‘In the hills of Benedict Canyon’: the emotive Lana Del Rey poem that references the murder of Sharon Tate
Although her largely anachronistic body of work draws on a range of different periods – from the 1950s to the contemporary era – for a duration, there was a distinctly 1960s current running the artistry of Lana Del Rey.
Fans of the New Yorker will be aware that this was during her early days, as hues of Nancy Sinatra, Nico, and Nina Simone coloured her expansive form of pop, that Del Rey formed her own creative vision. Del Rey’s critically acclaimed 2012 album, Born to Die, is where this affection for swinging sixties is most apparent.
For example, the album utilised emotive string sections evoking the essence of the decade’s sophisti-pop, such as Nancy Sinatra’s 1966 hit, ‘You Only Live Twice’. In addition, there are numerous references to the Americana of the time. Perhaps the most prominent of these is the introduction of the single ‘National Anthem’. The track features Marilyn Monroe’s 1962 version of ‘Happy Birthday Mr. President’, one of the most storied musical moments that the 1960s offered.
Whilst the comparisons to Monroe and Sinatra were commonplace around Del Rey’s initial success, another connection also cropped up on occasion. This was to one of actress and model Sharon Tate, one the biggest stars of the era. Although it is a rather tenuous link, Del Rey and Tate were primarily compared due to their beehive haircuts, with talk of the musician playing the actress in a James Franco-helmed film once rumoured online. Ultimately though, it never came to fruition.
It seems as if Tate – who was murdered by the Manson Family in Los Angeles with her friends in 1969 – had a more significant impact on Del Rey than fans might have initially suspected. This comes long after reports that the singer once stayed in a classic Cannes hotel because Tate and her husband, director Roman Polanski, had guested there in 1968.
This influence, deliberate or subconsciously, manifests in Del Rey’s poem, In the hills of Benedict Canyon, featured in her 2020 poetry book Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass. Famously, the property that Tate and her companions were murdered in, 10050 Cielo Drive, was situated in the titular canyon.
In the poem, Del Rey creates a heady semantic field evoking some of Los Angeles’ most heavily romanticised aspects, with her also explicitly mentioning the murder of Sharon Tate. She writes: “Starline bus to be carrying on. I listen to the hippie / spouting nonsense at the foot of Bella Drive / hammering on about Sharon and the sanctity of life”.
Before the collection’s release, Del Rey explained that her process for writing poetry is much different from her approach to music: “It’s sort of in the vein of deep poetry where anything is allowed and it’s totally free-form. Sometimes my pages will end with a couplet, right at the end, but it’s mostly free-form.“
Find the poem below.
In the hills of Benedict Canyon – Lana Del Rey
“Love has room to grow in the hills of Benedict Canyon
My green typewriter light is on
and two months’ time between me and my last man
No double murder plots looming over neighbours’ vacant lots
that i look upon at twilight, still light enough for the
Starline bus to be carrying on. I listen to the hippie
spouting nonsense at the foot of Bella Drive
hammering on about Sharon and the sanctity of life
I listen on intently
thanks for the free ride
and for reminding me that everything comes down to a story
and to laugh when you could cry.”
“But finally I have no reason for tears
not tonight at 7:27
first time in months i feel close to heaven
in the hills of Benedict Canyon
the background hum of the television
love has room to grow.
No more secrets no more reasons to put off what I already know
No more big projects
no new dev breaking ground on Sunset
no big builds lasting too long up on Mulholland
no joint ventures fracturing.
no unchained melodies enchanting the bars in my head.”
“No. Just no news, nothing going on at 7:27
not quite ready for dinner
Just the background hum of television”
“Me- standing out on the deck
wondering what phase of twilight the sky is in
and contemplating how the Dodgers are doing
and reaching for the phone
to call an old friend.”
