VOA日常语法2023--A Close Reading of 'Looking for America'

A Close Reading of 'Looking for America'

In today's Everyday Grammar we do a close reading of Lana Del Rey's 2019 song, Looking for America. The song explores different places in the United States, American culture and even fireworks.

What is a close reading?

A close reading is a deep reading of a story. It is seeking greater understanding beyond the main idea. It is often used in literature to understand the writer's intentions by looking at the details. With a close reading we can look at the grammar of the text, cultural elements, and poetic¹ devices.

As we read "Looking for America" we will talk about location, American culture and grammar. Let's discuss the last two parts of the song.

Looking for America

I flew back to New York City

Missed that Hudson River line

Took a train up to Lake Placid²

That's another place and time, where

I used to go to drive-ins and listen to the blues³

So many things that I think twice about before I do, no

I'm still looking for my own version of America

One without the gun, where the flag can freely fly

No bombs in the sky, only fireworks when you and I collide

It's just a dream I had in mind

Finding meaning

In the second verse she sings about the East Coast, particularly the state of New York.

I flew back to New York City

Missed that Hudson River line

Took a train up to Lake Placid

She sings about three places: New York City, the Hudson River, and Lake Placid. These places are important for her. She was born in the city and came back to it as a young adult, but her family raised her in upstate New York, Lake Placid.

Took a train up to Lake Placid

That's another place and time,

She sings of Lake Placid as "another place and time." This could signify personal memories of growing up there. But the lines also suggest that the town itself is frozen in time.

No Lana Del Rey song is complete without notes about American culture. In line five, she sings about listening to blues music and going to drive-in movies. Both activities are nostalgic.

I used to go to drive-ins and listen to the blues

So many things that I think twice about before I do

Del Rey sings that now she "thinks twice" about all the things she once did without a care. To "think twice" about something means that you reconsider your actions or thoughts. We normally think twice about something before we do it, so we do not make a mistake.

I'm still looking for my own version of America

In line seven, she uses the present continuous tense to say that her search for the peaceful, easy America she once knew continues. Her use of the adverb "still" suggests a long search. She sings what she hopes the future will be like in lines eight and nine.

One without the gun, where the flag can freely fly

No bombs in the sky, only fireworks when you and I collide

The "bombs" are contrasted with "fireworks." A line in the U.S. national anthem⁴ The Star-Spangled Banner tells of "the bombs bursting in air," during a war. But the light from the bursts showed that the American flag was still flying. It was proof that the U.S. had not been defeated.

Fireworks are always celebratory and they are very important to the observation of America's Independence Day anniversary on July fourth.

And lastly, we have the verb "collide," which means to come together by force, to crash. It can also be used to describe a clash of opinions.

No bombs in the sky, only fireworks when you and I collide

"Bombs" are negative, and the "fireworks" are positive. So, if the singer and the other person come together, only good things are possible. If there is a difference of opinion and they "collide," the experience will still be productive.

It's just a dream I had in mind

In Del Rey's final line, she talks about her dream of a peaceful America. When we keep something "in mind" we keep that thing in our close memory. We may not even realize that we are thinking about it often but if we keep it "in mind" it will affect our choices and decisions.

The line suggests the idea of the "American dream." This is the idea that anyone, of any background, can find opportunity and success in the United States based on his or her own ability and skills.

Final thoughts

In today's Everyday Grammar, we learned about close readings and found the details of Lana Del Rey's song "Looking for America." We looked at her use of location, her references to American culture, and even some grammatical elements like the present continuous tense and the double meaning of the verb "collide." In a future episode, we will look at some of the sounds and rhymes of the song.

Words in This Story

intention — n. the thing that you plan to do or achieve

location -n. a place

drive-ins – n. places where people watch movies in their cars

blues – n. musical genre⁵ created by African Americans in the Southern United States

collide — v. the action of two (or more) objects crashing into each other

genre –n. a kind or group of literature or art that has similar qualities

nostalgic –adj. the feeling of both pleasure and sadness of remembering the past

tense – n. a form of a verb that is used to show when an action happened

contrast – v. to compare two things to show their differences

negative – adj. having harmful or undesirable⁶ effects

positive – adj. having good and/or hopeful effects

rhyme – v. to have two or more words that end in the same sound

1 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

2 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

3 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

4 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

5 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

6 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。