“Yes to Heaven” by Lana Del Rey

The term “heaven”, as utilized in “Yes to Heaven”, appears to be along the lines of music industry’s standard definition of the word, as alluding to a gratifying romantic relationship. More specifically, Lana Del Rey is utilizing said term to refer to herself. 

That is to say that if the addressee “say(s) yes to” Lana, under her estimation that would be the equivalent of him “say(ing) yes to heaven”. So we will take that as the vocalist’s way of saying that she is ready and willing to please this individual.

And the reason she is compelled to make such a statement is because, by the looks of things, the addressee is not as committed to the relationship as Del Rey is. Or put otherwise, she is presenting herself as someone who will go in whatever direction he takes their association.

It is not forthrightly stated that they are actually lovers, but the lyrics suggest such would be the logical case.

Another way of putting the above idea is that Lana letting this individual know that she’s not going to allow herself to be taken victim. In other words, if he’s looking for a “fight”, then it’s a fight he will get. But if he decides to “dance” instead, she’s down with that also. 

And if he does indeed prove disagreeable or absent, she will “dance anyway”. That is to say that the vocalist is not going to allow the addressee to steal her joy. 

So the further implication, reading in-between the lines, is that he has already proven to be a difficult person to love, as in possessing a pugnacious and transient nature when it comes to romance.

Conclusion

But all of that said, it is obvious that the vocalist prefers peace, thus bringing us back to the chorus. She’s putting forth, as a thesis sentiment, that if given the chance, she will give the addressee “heaven”. Or as inferred in the outro, she’s in love with him. But whether or not he is able to settle down enough to fully capitalize on her affection is left up in the air.

When was “Yes to Heaven” released?

“Yes to Heaven” is a Lana Del Rey song that has yet, if ever, to be officially released. What is known is that it dates back to the creation of “Ultraviolence” (2014), the songstress’s third studio album, but it failed to make the cut. 

Moreover, it has been reworked a number of times to be featured on subsequent projects including Del Rey’s “Lust for Life” (2017), “Chemtrails over the Country Club” (2021) and her most recent studio album (as of this writing), 2021’s “Blue Banisters”. However, by the looks of things there is yet to be a version of “Yes to Heaven” satisfactory enough to Lana’s people to be formally made public.

That said, a number of the aforementioned iterations of this song have managed to unofficially find their way online. And the one we are looking at today is reportedly the final cut of the song, which leaked around mid-2021.

Credits

Land Del Rey is credited with writing this song alongside Rick Nowels, a behind-the-scenes’ musician who has been instrumental in her career.