National Anthem

I love Lana’s trashy, back alley Lolita moments almost as much as her sultry, heartbroken Peggy Lee ones, but there’s something about ‘National Anthem’, which, if you haven’t already heard it, falls into the former category, that I just can’t get on board with. Maybe it’s because the muffled children’s choir is one of the more contrived features of Born To Die, maybe it’s because the song’s lyrics are not lyrics at all, but rather a succession of assorted clichés (‘Wining and dining/Drinking and driving…’) maybe it’s because she spends most of the song purring, I’m your national anthem/God, you’re so handsome’, and I have no idea what that means. I’m sure Lana fans will love its hair-flicking flirtatiousness, but there are infinitely better songs in Ms. Del Rey’s repertoire.