LANA DEL REY - Blue Banisters - Full Album Reaction
Added 2025-03-26 00:08:36 +0000 UTCWell here we are! WARNING: The first 30-40 mins may be quite uncomfortable to watch. But I promise I start relaxing into it as we go along. Trust the process...LOL Anyways, this may be the most honest I am in a reaction, so there's that.
Comments
With thunder that was 100% what I was alluding to so we are on the same page there. But I think I was trying to find other meanings in this reaction because sitting with that emotion felt uncomfortable for me at the moment. Denial in real time. Lol. 😂
Passion Dump of an Autist
2025-03-29 12:59:43 +0000 UTCI have heard a theory that blue banisters is about her friends healing her wounds... and the colour metaphors are for bruises... that first theyre blue, then they turn green and then gray and finally heal fully. Regarding Thunder, my interpretation has always been that its about a boyfriend who looks like a normal good guy in front of her friends and family but at home is domestically violent to Lana
Ergo Trepp
2025-03-29 12:45:57 +0000 UTCTheir dad Rob is playing the piano on the song
Melissa Reynolds
2025-03-28 16:34:27 +0000 UTCAnd I'm sure someone else has said this here too but yes Sweet Carolina was written by her and her dad Rob and sister (Chuck), and it was for and about Chuck who was pregnant at the time, and Chuck now has a daughter who's called Phoenix :)
Melissa Reynolds
2025-03-28 16:31:47 +0000 UTCYes! Cherry Blossom for me has always felt like a re-parenting song. Talking about how she wishes she had been loved by a mother as a child. Becoming the loving mother to herself that she never had. But also, the kind of mother she would want to be if she ever had a daughter - a different mother to what she had. So I think you're absolutely on track with that one Val! Sorry for delayed comments lol only just got round to finishing the reaction.
Melissa Reynolds
2025-03-28 16:28:03 +0000 UTCSomeone else may have said this here so if they have forgive me but I couldn't see it - Lana has confirmed that Living Legend was written about her friend and mentor Jane Powers
Melissa Reynolds
2025-03-28 16:21:12 +0000 UTCJoan Baez is such a great artist 🫶🏼 I was lucky to see her performing live in a beautiful park of my city in the South of France, but I was just a kid at the time and didn't really care 😭
Hetty
2025-03-28 09:20:59 +0000 UTCjust a fun little connection in the song Blue Banisters - she drops the lyrics "the diamonds, the rust, and the rain" which is a clear reference to Joan Baez' song Diamonds and Rust - thee song Lana & Joan sang together at the Greek Theatre! 🤩 That song obviously means a lot to Lana and her connection to Joan is really special. 💙 If you ever feel like getting to know more about Joan, there's an amazing documentary called Joan Baez: I Am a Noise (it's on Prime Video in Canada), plus Lana did a Q&A with Joan after one of the screenings. (it's on YT) ✨
Jaimie C
2025-03-27 15:52:40 +0000 UTCI understood everything!! I’m so sorry you are feeling frustrated with trying to put everything into words. And I get that. It swirls around for me sometimes and it’s difficult to really nail down all the details that you can understand in your head. I appreciate you writing down what you could tho! This was super helpful and gives me so much more to think about. ❤️
Passion Dump of an Autist
2025-03-27 01:07:07 +0000 UTCAnother adorable and insightful reaction. Lana did not promote this album 'cause it was too personal, people have been captivated by the mystery of her lyrics for many years now and created thousands of theories which most of them were never recognized by Lana herself. So here goes mine... Text Book is she trying to show how sarcastic her mid can be, Lana having "daddy issues" is such a poor and simplistic way of explaining her personality, she was looking for someone that could be trustworthy, settle down and care for her, I dare to say that "It seemed only appropriate you'd easily have my back" and "standing blue with open arms" is about her cop douchbag of a boyfriend (Sean Larkin) by the time. Also, when she mentions the BLM it could be about Lana and her friend joining the protests and "maybe just the way we're different could set me free" I can only guess that they have different or even opposing views on the social/political climate by the time and maybe could set her free from this "daddy issues(?)". "Other men I met felt right would smile at you and stick a knife In your back; finally I met you, so I'm not wonderin' why" I think she didn't need to wonder anymore 'cause HE DID THAT. That motherfucker, excuse me for swearing, did that exactly. "And I saw you saw who I am" he saw her as this fragile woman and tried to change her. And here I link with Blue Banisters, that I also think is about Sean, Oklahoma etc... He broke her heart and she managed to write one of her most amazing lyrics ever written by Lana (in my opinion), she did turn her sadness into something beautiful after all. Val, my ADHD keeps me from translating my thoughts into actual written words, that is so frustrating that it makes me wanna cry (I won't).
