Black Bathing Suit (song)

Lana Del Rey
Writer(s)	Lana Del Rey Drew Erickson Zach Dawes
Producer(s)	Lana Del Rey Dean Reid Zach Dawes
Recorded	2020
Released	October 22, 2021
Length	5:18 (See official versions)
From
Blue Banisters track listing
"Interlude - The Trio"
"If You Lie Down with Me"

"Black Bathing Suit" (originally titled "Grenadine Quarantine" and "If This Is the End... I Want a Boyfriend") is a song by Lana Del Rey, written with Drew Erickson and Zach Dawes, from her eighth studio album and seventh major-label studio album Blue Banisters.

Background

In March 2020, Del Rey posted a screenshot of her voice memo app via Instagram which showed two files. One was titled "Grenadine quarantine 2" and the second was titled "If this is the end ...I want a boyfriend". This sparked speculation that the titles would appear as songs on her then-upcoming album, Chemtrails Over the Country Club, however, this was later debunked. The two titles were later confirmed to be early versions/working titles of "Black Bathing Suit".

The song's intro is a sound bite from the 1966 film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The song that precedes this one on Blue Banisters, "Interlude - The Trio", interpolates a sample of a piece from the film's score.

Cross-references

• The color black is mentioned in "Black Beauty", "The Blackest Day", "TV In Black & White" and many more.
• A bathing suit in mentioned in "The Next Best American Record" and "1949".
• Black bikini tops are mentioned in “This Is What Makes Us Girls.”
• "Bad girl/s" are mentioned in "Video Games", "Sad Girl", and "Because of You".
• Ice cream is also mentioned in "Salvatore", "Venice Bitch", and "Carmen".
• The phrase "I like you a lot" is also used in "Music to Watch Boys To", "You Can Be the Boss" and "Breaking My Heart", written as "I liked you a lot" in "White Mustang". The phrase is similar to "I like you quite a lot" in "Lolita" and "I like you lots" in "Wild At Heart".
• Grenadine is also mentioned in "Bel Air".

Official versions

• Album version - 5:18
• "Grenadine Quarantine" voice memo 2 - 1:41
• "If This Is the End... I Want a Boyfriend" voice memo - 5:12

Lyrics

Grenadine quarantine, I like you a lot
It's LA, "Hey" on Zoom, Target parking lot
And if this is the end, I want a boyfriend
Someone to eat ice cream with and watch television
Or walk home from the mall with
'Cause what I really meant is when I'm being honest
I'm tired of this shit

'Cause my body is my temple, my heart is one, too
The only thing that still fits me is this black bathing suit
You don't know me any better than they do, baby
My time has run over, so the only time you'll ever see me
Is in your dreams in my black bathing suit
Looking at me looking over at you, real cute 'cause

He said I was bad, let me show you how bad girls do
'Cause no one does it better
He said I was bad, let me show you what bad girls do
'Cause no one does it better

Swisher Sweets, magazines, promise you it's not
'Cause of you that I'm mean, it's my afterthoughts
And what I never said, why there's a price on my head
It's nothing to do with them, it's my karmic lineage
So I'm not friends with my mother, while I still love my dad
Untraditional lover, can you handle that?

I guess I'm complicated, my life's sorta, too
I wish you could see to my soul through this black bathing suit
You don't know me any better than they do, baby
'Cause I sing like an angel, my heart's like one, too
The only thing that fits is this black bathing suit
Looking at me looking over at you, real cute 'cause

He said I was bad, let me show you how bad girls do
'Cause no one does it better
He said I was bad, let me show you what bad girls do
'Cause no one does it better
They said I was bad, and I showed ‘em what bad girls do

My black bathing suit (Oh well, let ‘em talk about me)
They're just yesterday's news (They're fucking broke and we're laughing about them)
Mail me when you get the blues (We'll have the last laugh about it)
By the way, thanks for the shoes

Their entrance really made stacks out of it
Their entrance really made stacks out of it
Their entrance really made stacks out of it

Your interest really made stacks that'll pay for me
So, thanks for that
Your interest really made stacks that'll pay for me
So, thanks for that
Your interest really made stacks that'll pay for me
So, thanks for that

Credits

Personnel

• Lana Del Rey — songwriting, production, vocals
• Zach Dawes — songwriting, production, bass, synth bass
• Dean Reid — production, drum programming, engineering, mixing
• Drew Erickson — songwriting, keyboards
• Benji Lysaght — electric guitar
• Griffin Goldsmith — drums
• Cian Riordan — synth bass, mixing
• Michael Harris — engineering, mixing
• Jon Sher — assistant engineering
• Ben Fletcher — assistant engineering
• Adam Ayan — mastering