Raised in upstate New York, Del Rey moved to New York City in 2005 to pursue a music career. After numerous projects, including her self-titled debut studio album, Del Rey's breakthrough came in 2011 with the viral success of her single "Video Games"; she subsequently signed a recording contract with Polydor and Interscope. She achieved critical and commercial success with her second album, Born to Die (2012), which contained the sleeper hit "Summertime Sadness". Del Rey's third album, Ultraviolence (2014), featured greater use of guitar-driven instrumentation and debuted atop the U.S. Billboard 200. Her fourth and fifth albums, Honeymoon (2015) and Lust for Life (2017), saw a return to the stylistic traditions of her earlier releases, while her critically acclaimed sixth album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019), explored soft rock. Her next studio albums, Chemtrails Over the Country Club and Blue Banisters, followed in 2021. Her ninth studio album, βDid you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvdβ was released on all platforms March 24th 2023. It includes singles like the title track - "Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd", "A&W", and "The Grants".
Del Rey has collaborated on soundtracks for visual media; in 2013, she wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed musical short Tropico and released "Young and Beautiful" for the romantic drama The Great Gatsby. In 2014, she recorded "Once Upon a Dream" for the dark fantasy adventure film Maleficent and the self-titled theme song for the biopic Big Eyes. Del Rey collaborated with Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus on "Don't Call Me Angel" for the action comedy Charlie's Angels (2019), which peaked at number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Additionally, Del Rey published the poetry and photography collection Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass (2020).
She is the recipient of various accolades, including two Brit Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and a Satellite Award, in addition to nominations for Eleven Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Variety honored her at their Hitmakers Awards for being "one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century".
Money Hunny
Lana Del Rey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seen a dead man,
Lying in the road?
Have you ever heard his best friend,
Heard his best friend,
Say you'd better go?
Before you get fined, Or else you'll do time.
Oh, it's all about money,
Money, money honey.
It's all about money,
Money, well alright.
Have you ever seen an old man,
Seen an old man,
Living all alone?
Have you ever heard an old man,
Heard an old man,
Hear the way he moan?
Because he's so tired,
Because he just got fired.
Oh, it's all about money,
Money, money honey, oh.
It's all about money,
Money, well alright.
Lately I've been,
Feelin' like the world
Is weighing down on me again.
Ah, ah, ah, ah-oh.
Have you ever seen a broke man,
Seen a broke man,
Begging for his life?
Have you ever heard a broke man,
Heard a broke man,
Heard the pain and strife?
In his one line plea,
In his dole-edged knife.
He asking for money,
Money, yeah, money honey.
He asking for money,
Money, well alright.
Well alright, well alright,
Well alright.
The lyrics of Lana Del Rey's Money Hunny depict the harsh reality of life and how everything ultimately boils down to money. The song starts with the mention of a dead man on the road, and how his friend warns the listener to leave before getting into trouble with the law. This scenario is an implication of how money impacts everything, even law enforcement, and how it can easily change a person's perception of one's actions.
The next few stanzas describe the struggles of an old and tired man who is living alone and has just lost his job. His moans and cries of pain only symbolize the fact that he is now struggling financially and is unable to lead a comfortable life. The last stanza of the song is about a broke man who is begging for his life, and his only hope is to get some money to survive.
Overall, Lana Del Rey's Money Hunny highlights the different struggles that one goes through in life because of the absence of money, and how everything becomes centered around it. The song is a powerful commentary on the importance of financial stability and the struggle to attain it.
Line by Line Meaning
Have you ever seen a dead man,
Have you ever witnessed the tragedy of an innocent person dying on the street?
Seen a dead man,
Witnessed a person being killed in cold blood?
Lying in the road?
Whether the person died from natural causes or was murdered, their body was left alone in public without anyone tending for their dignity.
Have you ever heard his best friend,
Have you ever overheard a conversation by a witness that a friend of the victim is urging them to leave the vicinity of the incident?
