In a 2021 article for Harper’s Bazaar, Iman Sultan wrote that “the persona that catapulted to success is built on the appropriation of music, aesthetics, and storylines conceived in low-income neighborhoods populated by people of color.” Following the 2013 release of her short film Tropico, the singer came under fire for appropriating Native and Latin cultures: she pole-dances with teardrop tattoos on her face, surrounded by Latinx extras, then brandishes a gun in the desert while wearing a Native American headdress for some reason. like a god.” In “Tulsa Jesus Freak,” she dreams of going back to Arkansas (even though Tulsa is, of course, a city in Oklahoma).
“Don’t even want what’s mine/Much less the fame,” she sings in “Dark But Just a Game.” In "Dance Till We Die," she mentions being “burdened by the weight of fame." In “White Dress,” she describes wearing a white dress as a 19-year-old waitress, singing, “It kinda makes me feel like I was better off/’Cause it made me feel. Her earlier albums narrated the achievement of a certain American Dream, but according to her latest lyrics, she now regrets dreaming that dream in the first place. A running theme on Chemtrails is Del Rey’s disillusionment with fame.
This is the third single from Lana Del Rey’s album “Chemtrails over the Country Club”. When did Lana Del Rey release “White Dress”?
So the unspoken implication is that whereas she may have indeed achieved success, back when she “was a waitress wearing a white dress” she was fulfilled nonetheless, apparently even more so than now. Indeed she was satisfied in such a manner that all the money in the world, which she now more or less possesses, still could not replicate that feeling. Lana does not mention her current standing outside of implying she is presently discontent compared to times past. Or rather back then she ‘felt like a god’. But we, the listeners know that since then she’s gone on to become one of the most-successful musicians in the world.
So comprehensively, this is one of those kinds of tracks where the artist is reflecting on their earlier days being more fulfilling than the present.
#CHEMTRAILS LYRICS LANA DEL REY PROFESSIONAL#
However, she is not referring to anything sexual. Rather the lyrics point to an earlier stage in her professional development where she was more of a struggling or unknown artist, working as a waitress in obscurity. This period of time was also highlighted by an edifying romance she was in with someone who shared in her overall experience. In fact like many of Del Rey’s songs, there is that romantic-nostalgic undertone present in “White Dress”.