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Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have but I Have It
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have but I Have It
| cover = Lana Del Rey - Hope Is a Dangerous Thing.png
| alt =
| type = single
| border = yes
| artist = Lana Del Rey
| album = Norman Fucking Rockwell!
| studio = * Rough Customer (Brooklyn, NY)
* Sunset Banana Split (Los Angeles, CA)
| released =
| recorded = 2018
| genre =
| length = 5:24 (digital album and single version)
5:58 (physical album version)
| label = Polydor
| writer = * Lana Del Rey
* Jack Antonoff
| producer = * Jack Antonoff
* Lana Del Rey
| prev_title = Venice Bitch
| prev_year = 2018
| next_title = Doin' Time
| next_year = 2019
| misc =
}}
"'Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have but I Have It'" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer Lana Del Rey. The track was released as the third single on January 9, 2019, through Polydor Records, to promote her sixth studio album 'Norman Fucking Rockwell!'. It follows the singles "Mariners Apartment Complex" and "Venice Bitch".
Background
In early January 2019, Del Rey posted a preview of the song on Instagram and said in a statement that it was a "fan track". The track was originally named "Sylvia Plath", in honor of the American poet whom she references in the song.
Composition
"Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have but I Have It" is a ballad with a "muted, underwater-sounding piano" and an "elegiac melody". Producer Jack Antonoff said on Twitter that the track was recorded in his first recording session with Del Rey and that it was "recorded no click mostly live". He also commented its combination of "felt piano" and Del Rey's "perfect vocal" had "sounded exactly like that in the room".
In the song, Del Rey discusses religion, family, troubled romance, her struggle with alcoholism, her "journey to sobriety", and her refusal of fame and complex relationship with the limelight. "Hope" also contains references to Sylvia Plath, after whom the song was originally named.
Critical reception
The track received critical acclaim. Writing for 'Rolling Stone', Ryan Reed called the track "mournful" and a meditation on "religion, family, alienation and the myths that surround celebrity". Nick Reilly of 'NME' said the song features Del Rey "delivering one of her most confessional offerings to date as she compares herself to troubled poetry icon Sylvia Plath". Trace William Cowen of 'Complex' called it "delightfully minimalist". Winston Cook-Wilson of 'Spin' found the track to be "exceptionally crafted" with "standout lyrics". Ahead of the release of the parent album, 'Billboard' named it the best song recorded by Del Rey, describing the lyrics of the chorus as "most vulnerable moment in Lana Del Reys discography, and the most truthful".[https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8528500/lana-del-rey-best-songs-ranked Every Lana Del Rey Song, Ranked: Critic's List]
Live debut
"Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have But I Have It" premiered live at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, October 10, 2019, in a performance by Lana Del Rey and Jack Antonoff, with dancer Alexandria Kaye interpreting the music in the light and shadows of the upstage LCD screen.
Credits and personnel
*Lana Del Rey vocals, songwriting, production
*Jack Antonoff production, songwriting, recording engineering, mixing, piano
*Laura Sisk recording engineering, mixing
* Chris Gehringer mastering
* Will Quinnell assistant mastering engineering
Charts
References
Category:2010s ballads
Category:2019 singles
Category:2019 songs
Category:Lana Del Rey songs
Category:Polydor Records singles
Category:Songs written by Jack Antonoff
Category:Songs written by Lana Del Rey
Category:Song recordings produced by Lana Del Rey
Category:Song recordings produced by Jack Antonoff
Category:Sylvia Plath
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