13 Beaches (song)

Lana Del Rey
Writer(s)	Lana Del Rey Rick Nowels Kieron Menzies
Producer(s)	Lana Del Rey Rick Nowels Kieron Menzies Dean Reid Mighty Mike
Recorded	May 2016
Released	July 21, 2017
Length	4:55 (See official versions)
From
Single(s)	"Love" "Lust for Life" "Summer Bummer" "Groupie Love"
Promotional single(s)	"Coachella - Woodstock in My Mind"
Lust for Life track listing
"Lust for Life"
"Cherry"

"13 Beaches" (also registered as "Thirteen Beaches" and originally titled "Something Real") is a song by Lana Del Rey. It was co-written with Rick Nowels ans Kieron Menzies and co-produced with Nowels, Menzies and Dean Reid with additional production by Mighty Mike. It is featured on her fifth studio album and fourth major-label studio album, Lust for Life.

Background and writing

During an interview with Paris Match magazine, Del Rey revealed that she wrote the song during the summer of 2016 about her experience visiting 13 different beaches in an attempt to escape paparazzi and read a book alone. The song was recorded in May 2016.

On July 13, 2017, after the album sampler surfaced, an instrumental stem snippet leaked. The leaker confirmed that the instrumental belonged to a demo of the song. On July 19, it was revealed that the song was originally titled "Something Real".

Composition

The song opens with an audio clip of actress Candace Hilligoss talking, taken from the 1962 horror film Carnival of Souls, over an orchestral instrumental and simple piano chord. The song transitions into a cinematic ballad composed in the key of E minor with approximately 144 beats per minute.

Live performances

Del Rey performed the song live for the first time on July 20, 2017, at her Lust for Life listening party and performance hosted by Spotify at No Vacancy in Los Angeles, California. Other live performances of this song were at Terminal 5 in New York City, New York, on October 23 and 24, and at the Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in Los Angeles, California, on October 28 where she performed it as the first song in her set, replacing "Cruel World", which she had began her performances with at every show since October 2014. In 2018, Del Rey included the song as the first song in the setlist of the LA to the Moon Tour.

Cross-references

• The opening vocals is an audio snippet from the 1962 motion picture Carnival of Souls.
• Del Rey visiting the beach and seeking privacy from paparazzi is also a significant theme in "High by the Beach", while trying to escape from them is also a topic in "Bartender".
• Beaches are a recurrent theme, being mentioned in "Cherry", "Mariners Apartment Complex", "Snow on the Beach", "Summer Bummer", "Watercolor Eyes", and in the poems "Happy", "My Bedroom Is A Sacred Place Now — There Are Children at the Foot of My Bed", "Paradise is Very Fragile" and "Salamander".
• Peaches are referenced in "Cherry", "Put the Radio On", "Girl That Got Away", and the demo version of "Trash Magic".
• White sunshine is also mentioned in "Old Money".
• The phrase "I'd be lying" also appears in "Heroin".
• 'The county line' is also mentioned in the poem "LA Who Am I to Love You" and in the song "Don't Call Me Angel".
• Ventura is a county city of Ventura County, California.

Official versions

• Album version — 4:55
  • Instrumental version — 4:56
• ”Something Real” demo version - Unknown

Lyrics

I don't belong in the world, that's what it is
Something separates me from other people
Everywhere I turn, there's something blocking my escape

It took thirteen beaches to find one empty
But finally, it's mine
With drippin' peaches, I'm camera ready
Almost all the time

But I still get lonely, and, baby, only then
Do I let myself recline
Can I let go, and your let your memory dance
In the ballroom of my mind?
Across that county line

It hurts to love you, but I still love you
It's just the way I feel
And I'd be lyin' if I kept hidin'
The fact that I can't deal
And that I've been dyin' for somethin' real
That I've been dyin' for somethin' real

It took thirteen beaches to find one empty
But finally, I'm fine
Past Ventura and lenses plenty
In the white sunshine

But you still can find me, if you ask nicely
Underneath the pines
With the daisies, feelin' hazy
In the ballroom of mind
Across that county line

It hurts to love you, but I still love you
It's just the way I feel
And I'd be lyin' if I kept hidin'
The fact that I can't deal
And that I've been dyin' for somethin' real
That I've been dyin' for somethin' real

It hurts to love you, but I still love you
It's just the way I feel
And I'd be lyin' if I kept hidin'
The fact that I can't deal
The fact that I can't deal

Credits

Personnel

• Lana Del Rey — vocals, songwriting, production
• Rick Nowels — songwriting, production, piano, strings, synth pad
• Kieron Menzies — production, engineering, mixing, drums, percussion, bass, keyboards, synthesizer, modem
• Dean Reid — production, engineering, mixing
• Mighty Mike — additional production, drums, percussion, keyboards
• Trevor Yasuda & Jordan Stilwell — engineering
• Adam Ayan — mastering
• Patrick Warren — harmonium, synthesizer, waterphone
• Dan Heath — orchestral overture
• Zac Rae — synthesizer

Technical

• Published by R-Rated Music administered by EMI April Music Inc. (Global Music Rights) / Sony / ATV Music Publishing
• Audio snippet taken from film Carnival of Souls courtesy of Peter Soby and Matthew Irvine
• Recorded at The Green Building, Los Angeles and Hampstead Studios, London
• Mastered at Gateway Mastering, Portland, Maine

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Czech Republic Digital Singles (ČNS IFPI)	94
France (SNEP)	195
Slovakia Digital Singles (ČNS IFPI)	81
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)	27