National Anthem

"National Anthem" by Lana Del Rey is a multifaceted critique of the American Dream, exploring the intersection of love, wealth, and power through a satirical and tragic lens. The song's central thesis is bluntly stated in its opening and recurring lines: "Money is the anthem of success." This establishes a world where value is measured by material wealth and social status. The narrator's relationship is transactional; her love and devotion are intertwined with her partner's ability to provide a lavish lifestyle, symbolized by trips to the Hamptons and luxury cars.

The song uses the metaphor of a "national anthem" to represent the ultimate form of devotion and identity. The narrator desires to be her lover's personal anthem, an object of pride and worship that defines him as much as a country's anthem defines its nation. This is layered with irony, as the love story she portrays is not one of pure romance but one of co-dependency and superficiality, built on the foundations of "excessive buying, overdose and dying."

The famous music video further deepens this meaning by casting Lana Del Rey as both Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy, with rapper A$AP Rocky as President John F. Kennedy. This reimagining of American royalty, or "Camelot," serves as a powerful allegory for the loss of innocence and the dark underbelly of a public-facing fairy tale. By portraying a beloved historical narrative with a modern, interracial couple, the video also challenges traditional conceptions of race and power in America. Ultimately, the song is a commentary on how American cultural identity is often constructed through glamorous, yet hollow, ideals, and it mourns the inevitable tragedy that lurks beneath the surface of this manufactured perfection.

The narrative begins with a bold declaration: wealth is the ultimate measure of success. Before any social engagement, the primary question is one of financial status, symbolized by a prestigious address. The speaker positions herself as a prize, a "National Anthem" for her handsome, wealthy lover. She desires the trappings of his lifestyle: trips to the Hamptons and rides in a Bugatti Veyron. He is a reckless romantic, holding her in a state of luxurious captivity within the upper echelons of society. He advises her to be cool, a demeanor she hasn't yet mastered, as she's swept up in the glamour, feeling the wind in her hair and his hand on her neck.

The chorus is a plea for validation, a repeated request to be named his "National Anthem." This central metaphor is surrounded by imagery of pure Americana—"Red, white, blue is in the sky"—and the intoxicating feeling of summer love, where heaven is reflected in her lover's eyes. The song asserts that money is the very reason for existence, a universally acknowledged truth sealed with a kiss. She sings her anthem while draped over him, holding him possessively. Their physical connection is intense; neither can keep their hands off the other. She questions him, the "King of Chevron," acknowledging the power he holds over her. While he tells her to be cool, she retorts that she is already the epitome of coolness and questions if he truly understands who she is. She coyly asks if he will shower her with diamonds, to which he readily agrees.

The bridge shifts the perspective, framing their relationship as a modern love story, one for the tabloids—the "sixth page." It's a self-aware, destructive rampage characterized by opulence and excess: "Wining and dining, drinking and driving, excessive buying, overdose and dying." Their lives are fueled by a dangerous cocktail of drugs, love, and shared dreams, a lifestyle defined by its decadent extremes. The speaker sees a dark prophecy in their passionate connection, a sense of impending doom. Yet, she finds reassurance in his potential for continued success, envisioning him keeping her safe in his metaphorical "bell tower hotel," a gilded cage. The mantra repeats: money is the song of success, so she puts on her makeup and party dress, ready to perform her role. She demands a standing ovation, declaring that her lover has arrived in a land of sweetness, ruled by his "angel queen." The song encapsulates a worldview where love, power, and materialism are inextricably and tragically linked, creating a personal anthem out of a national ideal.

"National Anthem" was recorded for Lana Del Rey's major-label debut album, Born to Die, released in 2012. The song was written by Lana Del Rey (born Elizabeth Grant), Justin Parker, and The Nexus (David Sneddon and James Bauer-Mein). Emile Haynie and Jeff Bhasker are credited as the primary producers. Justin Parker had previously collaborated with Del Rey on the pivotal tracks "Video Games" and "Born to Die." David Sneddon, a former winner of the UK talent show Fame Academy, noted that Del Rey had a clear vision for her sound and that her lyrics are deeply personal, wrapped in Hollywood imagery.

The song was released as the album's fourth single on June 15, 2012. The iconic music video, a crucial component of the song's story, was directed by Anthony Mandler in May 2012 and premiered on June 27, 2012. According to Mandler, the concept was entirely Del Rey's. She was interested in exploring the "loss of innocence" by using the powerful and instantly recognizable story of the Kennedys as an archetype, similar to Romeo and Juliet. Del Rey wrote the treatment specifically with A$AP Rocky in mind to play the role of JFK, believing he would be "really perfect to star in it." She described the finished video as "definitely the most beautiful thing" she had ever done. The closing monologue, which many believed was a historical letter from Jacqueline Kennedy, was in fact an original piece written by Del Rey herself.

