"Bel Air" is a song written By Lana Del Rey, and co-written and produced by Dan Heath. It is the closing track on her third EP, Paradise.
Writing and inspiration
Bel Air was recorded during the sessions for Paradise. Lyrically, it references many topics that previously appeared in Lana's music, such as roses, palm trees, and heaven.
The song may be about Barrie James O'Neill, but this is unconfirmed.
Composition
The song is an airy ballad, the prototypical sound used throughout Lana's career. It begins with sounds of children playing overlapped with a light piano accompaniment. Lana's vocals begin softly, and melodically build throughout the composition of the song. Light percussion is heard during the choruses, featuring multiple layers of Lana's vocals, performed in a higher pitch than previously heard on her work on Born to Die. The song ends with a fade out of the sound of the children.
Cross-references
- Lyrical mention of "Roses", an unreleased song and common theme in Lana's work.
- The phrase "palm trees in the light" is reminiscent of themes in "Jump".
Music video
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Background
During the filming for "Summertime Sadness", Lana recorded extra footage that would later be used for the Paradise trailer. The excess footage was also used to construct the video for "Bel Air".
Description
The video shows Lana, enrobed in a white gown, spinning and twirling slowly in a blanket of fog. The desaturated shots are colored purple, blue, green, and red throughout the video. She does not lipsync the song, unlike all of her previous videos. The video was released as a promotional supplement on November 8, 2012, a day before the release of Paradise. The description section of the video states - "i lost my reputation, i forgot my truth. But i have my beauty and i have my youth. 'TROPICO' the film, coming next year".
The video was privatized in February, 2013, for unexplained reasons. Many copies still exist around the web.
Look #1
Lyrics
Gargoyles standing at the front of your gate
Trying to tell me to wait but I can’t wait to see you
So I run like a child to heaven’s door
I don’t wanna be bad I won’t cheat you no more
Roses, Bel Air, take me there
I’ve been waiting to meet you
Palm trees in the light, I can see late at night
Darling, I’m waiting to greet you
Come to me baby
Spotlight, Bad Baby
You’ve got a flair
For the violentest kind of love anywhere out there
Mon amour, sweet child of mine, you’re divine
Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s okay to shine?
Roses, Bel Air, take me there
I’ve been waiting to meet you
Palm trees in the light, I can see late at night
Darling, I’m waiting to greet you
Come to me baby
Don’t be afraid of me, don’t be ashamed
Walking away from my soft resurrection
Idol of roses, iconic soul
I know your name
Lead me to war with your brilliant direction
Roses, Bel Air, take me there
I’ve been waiting to meet you
Palm trees in the light, I can see late at night
Darling, I’m waiting to greet you
Come to me baby
Roses, Bel Air, take me there
I’ve been waiting to meet you
Grenadine, sunshine, can you break this heart of mine
Darling I’m waiting to greet you, come to me baby
Credits
Personnel
- Strings & Piano — Dan Heath
- Violins — Kathleen Sloan & Songa Lee
- Engineering — Dan Heath, Tucker Robinson & Nikki Calvert
- Mastering — John Davis at Metropolis Mastering (London)
- Recording — at Electric Lemon Studios & Westlake Studios (Los Angeles)
- Mixing — Jeff Rothschild at House of Blues Studios, Encino (California)
- Mixing engineering — Peter Stanislaus