A gatekeeper carelessly dropping the keys on my nights off

I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown
24/7, Sylvia Plath
Writing in blood on your walls
'Cause the ink in my pen don't look good in my pad
They write that I'm happy
They know that I'm not
But at best you can see I'm not sad
But hope is a dangerous thing
For a woman like me to have
Hope is a dangerous thing
For a woman like me to have
Hope is a dangerous thing
For a woman like me to have

But I have it
Yeah, I have it
Yeah, I have it
I have

Credits

Personnel
  • Lana Del Rey — songwriting, production, vocals
  • Jack Antonoff — songwriting, production, piano, synthesizer
  • Laura Sisk — engineering, mixing
  • Chris Gehringer — mastering
Technical
  • Mastered at Sterling Sound
  • Recorded at Rough Customer Studio, New York, United States / Sunset Banana Split, Los Angeles, United States
  • Mixed at Rough Customer Studio, New York, United States

External links

  • Buy/stream "Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It"

References

  1. ↑ Lana Del Rey. (October 25, 2018). Instagram. "SYLVIA PLATH from NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL 🎥" (Access date: October 28, 2018)
  2. ↑ Lana Del Rey. (@LanaDelRey). Lana tweets lyrics to new song. (October 25, 2018). Twitter. [Access date: January 8, 2019]
  3. ↑ Tang, Estelle. (December 3, 2018). "How Ariana Grande, Robyn, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Lana Del Rey Are Changing Pop Music". Elle. [Access date: January 8, 2019]
  4. ↑ Lana Del Rey. (January 2, 2019). Lana teases 2nd snippet of 'Sylvia Plath' as 'Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It". Facebook. [Access date: January 8, 2019]
  5. ↑ Jack Antonoff. (@jackantonoff). Jack tweets about Hope Is a Dangerous Thing. (January 10, 2019). Twitter. [Access date: January 10, 2019]
  6. ↑ Joo-Hyun, Lee. (May 13, 2019). "The curious itinerary of Jared Leto and Lana Del Rey". Vogue Korea. [Access date: May 13, 2019]
  7. ↑ ISRC Code: GBUM71903509
  8. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8527901/lana-del-rey-billboard-cover-story-2019
NFR one line
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.