• Money as an Anthem: The most direct metaphor is "Money is the anthem of success." An anthem is a song of praise and devotion, suggesting that in the world Del Rey depicts, wealth is worshipped and is the ultimate symbol of achievement and identity.
• The National Anthem: The narrator wants to be her lover's "national anthem." This symbolizes her desire to be his ultimate source of pride, identity, and devotion—an icon he salutes. It conflates romantic idealization with patriotic fervor, highlighting the grand, performative nature of their relationship.
• Red, White, and Blue: This classic American imagery, paired with "heaven's in your eyes," juxtaposes national symbolism with personal romance. It grounds the song's themes in a specific cultural context—the American Dream—while simultaneously showing how that dream is filtered through the lens of a love affair.
• The Kennedy/Monroe/Onassis Archetypes: The music video uses the historical figures of JFK, Marilyn Monroe, and Jacqueline Kennedy as powerful symbols. Del Rey playing both Monroe (the lover) and Jackie (the wife) represents a complex, fractured female identity caught in a narrative of power, love, and tragedy. It explores the public versus private self and the archetype of the beautiful, doomed American fairytale.
• The Queen of Saigon: A line in the lyrics references "The Queen of Saigon," which has been interpreted as an allusion to the tragic end of an era, similar to the fall of Saigon. It adds a layer of historical melancholy and foreboding to the relationship's seemingly glamorous surface.

The emotional atmosphere of "National Anthem" is a complex blend of melancholic nostalgia, cynical materialism, and tragic romance. The song creates a feeling of glamour tinged with decay. On the surface, the lush orchestral strings, references to high society (The Hamptons, Bugatti), and declarations of love evoke a sense of opulence and passion. However, this is consistently undercut by a pervasive sense of doom and superficiality.

The slow, trip-hop rhythm and Del Rey's detached, breathy vocal delivery in the verses create an atmosphere of ennui and jadedness. The narrator seems to be going through the motions of a lavish life she knows is fundamentally empty. The emotional core shifts in the chorus, where the soaring strings and more earnest vocals convey a genuine longing for love and significance, even if that significance is sought through wealth and status. This creates a bittersweet and poignant tension. The bridge, with its litany of self-destructive behaviors ("drinking and driving, overdose and dying"), introduces a darker, more desperate emotional layer, confirming that the glamorous facade hides a tragic reality. The song's final moments, which in the video align with the JFK assassination, leave the listener with a profound sense of loss and the sorrowful understanding that this beautiful, corrupt dream was always destined to end tragically.

"National Anthem" became one of the most discussed tracks from Lana Del Rey's highly influential debut album, Born to Die. While its chart performance was modest, reaching 92 on the UK Singles Chart and 152 in France, its cultural impact far exceeded its sales, largely due to its provocative and critically acclaimed music video.

The video, directed by Anthony Mandler, was lauded for its cinematic quality and bold concept. It was named one of the 20 best music videos of the 2010s by Billboard in 2015 and later ranked as the 11th greatest of the decade by the same publication in 2019. Harper's Bazaar listed it as the sixth "most fashionable video of all time." The video's reimagining of the Kennedy family with A$AP Rocky as JFK was a significant cultural moment, sparking conversations about race, power, and the subversion of American iconography.

The song itself is considered a cornerstone of Del Rey's artistic identity, encapsulating her recurring themes of Americana, tragic romance, and the dark side of glamour. It solidified her persona as a "gangster Nancy Sinatra" and a commentator on the decay of the American Dream. Its blend of hip-hop beats with orchestral pop was a key part of the sound that made Born to Die a globally best-selling album and an enduringly influential record that has spent over 500 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart.

"National Anthem" features a relatively consistent rhyme scheme in its verses, often using AABB couplets like "success"/"address" and "handsome"/"Veyron" (a slant rhyme). This simple structure gives the verses a direct, declamatory feel. The pre-chorus and chorus sections move into a more complex pattern, creating a sense of melodic lift and emotional release.

The song's rhythm is one of its most defining features. It is built upon a prominent trip-hop beat with heavy basslines and a slow, deliberate tempo that contrasts with the fast-paced, almost-rapped lyrical delivery in the verses. This rhythmic tension between the languid beat and the hurried, conversational vocals creates a unique sense of being simultaneously relaxed and on edge. The rhythm of the chorus is more expansive, with the beat opening up to support the soaring string arrangement and Del Rey's more melodic singing. This rhythmic shift helps to differentiate the narrative-heavy verses from the emotional, anthem-like choruses, enhancing the song's dynamic structure. The overall pace is slow and cinematic, fitting the song's grand, melancholic theme.

• Musical Fusion: The song blends genres, combining lush, cinematic orchestral strings and baroque pop elements with a trip-hop beat and alternative hip-hop influences. This creates a signature sound that is both vintage and modern. The production includes modern touches like distorted sound effects and yells over classical instrumentation.
• Vocal Delivery: Lana Del Rey employs a distinctive vocal style that shifts throughout the song. She uses a breathy, almost spoken-word rap technique in the verses, which some critics have described as "chatting." This contrasts with the more soaring, melodic vocals of the chorus. One critic from NME described her vocal performance as being like a "perfect mannequin," highlighting its detached and stylized quality.
• Ironic Juxtaposition: The lyrics frequently juxtapose glamorous, romantic imagery with dark, cynical undertones. Phrases like "Wining and dining, drinking and driving / Excessive buying, overdose and dying" create a stark contrast between the perceived ideal and the destructive reality.
• Intertextuality: The music video is rich with intertextual references. It opens with a recreation of Marilyn Monroe's famous "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" performance and ends by reenacting the Zapruder film of JFK's assassination. This grounds the song in a specific, highly symbolic moment of American history.
• Narrative Voice: The song is told from a first-person perspective that is both complicit in and critical of the world she describes. This unreliable narrator is self-aware of her "gold digger" persona but also seems to genuinely yearn for love, creating a complex and layered character.