Barbara WK
2025-03-27 00:54:14 +0000 UTCHello Val! ✨ First of all, thank you for being here and for staying true to your feelings. ❤️ We don’t expect you to get everything right on the first listen — just enjoy the process, as this is the beauty of the first reaction! As a Lana fan since 2012, I can tell you... I still don’t fully understand Text Book (I was hoping your brain would help me out, but I guess this song broke us both, haha!). 😂 Just a couple of interesting insights about the album: 💙🎨 Blue Banisters – Lana hasn’t confirmed this, but many fans interpret it as a metaphor for healing bruises. A fresh bruise can be almost blue, then slowly fades to green-grey as it heals. 💚 I love this theory because the entire album feels like a journey of healing past traumas. 🏙️ Arcadia – During the Chemtrails era, Lana faced a lot of online hate and mockery. I feel like this may have been the point where she had enough — even LA, the place she once loved, no longer felt like home. She’s mentioned writing this song in a hotel, which she talked about in a live video. 🖤 Black Bathing Suit – I totally loved your idea of “losing it,” but what’s really heartbreaking is the hate Lana received for gaining weight during COVID. So-called “fans” fat-shamed her, posted nasty comments, and even stopped listening to her because she wasn’t “beautiful” or “glamorous” anymore. The lyrics “My body is my temple” and “I wish you could see through my soul” hit even harder when you think about that. 🎻 Beautiful – There’s actually a demo version of this song with strings at the end! Definitely worth checking out if you loved the original. 💖 💜🌹 Violets for Roses – “The girls are running 'round with their masks off, and it makes me so happy” seems to have a double meaning. It’s not just about the pandemic ending but also a metaphor for self-love and self-discovery (taking off our emotional masks/showing true self). 🌸 Cherry Blossom – Lana first sang this on Instagram live back in 2013 (?), and wow, we were all dying to hear the full version. She described it as a lullaby, and I think it could be for her future (dream) child (she mentioned Clementine and Angelina, maybe names for her daughters), her younger self (she refers to herself as a mother in this one), or possibly even about miscarriage (“little ghost”). I think the first two interpretations are the most likely. 🎹 Sweet Carolina – Yes, you got it right! Lana and her dad (on piano) created this song for Chuck while she was pregnant. If You Lie Down with Me, Living Legend, Nectar of the Gods, and Cherry Blossom – These are all old, unreleased songs that were either leaked or shelved for years. I’m not sure why she chose to include them here (mostly raw, without much editing), but I guess she’s a bit like you — doing whatever feels right in the moment. 😎 And honestly, I loved that rebellious side of you when you brought up Taylor Swift during your Norman Rockwell live, even when people asked you not to do it. It’s your freaking livestream, haha! 🙌 Sorry for the super long comment, but you totally spoiled us with a 3-hour reaction that made my day. 🥰 I figured I could either spare you some confusion (or add more, haha) and share this with you and any newer fans interested in the album. Lots of love! 💕 xx
Obliviate550
2025-03-26 23:11:33 +0000 UTCWildflower Wildfire is her talking to the fans about her history. There has always been rumors about it but this is her talking about it. Love the reaction as usual. I really appreciate your emotional investment and sharing it with us. You’re the best!
Jermonster
2025-03-26 20:11:17 +0000 UTCA "funny fact": Jane is one of her best friends. So, I think maybe at some point they were not well, and this song is for her " tou never care about my name, and I never meant to defy you"
Lorena V.
