Glastonbury 2023: Watch Lana Del Rey perform ‘Born To Die’
In what has been a major highlight of Glastonbury Festival 2023 so far, American musician Lana Del Rey delivered a career-defining set on the Other Stage.
Lana Del Rey, who was scheduled to perform between 22:30 and 23:45, was unexpectedly delayed by 30 minutes as the crowd were forced to wait. The wait, however, was worth it, as the singer delivered a wide-ranging and deeply creative set, which included a rousing rendition of ‘Born To Die’. However, despite impressing, her performance was cut short after organisers adhered to the strict curfew.
‘Born To Die’, a cinematic slice of orchestral pop that displays the tragic opulence that defined much of her early work, found a fitting home in the backdrop of Worthy Farm. With dramatic strings opening the track, the song segues into a hip-hop-inspired beat that welcomes Del Rey’s rich voice. She poses questions to her lover, asking, “I feel so alone on a Friday night/Can you make it feel like home, if I tell you you’re mine?”
During numerous interviews, Del Rey has explained her exploration of love and sadness as co-existing forces, referring back to her struggles as a teenager, a time when she grappled with the idea that everyone she loved would someday cease to exist.
Talking to The Telegraph, the singer explained: “I had a sort of a philosophical crisis. I couldn’t believe that we were mortal. For some reason, that knowledge sort of overshadowed my experience. I was unhappy for some time. I got into a lot of trouble. I used to drink a lot. That was a hard time in my life”.
With that, in ‘Born to Die’, Del Rey attempts to find solace through a lover, asking him to “keep making me laugh—let’s go get high” before stating: “The road is long, we carry on/ Try to have fun in the meantime.”
Talking to The Sun, she further elucidated: “I consider the record a homage to true love lost and a tribute to living life on the wild side. When I was young, I was overwhelmed by thoughts of my own mortality, but I also found fleeting moments of happiness in the arms of my lover and friends. This track and the record are about these two worlds — death and love — coming together.”
Watch Del Rey’s performance of ‘Born To Die’ below.
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