“Hope is a dangerous thing” is a quote by the character Red (played by Morgan Freeman) in the 1994 prison film The Shawshank Redemption. In the film, he says:

Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.

This was in response to Tim Robbins' character Andy describing how music gave him hope during his time in solitary confinement. Lana gender-flips the quote to further drive home her feminist point-of-view, while the mention of insanity links to Lana’s description of “tearing around in [her] fucking nightgown” and writing in blood on the walls.

It’s notable that The Shawshank Redemption was originally written by contemporary gothic-horror author Stephen King. This further connects with the Americana literary theme of the song, and Norman Fucking Rockwell.

On an interview with BAAZAR Magazine on February 2019 Lana explained the meaning behind “hope” for her in the song: