Song Analysis Week 5: Happiness is a Butterfly
Lana Del Rey is one of the most creative writers I’ve ever listened to. Her music is so descriptive, it’s almost a visual experience as well as audial. I can close my eyes and envision the story. On Lana’s album Norman F***ing Rockwell, a stand out song is “Happiness is a Butterfly”. Just the title alone draws in a listener.
The first verse begins with the line, “Do you want me or do you not?
I heard one thing, now I’m hearing another”. This line could be Lana questioning her current relationship. Her partner may be lying and telling her one thing and her friends another. That line is followed by, “Dropped a pin to my parking spot, The bar was hot, it’s 2 AM, it feels like summer”. Lana earlier expressed in her album Born to Die that summer brings a feeling of sadness for her. It’s a time in her life where she starts to struggle with alcohol again. She feels rejected by her lover and heads to the bar to cope. She wants to forget for just a little bit.
The refrain starts with the lyrics, “Happiness is a butterfly, Try to catch it, like, every night, It escapes from my hands into moonlight”. Lana expresses how she loses happiness and then finds it at later times. However, night time is particularly difficult for her mental state. She searches for the “butterfly” all the time but has a hard time keeping it in her hands for long. The next lyrics are, “Every day is a lullaby, Hum it on the phone, like, every night, Sing it for my babies on the tour life”. This means she’s singing the same song over and over. Repeating the same day. Looking for happiness and then losing it day and night.
The pre-chorus opens with the lyrics, “If he’s a serial killer, then what’s the worst that can happen to a girl who’s already hurt? I’m already hurt”. These lyrics are pretty powerful. Del Rey expresses that she’s so hurt and unhappy that she doesn’t care if her partner kills her. Whether mentally or physically, she is so sad that she would be ok with dying. Next, “If he’s as bad as they say, then I guess I’m cursed, Looking into his eyes, I think he’s already hurt, He’s already hurt”. Lana trusts her lover enough to look into them and see what’s truly wrong. Del Rey tells that her partner is just as broken as her. That makes her love and want them more despite them hurting each other.
The chorus begins with the lyrics, “I said, “Don’t be a jerk, don’t call me a taxi, Sitting in your sweatshirt, crying in the backseat, I just wanna dance with you”. The taxi represents a place of loneliness as she is driven away from her partner after a fight. She’s watching the relationship crumble. Lana’s words are mixed up because this relationship has turned her upside down. It continues with, “Hollywood and Vine, Black Rabbit in the alley I just wanna hold you tight down the avenue, I just wanna dance with you”. The two locations’, one being in NYC and the other in LA, juxtaposition is common in Lana’s music. New York is where she’s from and LA is where she currently resides. Lana wishes the relationship was simpler. She wants to do easy, fun things with her partner. She’s tired of crying and the relationship’s dynamic is too complex. Two broken people trying to love each other never ends well.
The post-chorus, “Baby, I just wanna dance (Dance), With you (Dance)”. Is just repeating how she longs for a simpler dynamic.
The last refrain begins with, “Happiness is a butterfly, We should catch it while dancing, I lose myself in the music, baby”. Lana invites her partner to search for happiness with her. Again dancing is repeated. She longs to get lost in happiness and simplicity. However, she knows that as long as the broken people stay together happiness will be almost unachievable. It ends with the lyrics, “If he’s as bad as they say, then I guess I’m cursed, Looking into his eyes, I think he’s already hurt, He’s already hurt”. These lyrics are repeated. She still sees them as perfect in her eyes despite others telling her to stay away. Lana is aware that it would be easier to break up but she knows they’re hurt and wants to fix them. She wants them to chase happiness together.
This song is beautiful and painful all at once. After experiencing this type of love you realize how truthful the meaning of the song is. The lyrics hurt. However, realizing what was wrong can be very healing, and Lana captured this perfectly.