Heard his best friend,
Listened to the powerful implications of the good friendβs advice that someone must get out of there FAST?
Say you'd better go?
Alarmingly introducing the possibility of police involvement if the person remains and is found.
Before you get fined,
Beseeching anyone to aid the suffering, before it becomes too late.
Or else you'll do time.
Pointing out the risks one would take by ignoring the severity of the situation.
Oh, it's all about money,
The systems our societies operate under care far more about profit than human welfare.
Money, money honey.
Everything revolves around monetary gain, it's what creates power and status in our culture.
It's all about money,
Reiterating how honestly everything is just for economical benefit.
Money, well alright.
Accepting how the monetary system reigns supreme despite its ominous shadow that looms over society.
Have you ever seen an old man,
Have you ever witnessed firsthand how elderly people are disregarded and humiliated in western cities?
Seen an old man,
Observed ill elder people walking the highways and byways of the land in endless search of a place they belong?
Living all alone?
Pondered how the process of growing old seems to inherently mean losing contact with everyone close?
Have you ever heard an old man,
Alongside that, have you ever taken the time to really sit down and listen to their stories and emotions?
Heard an old man,
Lend some discerning attention to their irregular and often wavering voices, filled with tension due to neglect?
Hear the way he moan?
Witness their pain reflected in every twist of their voice.
Because he's so tired,
As they are worn and tormented from years of bitterness and sadness.
Because he just got fired.
As poverty is a reality for this elderly person since they cannot secure stable work anymore.
Lately I've been,
For just a moment, the artist sheds light on their inner thoughts and feelings.
Feelin' like the world,
As an omnipresent, overbearing entity that constantly causes weary panic and depression to fester.
Is weighing down on me again.
Crippling pressure from the sheer scale of everything they want to achieve.
Ah, ah, ah, ah-oh.
The heavy sighs that escape them as they let themselves give into their sorrows.
Have you ever seen a broke man,
Have you ever seen someone crushed under poverty and lack of resources?
Seen a broke man,
An individual who might barely scrape by with just enough to scrape existence?
Begging for his life?
A person completely on their knees, pleading for help from anyone who may notice them.
Have you ever heard a broke man,
Have you ever heard the aggravations of a person left high and dry due to system screws up?
Heard a broke man,
Listened to a person's soul-being wracked with desperation, imploring for someone to coax them into life again?
Heard the pain and strife?
And how deep the pain and everlasting strife all of these people endure every minute of their lives in a place that should quit neglecting them and properly support them.
In his one line plea,
Endless beggars in society astoundingly reduced to the point of uttering only one or two words β they need money.
In his dole-edged knife.
He needs money to live, to survive, and itβs a sheer do-or-die game he is playing.
He asking for money,
He is pleading β vehemently β for the only thing that would matter to him at such a point β money.
Money, yeah, money honey.
An intense emphasis on money as the one thing capable of inching these people to a place of basic human sustenance.
He asking for money,
It's an urgent plea, an entreating call for help with nothing more (yet nothing lesser) than the most basic of things.
Money, well alright.
Conceding to the truth of the situation that, again, everything is revolved around the idea of gathering enough money and nothing else.
Well alright, well alright,
The great chasm separating one from security and survival, the struggle that theyβll have to undergo every day in order to get there.
Contributed by Lillian O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Robert Cochran
on West Coast
Amazing how the film maker lifted the filming of this video directly from the Chet Baker documentary Let's Get Lost - black & white hanging at the beach and cruising in the backs of convertables
ciggywater
on National Anthem
such a goddess
Abygail Fernandez Smith
on West Coast
ganda
Inside Bilderberg
on Cruel World
Love this song.
Romatizzalid Bozin Veda Loca
on West Coast
barcelona akhawa
Dawit Dawit
on Ultraviolence
nice
Dawit Dawit
on West Coast
best