Radio

Here's my interpretation of the song, it might be going a bit far, but this is how I feel it.

I think this song is about opportunism. She is talking about a guy she was in love with for a long time and who didn't really pay attention to her. But then she became famous and she started to have her songs played on the radio. This is how it starts. Throughout the song she is talking to this guy, who is finally dating her. But, and that's where I think this song is brilliant because it's picturing a complex and tortured relationship (which clearly goes in the same direction as the rest of the album does), she realises that this guy doesn't love her for who she is but only because she's famous, and she suffers from that but in the mean time, even though she understands, she prefers to tell herself that everything is fine and that she's happy. If you only look at the lyrics, they seem to be quite happy, but when you hear the song, you can definitely hear from the melancholic melody that it hides something deeper (which is I think a typical thing in most of Lana del Rey's songs, "Video Games" being a perfect example). Let's look at the lyrics a bit more in details:

"Not even they can stop me now, Boy, I'll be flying overhead Their heavy words can't bring me down Boy I've been raised from the dead"

She doesn't pay attention to people warning her that the guy she's with stays with her because of her fame, not because he's in love with her. The terms "flying overhead" is here to witness that she thinks she's above what they say, that it's not worth listening to these "heavy words", the words reminding her that the love he's showing her is fake. The expression "raised from the dead" clearly explains that she has been feeling miserable in the past and that now she feels alive. I think it shows how much she was in love with the guy and that's what might explain why she pretends that she's not realising her relationship is built out of fake things, because she suffered so much in the past, waiting for him, that when he came to her, she was ready to put her dignity aside. I don't think she used the word "dead" for nothing, the reference to death and love leading to it or being deadly (cf "Without You") joins the main theme of the album which is for me clearly about doomed relationships and tragic fates.

"Don't even notice what life was like, I don't even think about it now because I finally found you"

Obviously these lyrics are a direct reference to her illusion. She is so in love with her boyfriend that she completely forgets all the pains and tough times she's been through because this guy was not in love with her. "Finally" put the emphasis on how long her troubles lasted and how much she suffered. These verses are actually really strong, because at first sight, it looks like something really positive, but behind it you feel the weight of bad periods she has been through.

"(Now sing it to me) Now my life is sweet like cinnamon Like a fucking dream I'm livin in Baby loves me 'cause I'm playin on the radio (How do you like me now?)"

Here's a very interesting part. The "Now sing it to me" verse is for me the evidence that this song is not reflecting reality and that she is talking to herself as if she wanted to convince herself that what she's living is what she expected, even though it's clearly not the case. It might also be her wanting that her boyfriend would sing that to her, in the way that she’d like him to love her as she does. I agree with most of you when you say the metaphor used is not innocent. Cinnamon seems to be something sweet because you first think about desserts and candies, but the thing is that if you take a mouthful of cinnamon, you can clearly tell that it's not sweet at all. This metaphor is therefore here to remind us that her life seems great but is not actually. This is a clever reference to make us understand that she's still realising that her man doesn't love her but she wants to convince herself it's the case. The use of "fucking" before "dream" creates an interesting contradiction, because most of the time you picture a dream as something sweet and you would not associate it with a rude word. For me another reference to the fake side of her relationship with her boyfriend. It could even be construed as her using words which are not hers but that you would find in her "lover's" mouth. Moreover, she says it's a dream, and a dream is not the reality by definition, so once again, she explains us implicitly that she knows she's not living reality as it is, but she tries to convince herself she's livin her dreams is which her man loves her. The next sentence is the clearest clue about her knowing that he's opportunistic and that she's fooling herself. This is actually the only sentence in the whole song that reveals the hidden meaning. It clearly not fits with the rest of the lyrics, speaking at first sight about a heavenly love. This is this verse coupled with the sad melody that makes you realise that she knows that this whole relationship is not as amazing she presents it, that the guy pretends to be in love with her only to take advantage of her fame and that she knows it. But she has been expecting the moment he would come to her so much that she tries to move ahead from the past and the terrible pains she felt. She prefers a fake love to no love at all. And she knows it, which is terrible, because she is ready to accept an awful situation, her love for him is so strong that she refuses to see the unstandable truth. The final question "How do you like me now?" is also picturing that she knows he doesn't love her for herself but because of her fame. And it shows again that she knows it and that she is just trying to convince herself from the contrary by asking him a confirmation that he loves her, she is seeking for him witnessing her this fake love, so that she can keep on fooling herself and avoid the truth.

