Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass

• French Translation*
• German Translation
• Portuguese Translation*
• Spanish Translation

In a December 2019 Instagram video post, Lana explains the Native American inspiration on the album, and states that half of the album’s proceeds will go towards Native American organizations throughout the United States:

I had a thought for a while about how I wanted the album to be around a dollar because I just love the idea that thoughts are meant to be shared and that they were priceless in some way, and there was a second part that I’d been thinking of before releasing it which was that I wanted half of what the spoken word is going for to benefit Native American organizations around the country, whether it was for preserving their rights or trying to help keep their land intact.
I had wanted to do it because in doing my own work in connecting to my family lineage, I was encouraged to also try and connect with the country’s lineage—this was a while ago—and it kind of informed the next album that I’ve been working on. And I just really wanted to sort of pay homage to this country that I love so much by doing my own reparation, I guess I would say, my own reparative act. I know it’s an unusual choice, and I have no reasoning for it other than it just feels right to me, so as long as my spoken word album is distributed, half of it will be going to Native American organizations across North America.

There’s a big difference [from when you’re writing music]. First of all, to write poetry, I have to be in a really good mood and have nothing distracting or wrong going on. I almost have to be in a state of non-thought, and it can’t be forced. When a couple of lines come into my head, it’s like they’re completely channeled—I hate when people use that word, but I’ll use it. If I’m driving, I have to pull over and think, Well, where did that come from? I remember one time I had been sitting waiting for some food, and I started thinking: “Violet bent backwards over the grass / Seven years old with dandelions grasped tightly in her hand / Arched like a bridge in a fallen handstand / Grinning wildly like a madman
With the exuberance that only doing nothing can bring” And I thought, Am I Violet? That is a family name. Is that a little bit of karmic lineage coming in? I definitely think that writing my poetry was the beginning of a more psychic, energetic opening to my family of origin. It’s also a little more nerve-racking, because the last thing you want to end up doing is sounding like Dr. Seuss. And no one can help you with it. The only person who every now and then sparks me to write is my friend Annie, because she’s so damn funny she makes me forget myself. And it’s through that act of self-forgetting that my channel is open again. All of a sudden, the first few lines of a poem will come, and I’m reminded ‘Oh yeah, you work well when you’re having a good time. You can’t push it.’ It’s a reminder to stay serene and balanced, which is really my priority: that psychological, spiritual preservation.

–via W Magazine