Cigarettes and tiny liquor bottles,
Just what you'd expect inside her new Balenciaga.
{Someone's hiding something in their expensive purse, maybe saying that rich people are not as happy as they seem?}
Bad romance, turned dreams into an empire.
{1. Maybe name dropping without name dropping Lady Gaga who made a fortune, of course, with Bad Romance or 2. Someone taking their heartbreak and turning it into self-made success as we see in the next line}
Self-made success now she rolls with Rockefellers.
{Rags to riches, now in the same league as a historically rich and famous family}
Survival of the richest,
{Making commentary on how in America, "survival" and "success" are synonymous with "fame" and "fortune"}
the city's ours until the fall.
{We have control until we mess up and have to rely on higher ranking individuals}
They're Monaco and Hamptons bound, but we don't feel like outsiders at all.
{We are diverse, we are still Americans even though we're not millionaires}
We are the new Americana,
{America is changing, this generation is changing it, we are the new face of America, not past stereotypes}
High on legal marijuana,
{Progress that has occurred because this generation fought for it}
Raised on Biggie and Nirvana,
{1.These people grew up listening to diverse genres of music, metaphor for acceptance, also confirms that the "New Americana" are 90's and early 2000's kids.}
We are the new Americana.
Young James Dean, some say he looks just like his father,
But he could never love somebody's daughter.
{James Dean in the 50's was a model for greasers/hoods, probably someone a parent would not want with their daughter}
Football team loved more than just the game
So he vowed to be his husband at the altar.
{Football players (i.e. people in the eye of the media) love other football players, homosexuality is now acceptable, more progress brought about by the "New Americana" generation}
We know very well who we are, so we hold it down when summer starts.
{Not sure about this one, but I'm sure it's some kind of figurative language}
What kind of dough have you been spending?
{Money, money, money}
What kind of bubblegum have you been blowing lately?
{Something about how much money you spend on everyday things?}
So these are all the thoughts that I have so far, if you have any other opinions please don't hesitate to comment!
@19cachri I honestly see a lot more sarcasm in this song that you seem to. There are things about this generation I can respect, but I think that, in our postmodern society, progress is not actually possible, only profit. I.e., anything she says that sounds like optimism/etc is just catchy phrases to diversify the lyrics and make them appealing for radio play (ex, having a chorus with 'marijuana' in it).
@19cachri I honestly see a lot more sarcasm in this song that you seem to. There are things about this generation I can respect, but I think that, in our postmodern society, progress is not actually possible, only profit. I.e., anything she says that sounds like optimism/etc is just catchy phrases to diversify the lyrics and make them appealing for radio play (ex, having a chorus with 'marijuana' in it).
@ofnothing
Yeah, I definitely see that, I kind of wrote this interpretation really fast and after I posted it I realized that I hadn't touched on everything that I wanted to. I agree with you on her effort to diversify the lyrics. Adding buzzwords like "marijuana" and relatable-sounding statements such as "survival of the richest" are good for publicity and profit. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I interpreted this whole song very literally. Thanks for reading and adding a whole other layer of these lyrics to think over.
@ofnothing
Yeah, I definitely see that, I kind of wrote this interpretation really fast and after I posted it I realized that I hadn't touched on everything that I wanted to. I agree with you on her effort to diversify the lyrics. Adding buzzwords like "marijuana" and relatable-sounding statements such as "survival of the richest" are good for publicity and profit. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I interpreted this whole song very literally. Thanks for reading and adding a whole other layer of these lyrics to think over.
Cigarettes and tiny liquor bottles, Just what you'd expect inside her new Balenciaga. {Someone's hiding something in their expensive purse, maybe saying that rich people are not as happy as they seem?} Bad romance, turned dreams into an empire. {1. Maybe name dropping without name dropping Lady Gaga who made a fortune, of course, with Bad Romance or 2. Someone taking their heartbreak and turning it into self-made success as we see in the next line} Self-made success now she rolls with Rockefellers. {Rags to riches, now in the same league as a historically rich and famous family}
Survival of the richest, {Making commentary on how in America, "survival" and "success" are synonymous with "fame" and "fortune"} the city's ours until the fall. {We have control until we mess up and have to rely on higher ranking individuals} They're Monaco and Hamptons bound, but we don't feel like outsiders at all. {We are diverse, we are still Americans even though we're not millionaires}
We are the new Americana, {America is changing, this generation is changing it, we are the new face of America, not past stereotypes} High on legal marijuana, {Progress that has occurred because this generation fought for it} Raised on Biggie and Nirvana, {1.These people grew up listening to diverse genres of music, metaphor for acceptance, also confirms that the "New Americana" are 90's and early 2000's kids.} We are the new Americana.
Young James Dean, some say he looks just like his father, But he could never love somebody's daughter. {James Dean in the 50's was a model for greasers/hoods, probably someone a parent would not want with their daughter} Football team loved more than just the game So he vowed to be his husband at the altar. {Football players (i.e. people in the eye of the media) love other football players, homosexuality is now acceptable, more progress brought about by the "New Americana" generation}
We know very well who we are, so we hold it down when summer starts. {Not sure about this one, but I'm sure it's some kind of figurative language} What kind of dough have you been spending? {Money, money, money} What kind of bubblegum have you been blowing lately? {Something about how much money you spend on everyday things?}
So these are all the thoughts that I have so far, if you have any other opinions please don't hesitate to comment!
@19cachri I honestly see a lot more sarcasm in this song that you seem to. There are things about this generation I can respect, but I think that, in our postmodern society, progress is not actually possible, only profit. I.e., anything she says that sounds like optimism/etc is just catchy phrases to diversify the lyrics and make them appealing for radio play (ex, having a chorus with 'marijuana' in it).
@19cachri I honestly see a lot more sarcasm in this song that you seem to. There are things about this generation I can respect, but I think that, in our postmodern society, progress is not actually possible, only profit. I.e., anything she says that sounds like optimism/etc is just catchy phrases to diversify the lyrics and make them appealing for radio play (ex, having a chorus with 'marijuana' in it).
@ofnothing Yeah, I definitely see that, I kind of wrote this interpretation really fast and after I posted it I realized that I hadn't touched on everything that I wanted to. I agree with you on her effort to diversify the lyrics. Adding buzzwords like "marijuana" and relatable-sounding statements such as "survival of the richest" are good for publicity and profit. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I interpreted this whole song very literally. Thanks for reading and adding a whole other layer of these lyrics to think over.
@ofnothing Yeah, I definitely see that, I kind of wrote this interpretation really fast and after I posted it I realized that I hadn't touched on everything that I wanted to. I agree with you on her effort to diversify the lyrics. Adding buzzwords like "marijuana" and relatable-sounding statements such as "survival of the richest" are good for publicity and profit. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I interpreted this whole song very literally. Thanks for reading and adding a whole other layer of these lyrics to think over.
@19cachri youve basiccally just annotated it and put facts just saying
@19cachri youve basiccally just annotated it and put facts just saying