LA Who Am I to Love You
{{short description|2020 poem by Lana Del Rey}}
"LA Who Am I to Love You" is a poem by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from her first poetry collection, Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass (2020). The poem was recorded by Del Rey for her spoken word album of the same name with musical accompaniment by Jack Antonoff. The song was released onto digital outlets on July 27, 2020, the day before the album's release, making it the only track from the album available digitally.{{Cite web|last=Bruce|first=Jasper|date=July 28, 2020|title=Listen to Lana Del Rey's new spoken word poetry album 'Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass'|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/lana-del-rey-poem-spoken-word-la-who-am-i-to-love-you-2716351|website=NME}}
Background
Announced in 2018, Del Rey teased her poetry collection several times before announcing its August release in May 2020.{{Cite magazine|last1=Shaffer|first1=Claire|date=July 9, 2020|title=Lana Del Rey Reveals Poetry Book and Spoken Word Album Release Dates|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lana-del-rey-violet-bent-backwards-over-the-grass-release-dates-1026529/|magazine=Rolling Stone}} Upon the announcement, the publisher, Simon & Schuster, issued a publicity release that announced several new poems, including "LA Who Am I to Love You".{{Cite web|last=Perez|first=Lexy|date=July 9, 2020|title=Lana Del Rey to Release Book of Poetry|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lana-del-rey-release-book-poetry-1302710|website=The Hollywood Reporter}} A day prior to the release of the record, Del Rey released the song version as a promotional tease.{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/listen-to-lana-del-reys-new-spoken-word-poetry-album-violet-bent-backwards-over-the-grass/ar-BB17gcam|title=Lana Del Rey Releases New Spoken Word Poetry Album Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass|website=www.msn.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/lana-del-rey-to-release-book-of-poetry/ar-BB16xGHo|title=Lana Del Rey to Release Book of Poetry|website=www.msn.com}}
Like the rest of the album, the song was written by Del Rey and produced by Antonoff.{{Cite web|last=D'souza|first=Shaad|date=July 8, 2020|title=Lana Del Rey's "eclectic and honest" new album is out this month|url=https://www.thefader.com/2020/07/08/lana-del-rey-eclectic-honest-album-release-date-violet-poetry-2020|website=The FADER}} Proceeds from the album are intended to benefit Native American-focused charities and organizations.{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/lana-del-rey-reveals-new-poetry-book-and-spoken-word-album-release-dates/|title=Lana Del Rey Reveals New Poetry Book and Spoken Word Album Release Dates|first=Madison|last=Bloom|website=Pitchfork|date=9 July 2020 }}
Synopsis
Told from first person, the poem follows the narrator on a nostalgic, emotional recollection of her life. Humanizing the city of Los Angeles as a person, Del Rey pleads to "LA" if she can be someone of significance to them. The poem's main themes include remorse, guilt, fame, turbulent childhood, and deception.{{Cite web|date=July 28, 2021|title=Lana Del Rey shares first poem from spoken word collection, 'LA Who Am I To Love You?' - Music news|url=https://www.newslocker.com/en-us/news/music/lana-del-rey-shares-first-poem-from-spoken-word-collection-la-who-am-i-to-love-you/|website=Newslocker}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.coupdemainmagazine.com/lana-del-rey/16823|title=Listen: Lana Del Rey reads aloud her poem 'LA Who Am I To Love You?'.|first=Shahlin|last=Graves|date=July 28, 2020|website=Coup De Main Magazine}}
The song references cities Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York.
References
{{Lana Del Rey songs}}