"24" (also registered as "Twenty Four" and "Twenty Four Hours"[1]) is a song by Lana Del Rey, written by Del Rey and Rick Nowels, and produced by Del Rey, Nowels, and Kieron Menzies. It is featured as the twelfth track from Del Rey's third major-label studio album Honeymoon, which was released on September 18, 2015.
Background[]
The song was written and recorded in 2014.[S 1] The instrumental of the song leaked on October 8, 2015.
Around the time of the album's release, online rumors circulated that Del Rey showed interest in or may have been approached by studio executives to write the theme song for the then-upcoming twenty-fourth James Bond film, Spectre.[2] Del Rey spoke about the rumors in a December 2015 interview with NME:[3]
- "I would've done it if I was asked but I wasn't asked. I love all of the Bond music that's been put out over the years and I love soundtracks in general. There are a couple of songs on this record that have a Bond feel like '24' and 'Swan Song'."
In a 2022 response to a fan's video about the song's connection to the Bond film, Rick Nowels simply said, "True".[4] While attending the Ivor Novello Awards in London to accept the Special International Award on May 23, 2024, Del Rey was prompted by the BBC whether or not she would ever record a Bond theme. She replied:[5]
- "I mean, how has that not happened yet? Can we just say, like...it's only 24 hours in a day...I wrote that for them. But Sam [Smith], you did a wonderful job really. No, I'm just kidding. No, really, but one day maybe. Probably not, but I'm gonna continue to...do my little Nancy Sinatra thing every now and then and just pretend that it's the title track [to a Bond film]."
Cross-references[]
- Resting dogs are also mentioned in "Religion".
- Diamonds are mentioned in "Fake Diamond", "Money Power Glory", "Cola", "Hollywood", and many other songs.
- The phrase "if you lie down" also appears in "If You Lie Down with Me".
- Sheets are also mentioned in "Wildflower Wildfire".
- The heat is also mentioned in "California".
- "You're cold to touch" is similar to "he's...hot to touch" from "Beautiful People".
- Someone being "cold" is also referenced in "Freak".
Official versions[]
- Album version – 4:55
- Instrumental version – 4:53
Lyrics[]
There's only 24 hours in a day
And half as many ways for you to lie to me, my little love
There's only 24 hours in a day
And half of those, you lay awake with thoughts of murder and carnage
If you lie down with dogs, then you'll get fleas
Be careful of the company you keep
There's only 24 hours
And that's not enough
To lie like you lie
Or love like you love
(Mh-hm-hm-hm, mh-hm-hm-hm-hm)
(Mh-hm-hm-hm, mh-hm-hm-hm)
There's only 24 hours in a day
And half of those, you lay between the sheets with me, my lying love
There's only 24 hours, so you'd say
For most of them, you pay for all the things they paid you for, my love
If you lie down with dogs, then you'll get fleas
Be careful of the ones you choose to leave
There's only 24 hours
And that's not enough
To lie like you lie
Or love like you love
(Mh-hm-hm-hm, mh-hm-hm-hm-hm)
(Mh-hm-hm-hm, mh-hm-hm-hm)
Give me your heat (Yeah, yeah)
Give me your diamonds (Yeah, yeah)
You hit that street (Yeah, yeah)
You hit my crooked love (Yeah, yeah)
You count to three
While they're all dying
You're hard to reach
You're cold to touch
(La-da-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da-da)
Credits[]
- Personnel[a]
- Lana Del Rey – songwriting, production, vocals
- Rick Nowels – songwriting, production, Rhodes, Mellotron, piano, synth, pads, bass
- Kieron Menzies – production, recording, mixing
- Patrick Warren – orchestrations, strings, horns, percussion
- Nicolas Essig – engineering
- Emerson Day – engineering assistance
- Trevor Yasuda – additional recording
- Chris Garcia – additional recording
- Rusty Anderson – electric guitar
- Brian Griffin – live drums, percussion
- Adam Ayan – mastering
- Technical
- Published by R-Rated Music, administered by EMI April Music Inc. (Global Music Rights) / Sony/ATV Music Publishing
- Recorded and mixed at The Green Building, Santa Monica, California
- Mastered at Gateway Mastering, Portland, Maine
References[]
- ↑ ISWC: T-917.704.119-9
- ↑ Phull, Hardeep (September 18, 2015). "The 5 best tracks on Lana Del Rey’s new album". The New York Post. https://nypost.com/2015/09/18/the-5-best-tracks-on-lana-del-reys-new-album/. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
- ↑ Renshaw, David (December 10, 2015). "Lana Del Rey: 'I would have recorded Bond theme if I was asked'". NME. Archived from the original on December 14, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151214162052/https://www.nme.com/news/lana-del-rey/90235.
- ↑ Wait For Life (December 28, 2023). LanaBoards. https://lanaboards.com/topic/18317-2023-unreleased-wrap-up-megapost/page/5/#comment-1729797. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
- ↑ BBC News (May 24, 2024). "ttps://www.tiktok.com/@bbcnews/video/7372475170000293152?". TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@bbcnews/video/7372475170000293152?. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
