2012Released
3:50

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about National Anthem. By Songfacts®.

Lana Del Rey is the daughter of real-estate investor, Rob Grant, whilst her mother is an advertising account executive. She had a comfortable middle-class upbringing in the town of Lake Placid in rural New York. This military-drummed ode to escapism and the rich life recalls Lana's relationship with a wealthy boyfriend and reveling in the good times. She explained to The Sun: "I've been with this guy off and on for a long time, but we used to just drive from New York in his car up to the Hamptons. I remember thinking at the time it was just heaven. It's funny, all the songs are about the same thing — going away with the one you love and then coming back home. In having relationships, you're able to explore other sides of yourself."

Born Elizabeth Grant, Lana chose her own stage name. She explained to Vogue magazine: "I wanted a name I could shape the music towards [...] I was going to Miami quite a lot at the time, speaking a lot of Spanish with my friends from Cuba - Lana Del Rey reminded us of the glamour of the seaside."
This song fits in well with the singer's post-Lizzy Grant cinematic "gangsta Nancy Sinatra" public image. "We're on a quick, sick rampage / wining and dining, drinking and driving / On our drugs and our love and our dreams and our rage / Blurring the lines between real and the fake," she sings.

This song was co-written by David Sneddon, who won the BBC talent show Fame Academy in 2002 with his musical partner James Bauer-Mein. Sneddon, who first started working with Del Rey in 2010, told the Independent that the Video Games singer had been developing her music for a long time. "She'd spent a while working on her sound before we met her," he said, "so we were pretty quick to learn what she wanted out of a song. The lyrics are incredibly personal to her and although she enjoys the mystique of Hollywood imagery, you'll find a story wrapped up in every song."

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of National Anthem.
CKey
MinorMode
4/4Time Signature
85BPM

Album

The album National Anthem is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released National Anthem.
Polydor Records
© 2012 Lana Del Rey, under exclusive licence to Polydor Ltd. (UK). Under exclusive licence to Interscope Records in the USA
℗ 2012 Lana Del Rey, under exclusive licence to Polydor Ltd. (UK). Under exclusive licence to Interscope Records in the USA

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