“Arcadia” is the fourth single from Lana Del Rey’s 2021 album ‘Blue Banisters.’ The singer shared several snippets of this moody melody on social media prior to the release of the song.
Lana Del Rey announced her new album ‘Blue Banisters’ as a transcendence of “what it was like, what happened, and what it’s like now.” The previous singles released from the album are “Text Book,” “Blue Banisters,” and “Wildflower Wildfire.” The new album releases on October 22, 2021.
In the teased lyrics, we hear Lana Del Rey comparing different body parts of hers to different cities of Los Angeles, California.
My body is a map of L.A
I stand straight like an angel, with a halo
The song is accompanied by a music video of Lana moving to the rhythm. Oftentimes, different locations of LA are projected digitally on Lana’s body.
Listen to “Arcadia” Song by Lana Del Rey
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Lana Del Rey “Arcadia” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Throughout the song, Lana Del Rey shows love to the city of L.A. by personifying different parts of her body to different parts of the city. However, the song carries the signature Lana Del Rey sensual elements embedded within.
Verse 1
In the first verse of the song, Lana pays homage to the city of Los Angeles, which was once her home. The city is referred to as the ‘City of Angels.’
Lana compares her chest area to Sierra Madre, a mountainous region in Los Angeles. The metaphor is pretty self-explanatory.
She also compares her hips to the curves in highways that run through LA. The music video shows plenty of curves of Lana, in tight blue jeans and a low-cut top.
Finally, she brings a touch of sexual flavor into the song by saying that his hands were like a Toyota or a Land Rover that drove all over the highways of her body.
Chorus
Lana Del Rey sings about the city of Arcadia as the city where she wants to be. It is a small city in Los Angeles, also bordering the previously mentioned Sierra Madre region. She compares this city to her heart. All the roads connect to this city just as all the blood vessels in her body pump blood to her heart.
According to Merriam Dictionary, ‘Arcadia’ also symbolizes “a place of rustic innocence and simple, quiet pleasure. Arcadian can mean “idyllically pastoral” or “idyllically innocent, simple, or untroubled.”
Verse 2
In the second verse of the song, Lana Del Rey continues the theme. She compares her hips to San Gabriel, another small city in Los Angeles. Why it is compared to her hips is lost to us. If you know the connection, drop a comment below.
Despite adoring Los Angeles throughout the song, Lana Del Rey knows she is not a native to the city. LA might be calling her name, but she knows that her heart belongs to the “Chemtrails Over the Country Club.”
Outro
In these final lyrics, Lana Del Rey says goodbye to the city of Los Angeles. Despite having so much in common with her soul, this city is cruel. Lana lived much of her celebrity life in Los Angeles, which was the highlight of her career.
They built me up three hundred feet tall just to tear me down
So I’m leavin’ with nothing but laughter, and this town
But this city can tear you down just as easily. Lana misses how comforting her midwest hometowns were. Everyone had each other’s back.
Lana says she received a lot of hate during her stay in LA which she could have lived without. So, she heads home, as humble as when she left home. On her way back, she prays for a miracle for the city of LA and America as a whole. Lana Del Rey has lived through her fair share of controversies that have earned her a bit of a spoiled reputation. Maybe, LA did react to these controversies a bit harshly. But is Lana fazed by these? Probably not–the several times she flips the middle finger at the camera in this music video might give you a clue.
What are your thoughts on this song? Check out the complete lyrics on Genius on release.
Watch the alternate music video for “Arcadia” by Lana Del Rey below.
Watch Lana Del Rey Perform “Arcadia” Live on Stephen Colbert Show
This is one stunning performance by Lana Del Rey. Her live vocals are as good as the studio recordings. An absolutely enchanting live rendition of a beautiful song.
Love love this song …..has been on repeat for days with me. Her mannerisms and softness about her draws me in every time.
Huge fan……” It will all work out” feeling comes over me when I hear her voice…
San Gabriel besides being a city is also the name of a mountain range but for the sake of the song is probably the San Gabriel Valley, which is a group of cities to the east of LA. It’s never been as cool as The Valley (San Fernando Valley) which historically has been where the Hollywood industry has been located.