National Anthem

This song is so powerful. And to me, it has a huge message that the video definitely embodied.

This is my take on the story the song tells:

She starts off having stars in her eyes for this rich and famous big shot guy who is taking here to parties and introducing her to this crazy luxurious lifestyle. He tells her to "be cool" and she's nervous because she's never been in this niche.

In the next verse, she gives an amazing metaphor for having sex. But this time, she says "i'm already the coolest" when he tells her to "be cool". she has figured out the lifestyle now and she has become a part of that world. now she isn't just asking to go to parties, she wants him to buy diamonds.

In the end of the song she has blended completely into this crazy lifestyle of guys, money, drugs, alcohol, fame, etc. She is no longer that naive girl that was first introduced at the beginning of the song. She has lost to herself to the fake world of "fame". She is the "queen of Saigon" or.. the queen of the fallen.

Lana tells this story and then towards the end talks about it being a "love story of the new age". Like, this is what the world has come to... People are obsessed with pop culture and these "celebrities" and "socialites". This crazed world of the famous is glamorized and the people in the spotlight often forget what's real and in the end all they have done is ruined their own lives, just as the girl in the story did.

Money HAS become the anthem of success. They are considered one in the same in modern times.

It's Bugatti Veyron NOT Bacardi [?]. Omigod!

This is about equating money and love. He is loaded and worships money, she presents herself to him like his property, a money equivalent. She wants to be worshipped by this money worshipping clown just as much as he worships money. If money is the anthem of success, then she wants to be his National anthem, his most important possession. She wants him to owned and worshipped at the same time, like money is.

For all the questions out there:

-Bugatti Veyron: Sick car alfonsofigares.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/bugatti.jpg

-Upper echelon: Echelon meaning a "A level or rank in an organization, profession, or society" She's talking about money, being cool and all. Like the upper class.

-King of Chevron: I think she's talking about the American multinational energy corporation, "one of the world's six "supermajor" oil companies" it makes sense since she's singing about money and power through the whole song.

-Queen of Saigon: "Ho Chi Minh City, formerly named Saigon; is the largest city in Vietnam." "South Vietnam, as an anti-communist republic, fought against the communist North Vietnamese and Viet Cong during the Vietnam War" "Saigon fell when it was captured by the communists on 30 April 1975, bringing an end to the War with its enemy's victory. Vietnam was then turned into a communist state with the South overtaken"

Source: WIKIPEDIA

What the fucking fuck? Bacardi pharaoh?

CORRECTIONS:

it's "Bugatti Veyron" instead of "Bacardi pharaoh"

it's "or your pants ON" instead of "or your pants OFF"

it's "UMM.. do you think you'll buy me lots of diamonds?" instead of "LOVE.. do you think..."

it's "HE will do very well" instead of "WE will do very well"

it's "in his BELL TOWER HOTEL" instead of "in his spell tower, hotel"

that's just the ones i noticed.

I think that since the music video is about John Kennedy, that the first verse she is singing as Jackie Kennedy and the second verse she is singing as Marilyn Monroe. Maybe? Kinda?

I actually don't think this song is about gold-digging as much as selling out to money, as a way to justify staying with her cheating lover/Kennedy because "money is the reason we exist." Obviously this is a twisted version of "love is the reason we exist", which I think would be the general consensus. But because she is somewhat starved of it, she's resigned herself to staying in an extremely unhealthy relationship because of the money. I don't think she ever intended to be a gold-digger at all initially, which is emphasised in her monologue in the extended video for the song. That isn't included here, but at the end of it she repeatedly states "I loved him. I love him." This is more evidence to suggest she was never in it for the money. I think this song has a very similar tone to Video Games actually, she's trying to convince herself he loves her like he should but isn't fooling anyone. There are very brief glimpses of her insecurity and desperation to be loved more than anything else, for example this is hinted at in the line "I need somebody to hold me." But on the exterior, and for most of the song, she tries to stay "cool" and pretend that she only cares about the money. I definitely think there's more to it than her simply staying in a relationship for the riches.

This song should be a single right before Summer starts. It would be HUUGE! I LOOOVE this song!

I think it's "dark and lonely" not "god can only".