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Lana Del Rey's 'Norman Fucking Rockwell' Video Is Light On Story And Heavy On Aesthetics

It's 14 minutes of bird watching, arguments, and explosions

On Friday (December 20), Lana Del Rey dropped the highly-anticipated video for "Norman Fucking Rockwell" and it clocks in at just over 14 minutes long. It's a lot of video, partly because it covers "Norman Fucking Rockwell," "Bartender," and "Happiness Is a Butterfly," but also because there's both a lot happening and not that much going on at the same time. That doesn't make a ton of sense, does it? But just check it out and you'll see.

In Lana's timeless version of Los Angeles (that she recently stomped around in her video for "Doin' Time"), we find her calmly playing the piano at her house and singing "Norman Fucking Rockwell." So far, so good. Afterward, she walks outside and puts her shades on and lays in a hammock.

It's worth it to note that while these events are pretty run of the mill, her gigantic shades continuously change images, from seagulls to flamingos, to other unidentifiable sights. It's just weird enough to make you a tad bit unsettled.

That indescribable feeling grows as, when the song changes, we see explosions followed by a couple embracing each other. Inexplicably, the scene again shifts, this time finding Lana and her friends relaxing on a canyon while cartoon deer that looks a lot like Bambi investigates the land around them. We then see more explosions. Cops who happen to be nearby and are taking a breather outside of their squad car are oblivious to mushroom clouds around them.

Before you can dwell too long on the significance of these firestorms, Lana shifts us to the last leg of the video that takes place next to a busy highway where she has some fun playing with butterflies. Two of her friends sing "Happiness Is a Butterfly" for her while she argues on the phone with a partner. The video ends with Lana smiling and a butterfly on her face.

We never learn about the explosions, the cartoon deer, or the argument. But that's Lana's appeal; she doesn't have to tell us anything. She shows us the pieces and lets us connect them in any way that we see fit.

Lana released her sixth studio album Norman Fucking Rockwell in August and revealed that she's already working on its follow-up, White Hot FeverBefore that drops, though, Lana has revealed that she's dropping a spoken word album on January 4.

Take a look at Lana's "Norman Fucking Rockwell" video up above.

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