I think the thing I really got from Ginsberg was that you can tell a story through kind of painting pictures with words. And when I found out that you could have a profession doing that, it was thrilling to me. It just became my passion immediately, playing with words and poetry.

[Could you show us how Lana Del Rey dances in a club?] That would be illegal.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger is so not true. You know what makes you stronger? When people treat you & your art with dignity.

They judge me like a picture book, by the colors, like they forgot to read.

When I found somebody who I fell in love with, it made me feel different than I felt the rest of the day. It was electrifying. That's what inspired the 'Off to the Races' melodies. That's one of the times when you're feeling electrified by someone else and they make you happy to be alive.

The thing about me is, coming from an alternative music background and singing for nine years, being basically invisible, I'm so used to writing for myself - and at the end of the day, I do it because I feel like I have to. So when I'm recording or writing, I don't have other people in mind.

If you are born an artist, you have no choice but to fight to stay an artist.