"Pick me up and take me like a vitamin 'Cause my body's sweet as sugar venom oh yeah, Baby loves me 'cause I'm playing on the radio (How do you like me now?)" Here we find a metaphor about poison, reminding the previous references to death in the song. She seems to be a vitamin, but in the mean time her body’s «sweet like sugar venom». She speaks about a sweet poison, something deadly hidden behind a sweet candy. This might refer to the fact that, as she knows in the depth of her mind, even if she’s lying to herself, that all of this is just an illusion, and therefore, she might have this bitterness and sadness growing inside her, that could lead her to hurt or do something bad to her so called boyfriend. This is clearly emphasised by the word «sugar» being associated with «venom». I think it’s also a reference to the whole relationship as it seems to be pleasant (sugar) but it’s actually destroying her as she doesn’t want to face the truth (venom). We come back to the deadly relationships theme, with the likely fact that she could finally face it all and hurt the guy she’s with.

" American dreams came true somehow I swore I chase’em ‘till I was dead I heard the streets were paved with gold That’s what my father said» The reference to the American dream is perfectly brilliant, as it can be construed as a symbol of a broken dream. So many people believe in it, but with the time passing by, they realise it will never come true. Or if it does, it’s something artificial, that doesn’t bring happiness, only fame and money. This is again picturing her one-way relationship and her trend to fool herself. Again, she’s talking about «a dream», and an amazing one, the kind of dream you’re into all your life, until you realise you can be one of the people who won’t access it or who will but will realise it’s not as heavenly as it seems. Another clear evidence is the use of «somehow». She says that because it’s only true in part. At first sight they’re together so we can think it’s cool for her, but as he doesn’t love her and she knows it even though she doesn’t want to face it, this dream didn’t really came true. This sentence is for me perfect to express my thesis as it uses strong images that might not be noticed at first listening, but when you pay attention a bit more, you can hear the hidden meaning and the distress behind the apparently perfect situation depicted.
The next verse goes in this way too: she uses the word «swore», so she almost put on herself an obligation to achieve a great relationship with the guy she’s with, so that might explain that when he came to her, she forgot about the past when she was desperately waiting for him to come at her. Because of this weight she put on herself, it was not possible for her to say no. Moreover, she had this goal to have this guy by her side and she wanted it so strongly that no matter why he was coming at her, the mere fact he showed her interest was sufficient to her. Again we find a reference to death with «until I was dead», showing how strong she loved and still love this guy, and how much she wanted to be with her. The third verse is also really interesting as she doesn’t say something she’s sure of, she sings «I heard» which clearly shows she’s not even convinced herself that streets are paved with gold, once again showing us that she’s living a lie. The correlation with the «that’s what my father said» makes this feeling even stronger as she seems to draw a reference to the kind of story parents say to their child to make them dream or keep hope in life, even though it might be true. It’s like her father was telling her «don’t worry, streets are paved with gold, life is cool» without even believing it himself but he was trying to reassure her when she was a child. It could be seen as her trying to make her feel safer, even though she doesn’t even trust in what she’s saying.

«No one even notice what life was like, Now I’m in L.A. and it’s paradise
I finally found you» Last, but not least, the «no one» term, encompassing everyone around her, is showing she is completely ignoring the others and fooling herself, as for her no one is aware of how terrible her life was, she’s completely forgetting the ones warning her she referred to in the first couple of sentences of the song. She is completely occulting the rest of the world, mistaking herself until the end. The reference to L.A is not innocent either. A lot of people say Hollywood is the place where you can find superficiality, stars and many persons wanting to show off, to picture something they’re not; a place with its bunch of fake tans, fake people, fake lives, is used as a reference to a kingdom of lies, which is perfect for her, as it conciliates fame and illusion, the situation she’s living. Saying it’s paradise puts even more emphasis on her illusions and on the fact she feels great in LA where she can be surrounded with fake things and people living fake lives.

Here it is guys, here’s my interpretation, I know it’s a bit long, it’s just that I’m really obsessed with this song. For me it’s the best of «Born To Die» and one of the best songs of 2012. It’s perfectly written, with loads of metaphors and references, and as such a powerful meaning to me. It makes me almost cry each time I listen to it. The lyrics are so strong and the melody is beautiful, it expresses so much emotions. For me this song is so sad, it talks about someone being so unhappy with her life as she seems to have everything, but it’s just an illusion, inside she feels broken and doesn’t want to face it. This awful situation depicted where this guy pretends to love her only to take advantage from her. Once again, Lana del Rey depict a tormented and destructive relationship with its inherent pains and struggles. Brilliant!!!!!!!!