Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but I Have It

In early January 2019, Del Rey posted a preview of the song on Instagram and said in a statement that it was a "fan track". In an interview with Vogue Korea, Del Rey revealed the song took three years to finish and considers it "the most personal song among all my tracks". ==Composition==

"Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It" is an ambient ballad with a "muted, underwater-sounding piano" and an "elegiac melody". Producer Jack Antonoff said on Twitter that the track was recorded in his first recording session with Del Rey and that it was "recorded no click mostly live". He also commented its combination of "felt piano" and Del Rey's "perfect vocal" had "sounded exactly like that in the room". family, troubled romance, her struggle with alcoholism, her "journey to sobriety", and her refusal of fame and complex relationship with the limelight. The song also contains references to Sylvia Plath, after whom the song was originally named. ==Critical reception==

The song received widespread critical acclaim. Writing for Rolling Stone, Ryan Reed called the track "mournful" and a meditation on "religion, family, alienation and the myths that surround celebrity". Trace William Cowen of Complex called it "delightfully minimalist". The lyric "Shaking my ass is the only thing that's got this black narcissist off my back" caused online controversy, with users claiming that it was related to the singer's feuds with rappers Kanye West and Azealia Banks and accused her of being racist. Conversely, fans of Del Rey commented that she could be referencing the 1947 film Black Narcissus or "escaping a personification of death" in the song. ==Live debut==

"Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It" premiered live at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, October 10, 2019, in a performance by Del Rey and Jack Antonoff, with the dancer Alexandria Kaye interpreting the music in the light and shadows of the upstage LCD screen. ==Credits and personnel==

• Lana Del Rey – vocals, songwriting, production • Jack Antonoff – production, songwriting, recording engineering, mixing, piano • Laura Sisk – recording engineering, mixing • Chris Gehringer – mastering • Will Quinnell – assistant mastering engineering ==Charts==