Going to college is a collection of feelings and moments that tend to not make sense. You are stuck in between who you are and who you’re becoming, all while navigating a giant campus crawling with strangers who feel the same way. For many young people, Lana Del Rey is an artist who encapsulates the tumultuous experience of growing up, while highlighting the coming of age moments that are burned into your mind forever. Her music offers a sense of relatability, and captures the essence of being clearly seen by an artist.
Whether you’re lonely, overjoyed, or simply burnt out, there is a guarantee that Del Rey has a song that feels like it understands exactly where you are.
Here are my top picks from her generational albums.
Overwhelmed: “Get Free” – ‘Lust for Life’
For the stereotypical college student, daily life consists of running around campus to get to classes, managing assignment deadlines, finding time for both friends and fun, balancing extracurriculars, and doing it all on just a few hours of sleep. Feeling overwhelmed in college is probably the most universal feeling ever, since every single day you have so much to do and not a lot of time to do it. Del Rey’s song “Get Free” encapsulates exactly the kind of pressure being a full time student entails. Her lyrics mention feeling stuck but not changing, which can relate to the cycle of feeling consistently overwhelmed, yet not being able to escape. Another lyric mentions, “I wanna move, out of the black (out of the black), into the blue (into the blue)” and can represent the desire to find inner peace, and how there is hope for feeling less stressed in the future. When you listen to this song, Del Rey’s angelic and cinematic vocals completely take over, allowing the melody to teleport you to a world where constant chaos makes sense. This track is the definition of allowing yourself to breathe and let go.
Confident: “Ride” – ‘Born to Die (Paradise Edition)’
By far one of the greatest Del Rey songs of all time, “Ride” allows you to celebrate yourself in a way unlike ever before, especially with the freshman year transition of high school to college. The opening monologue is a highlight: “I believe in the person I want to become,” which shows that both belief, and of course that confidence, is all you need to feel fulfilled in your everyday life. Another lyric, “That’s the way road doves do it, ride ‘til dark,” serves as a reminder that in college, you are the creator of your story. It pushes you to make all of the memories you can, and to make the most out of every day. Pressing play on this song encapsulates the feeling of driving while music’s blasting and the windows are down, or walking around on campus simply enjoying what life has to offer.
Excitement: “Summertime Sadness” – ‘Born to Die’
An upbeat classic that provides an extra dopamine boost, “Summertime Sadness” showcases the moments that feel absolutely electric. This song is the definition of romanticizing college life, because with this as the soundtrack, every moment becomes charged with the feeling of possibility and hope. Of course the famous words, “Hot summer nights, mid July” feels right out of a coming of age film, and mixes the uncertainty that college brings with the joyful moments. I would consider this creating a core memory, so when you come back to this song in days, months, or years, the feelings of when you were young start flooding back. As a college student, this rush of emotions feels bittersweet because these moments are slipping away as we speak, yet a major part of the thrill is knowing that nothing lasts forever.
Loneliness: “Hope is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but i have it” – ‘Norman F**king Rockwell!’
Going to a university as large as the University of Connecticut, being constantly surrounded by people, can heighten feelings of loneliness and homesickness. But for college students nationwide, whether you’re an in-state student, or traveled across the country to get to where you are, “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have – but I have it” is incredibly raw and human. It gives you space to feel the emotional weight of being away from home, and learn that there is something special about solitude. Del Rey writes, “Don’t ask if I’m happy, you know that I’m not, but, at best, I can say I’m not sad, ’cause hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have.” There is something that feels so special about acknowledging that you are not happy all of the time, and that feeling deeply, even when it hurts, will eventually turn into something beautiful. There will be days where you are alone rotting in your dorm, alone eating in the dining hall, or walking into a class where you know absolutely no one, but this song serves as a reminder that you are simply in a time where the world is changing and you are growing.
Freedom: “Living Legend” – ‘Blue Banisters’
College is the ultimate time of embracing freedom and turning the page in your life. “Living Legend” makes you feel like you’re living in slow motion, and feel an overwhelming sense of empowerment. In the middle of the song, Del Rey sings, “Guns in the summertime and horses too, I never meant to be bad or unwell, I was just living on the edge, right between heaven and hell.” Every college student relates to the constant feeling of being on the “edge,” tiptoeing between the best and the worst times of your life. The best part of the song is towards the end of the track, where there’s a guitar solo that truthfully is an out of body experience when you hear it for the first time. It gives you time to understand that this is your life and your time, and you don’t need anyone else’s validation for any reason. It tells you to let go, and eventually, you will be your own living legend in the making.
Del Rey remains an artist that is ahead of her time and a woman who just simply understands life experiences. While these recommendations are a small part of her incredibly large discography, she has a plethora of songs that are completely worth listening to, and will match how you’re feeling, even if you think no one will understand.