Lust For Life – music video and song lyrics analysis: the suicide and the afterlife: the tragedy of Peg Entwistle.
before we start, let’s talk about the most
famous tragedy of the Hollywood sign in 1932, the suicide of the young starlet
Peg Entwistle; like so many others, Entwistle came to Hollywood looking to
become a star, at the beginning Peg was a broadway actress but by 1931, as the depression
had hit hard, and plays closed almost as soon as they opened. She abandoned New
York and headed west to Los Angeles hoping to pursue a film career instead. but
with so many beauties flocking to town during Hollywood's Golden Age, all of
them seeking to be the next big thing, she struggled to stand out and find
roles, and so on the night of September 16, 1932, she climbed the H of the
Hollywood sign, and she jumped leaving a suicide note as well as her beautiful
accessories (jacket, purse and shoes), since her death, Peg has become a
Hollywood legend. others say that her ghost has haunted the famous landmark
ever since.
“Its
accompanying music video directed by Clark Jackson features Del Rey and The
Weeknd singing on the top of the Hollywood Sign as referenced in the lyrics.
Some critics pointed out a parallel between some of the lyrics and imagery
accompanying the song and the 1932 suicide of actress Peg Entwistle who killed
herself by jumping off the "H" of the sign”
does that sound
familiar? Yes, of course.
going back to the album trailer of Lust for Life,
we see Lana living inside the H of the Hollywood sign, like a ghost! and in the
monologue she says:
“Luckily
for me, I live right inside the middle of the 'H' of the Hollywood sign, and
this is how I spent most of my nights: perched high above the chaos that swirls
within the City of Angels below.”
- the city of angels is the nickname of Los Angeles, everyone who dreams of becoming a big star, they head to LA, and that’s what both Peg and Lana did, the difference is some of them make it, and some don’t.
now let’s start analyzing the music video and
the song lyrics:
Lana and The Weeknd
both portray two lovers, one of them (The Weeknd) is already dead, and
the other one (Lana) is going to commit suicide so they could finally
meet each other again for eternity in the afterlife.
-
one of Lana’s
previous boyfriends is dead, and in the song body electric she sings
about him, and about suicide saying that “Heaven is my baby, suicide's her
father Opulence is the end”- meaning that in order to gain opulence and
live in heaven (the afterlife), committing suicide is the way.
Lana also portrays Peg; the difference is that Peg committed suicide out of misery, and Lana to meet her boyfriend.
in the music video, we see Lana singing,
but she doesn’t continue, instead she goes running to climb the Hollywood sign,
and there she finds her boyfriend welcoming her, the scenery is in a dark color
but Lana / Peg is in a screaming color, which means she’s the
only one alive there.
Climb up the H of the Hollywood sign
In these stolen moments, the world is mine
There's nobody here, just us together
Keepin' me hot like July forever
the H of the Hollywood sign is where Peg
jumped in that night, Lana / Peg goes there to meet her dead
boyfriend, they are alone there, it makes them feel like the world is theirs.
“Hollywood
legend has it that Peg haunts the H in the Hollywood sign and ghost hunters on
YouTube claim that she can sometimes be seen sitting at the top of the H. This
mimics the “Lust for Life” music video where Lana and Abel perform the entire
song perched on the “H.”- Genius
keeping me hot like July forever: the weather reaches
its peak during July, being hot like July means being so hot! also when we die
our bodies turn cold, Lana asking him to keep her hot, means keeping her alive,
but in the afterlife!
Cause we're the masters of our own fate
We're the captains of our own souls
There's no way for us to come late
'Cause boy, we're gold, boy, we're gold
And I was like...
“I am the master of my fate; I am the captain
of my soul” – is from the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley,
it means that our fate is in our hands, and we are the ones to sail it, and we
are the captains of our souls, we are the ones that can decide what to do with
our lives, to die or to live!
there’s no way for us to come away: now that Lana
/ Peg met her boyfriend finally, she will not let go of him again, and
because he is dead, and she is not, she is the captain of her soul so she
chooses to die and stick with him forever!
Take off, take off, take off all of your clothes
They say only the good die young
That just ain't right
'Cause we're having too much fun
Too much fun tonight
Lana / Peg asks her boyfriend to take of his clothes, and she says that people say that only the good die young, she says that this isn’t true, because she and her boyfriend are not good, and they are having so much fun, but still they are dying young.
And a lust for life, and a lust for life
Keeps us alive, keeps us alive
she says that lust for life keeps them alive, maybe the lust she’s talking about here, is not for the life we live in the ordinary world, but the life we live after we die and go to heaven? So that lust for life keeps them alive though they are going to die, also The Weeknd, when Lana / Peg came was still on the Hollywood sign, maybe it means that he waited for her there as a ghost, and when she comes they will go together to the afterlife.
'Cause we're the masters of our own fate
We're the captains of our own souls
So there's no need for us to hesitate
We're all alone, let's take control
The Weeknd is the one singing this part, so her dead boyfriend is telling her that they are in control of their own lives and souls, so there’s no need for them to hesitate, he’s convincing her to jump so she could be with him forever!
My boyfriend's back and he's cooler than ever
There's no more night, blue skies forever
My boyfriend’s back is a 1963 song by
an American girl group called The Angels
and he’s cooler than ever is a reference to her
other song Brooklyn Baby.
she says that her boyfriend is back, she’s meeting him again now that she is dead.
There's no stopping now, green lights forever
Blue skies forever is a song by Frankie Miller, Lana / Peg says now that they are both dead, and in the afterlife, there will be no more nights (darkness), only blue skies (peace).
in the ordinary life, there are obstacles that stop us from doing what we love; those obstacles are the red light, like in the traffic, in the afterlife there is no red light, only green lights.
in the music video we notice that The Weekend is removing Lana / Peg accessories, Peg before she jumped she removed her accessories.
at the end of the music video, The Weeknd comforts Lana / Peg as she slips from the Hollywood sign, he is already dead and he’s convincing her to die, and then they are both together in a field (the afterlife) – the field they lay on appears on a map that is different from the earth’s map, it definitely means they are in another world / planet.
Lana in the beginning
of the music video, is in a place that gives early 60s music video vibes, and
two girls are behind her singing too, it looks like a typical girl group from
the 60s, that consists from 3 members (The Shangri-Las, The Ronettes,
The Angels), so it is more like a homage to the girl groups of the 60s
the instrumental of
the song Lust for Life are inspired by the drums in Be My Baby by
The Ronettes.
Lana refers to The
Angels song My Boyfriend’s back.
the song Lust
for Life instrumental is inspired by the sound of The Shangri-Las
music.
the Doo Woop is a musical genre that was very popular in the 60s espicially among girl groups, Lana used the technique in both the Lust For Life song and album.
“But then
I was feeling like it was missing a little bit of the Shangri-Las element, so I
went back for a fourth time and layered it up with harmonies. Now I’m finally happy
with it.’’- Lana talking about the making
of Lust for Life.
+ also Lust for Life does open with the revving motorcycle sound effect from Leader of the Pack by The Shangri-Las.
Lana as a 60s girl group main singer in the music video
Fun Fact: Pen Entwistle has made only one
movie called 13 / thirteen women, the movie came out after she died, in
the album, the song that comes after Lust for Life is 13 Beaches.
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