2025-03-26 18:28:57 +0000 UTCAs a newbie Lana fan, I'm no expert, but just wanted to share a few random thoughts I took away from this album & learned from your reaction. I'll try to keep it brief 😂 - a few things that stood out are the amount of times she mentions being 'bad', 'cruel world', 'blue', and motherhood (either being/wanting/reflecting and as you added for me, reparenting) -also took note of how direct she is on songs like Black Bathing Suit, Beautiful, and Violets for Roses, by clearly laying out what she wants in life and what she hates - like she was over being misinterpreted (tired of this shit) so was like, let me be CLEAR ('hate' also being a word she hasn't used a lot of or at all?) -Arcadia: LOVED the meaning you discovered & wow does it fit so well into this song!! 🤩 I interpreted a lot of this song as her personifying LA to her body & soul since Arcadia is a city in LA county & surrounded by the Sierra Madre & San Gabriel hills - and using this personification to explain this deep connection she has to LA, yet also how horribly she has been treated by the industry & media since the beginning to the present where she's just like, 'enough already, I need a miracle & so do you' 😢 It really reminded me of the same sentiment from God Knows I Tried bridge and I found so many connections to her poem LA who am I to love you? 🤯 Tho the phrase I wrote down after listening was "peace out and fuck you" 😅🤫 -The Interlude: 😳😱🤯 realizing this was sampled from the movie The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly is rabbit hole to go down! not only does it all symbolize A LOT but one thing i'll just say it being a spaghetti western, films that aren't shot or 'native' to LA as they're filmed in a foreign land, and in Arcadia she explains she's not 'native' to LA -Black Bathing Suit: it's my bad bitch song! 😂 like I scream sing that song if i feel like i'm being misinterpreted or someone's been so rude to me -Living Legend: I'm thrilled you interpreted it as a song to herself bcs that's how i was as well but i thought i might have been way way off - it's how it feels to me anyway (even tho this and other songs were written at different times it's very intentional to me on she chose to put them on this album.) I LOVE how you phrased it that inner work is not linear ✨ it's obvious in all her previous albums that she is a deep thinker and was reflecting on her life but wasn't necessarily ready to reveal it all or fully explore those feelings when they first arose. It's like they were meant to be released on this album when she was ready to start the exploring her past self as painful as it may be. You said it much better and it made sense to me 💕 there was more you said that I LOVED, my mental bandwidth is at about it's max right now 😂🤯 tho I'll just end with THANK YOU endlessly!!! 💕
Jaimie C
2025-03-26 18:02:57 +0000 UTCFirst of all, Val I LOVED your reaction!! ALL OF IT! 💕 Text Book was (and still is in many ways) confusing as hell to me and especially on first listen, so I felt VERY SEEN by your confusion as well. You teach us many things about self-care, self-compassion, grace to oneself and more just by being you. You could have easily edited out your initial thoughts, but choosing to keep them in, shows us another level of vulnerability, helping us learn and grow. it's a very delicate thing to do and share, so please know it is not lost on me of your choice to keep that section in 💖🦋 And seeing you circle back to it in the end, completely showed us an example of how giving oneself grace & love and trusting the process, can reveal more to us than we first realize if we stick with it. plus the angel numbers had your back 😇✨🤗 From what I can tell, no one here expects you to 'get it' all on first reaction. (I really don't know how anyone could especially with all the layers Lana has in her songs) And for me, if you end up not really loving a Lana album or song, that is 100% OK 🤗 I know a lot of people are excited for Tunnel too. I listened to it a couple times well over a year+ ago and remember being so confused & my head hurt lol (it was also the first Lana album I listened to so it was definitely not the right place to start for me 😅). I'll be relistening to it for the first time since then about the same time you'll be. I anticipate great confusion from me, with maybe some more insight & context this time, but I know I won't get it all. I hope you don't feel the pressure on that reaction to get it & to even love it. Sorry for the long message, just wanted to let you know your reactions & journey with each album is what draws people to your channel, and to reassure you that you are not alone on this journey ✨🦋💞
Jaimie C
2025-03-26 16:58:59 +0000 UTC
