Lana Del Rey’s “Cinnamon Girl” Lyrics Meaning

Lana Del Rey’s “Cinnamon Girl” is a strange sort of love song, in that Lana is addressing a partner whom apparently she has issues with. For instance, he uses drugs specifically for the purpose of, according to Lana, “keeping her out”. This basically means that his drug habit is hampering communication between the two of them. Indeed she brings up a similar issue in the chorus by stating that there are “things she wants to say to him”. But once again, she clearly does not feel comfortable speaking freely concerning certain issues, in the name of not wanting to inhibit his sense of freedom.

And it seems that what she really wants to talk about is her past romantic experiences as well as her hopes for this current relationship. That is to say that the singer has suffered abuse at the hands of lovers in the past. And she would like to tell the current one that if he behaves otherwise, he would actually be the first one who ever did so, as in loving her without mistreating her.

And whereas Lana does not go into much detail, the insinuation in all of this is that she is hoping this current relationship does not replicate the past ones. Yes, the fact that her partner is portrayed as being dependent on drugs is not an ideal situation. But she can tolerate that so long as their romance remains affectionate and does not degenerate into another case of Lana being victimized by a lover.

Meaning of Title (“Cinnamon Girl”)

As for the title of this track, the only time the word “cinnamon” is present is at the beginning of the song. Lana uses the term to basically describe the aftertaste she has after kissing her sweetheart. So it can be concluded that she is referring to the spice based on its sweet taste. Thus the apparent meaning of the title would be Del Rey referring to herself as a “sweet girl”, specifically in regards to this relationship.

Or really going out on a limb, since the one time she does use the word “cinnamon” is in relation to her partner (and not herself), perhaps her sweetheart is the “cinnamon girl”. But this is a longshot, since whereas Del Rey has dabbled in lesbian imagery in the past, she is known to be a heterosexual.

Writing Credits for “Cinnamon Girl”

“Cinnamon Girl” was written by Lana Del Rey along with the song’s co-producer singer-songwriter Jack Antonoff. FYI, Del Rey also co-produced “Cinnamon Girl”.

Release Date

On the 30th day of August 2019, “Cinnamon Girl” was released globally as part of Lana’s Norman F Rockwell (NFR)album. NFR is officially the sixth major studio album of Lana’s career. The album was supported by six singles (none of which was “Cinnamon Girl”). The below are just some of the hit singles from NFR:

• “Mariners Apartment Complex”
• “The Greatest”
• “Doin’ Time“