Blue Jeans (song)

Blue Jeans
Writer(s)	Lana Del Rey Emile Haynie Dan Heath
Producer(s)	Emile Haynie
Length	3:30 2:14 (Demo)
From
Single(s)	"Video Games" "Born to Die" "Blue Jeans" "Summertime Sadness" "National Anthem" "Dark Paradise"
Promotional single(s)	"Off to the Races" "Carmen"
Born to Die track listing
"Off to the Races"
"Video Games"

"Blue Jeans" is a song written by Lana Del Rey, Emile Haynie, and Dan Heath and produced by Emile Haynie in 2011. Taken from Lana's first major-label album Born to Die, the song served as the album's third single worldwide.

Writing and inspiration

The song was written by Lana, Haynie, and Heath in the same sessions as Video Games. It was written about K, and the story told through the lyrics is a more in-depth rendition of the story told in "Westbound", a song from Lana's unreleased first album Sirens.

Composition

Musically, "Blue Jeans" is an down-tempo pop-ballad song with an alternative hip-hop beat and highly orchestrated instrumentation. It is composed in the key of F Minor with Lana's vocals ranging from F3 to F5. According to Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian, the composition of the song is "powerfully atmospheric". The song focuses on use of the repeated chorus, which highlights a fragility in Lana's voice, and the polarizing hip-hop influenced beat which contrasts the lyrical and vocal content. The song contains heavy use of the male background vocal also used in songs such as "Born to Die", and includes coo-like background vocals from Lana herself. The instrumental is primarily composed of simple string instruments, guitar, and percussion. The combination of hip-hop and chamber pop featured in the song has become a continuous theme in Lana's recent music.

Reference in popular culture

• The song was used in an episode of the CW show, Ringer, "It's Easy to Cry When This Much Cash Is Involved". It is often highlighted as a proponent to the launch of Lana's career.
• The instrumental version of the song is used in both a Nespresso commercial and a University of Phoenix commercial.

Cross-references

• The song tells the same story as "Westbound".
• The title of the song is mentioned directly in "I Don't Wanna Go".
• The song is part of the K trilogy.

Official versions

• Album version 3:30
• Video Games/Blue Jeans single version 3:31
• Remastered version 3:34
• Radio edit 3:52
• Demo version 2:14
• Original video version 3:58
• Second video version with string introduction 4:21

Remixes

• Alpine Remix 4:04
• Blood Orange Remix 3:31
• Club Clique 'Nothing Is Real' Remix 4:11
• D/R/U/G/S Remix 4:29
• Gesaffelstein Remix 4:35
• Kris Menace Remix 6:41
• Maribou State Remix 5:20
• MK Dark Blue Dub 6:17
• Moonlight Matters Remix 6:23
• Odd Future's the Internet Mix 4:00
• Omid 16B Remix 6:31
• Omid 16B Dub 4:15
• Omid 16B Club Mix 7:56
• Omid 16B Club Reprise 4:13
• Penguin Prison Remix 5:36
• RAC Mix 3:38
• Smims & Belle Remix (feat. Azealia Banks) 3:01

Commercial release

Blue Jeans was originally released as the B-side on Lana's first single ,"Video Games". Please look at its article for the releases it was included on.

United Kingdom (BLUEJ02)

	Label: Polydor Format: Promotional slimline Released: March, 2012 Barcode: Unknown Photography: N/A Design: Unknown

#	Name	Time
1.	"Blue Jeans" (Radio Edit)	3:52
2.	"Blue Jeans" (Album Version)	3:30

United Kingdom (Promotional)

	Label: Polydor Format: Promotional Released: April 8, 2012 Barcode: Unknown Photography: Nicole Nodland Design: Unknown

#	Name	Time
1.	"Blue Jeans" (Kris Menace Remix)	6:46
2.	"Blue Jeans" (RAC Remix)	3:42
3.	"Blue Jeans" (Moonlight Matters Remix)	6:26
4.	"Blue Jeans" (Maribou State Remix)	5:24
5.	"Blue Jeans" (D/R/U/G/S Remix)	4:29

United Kingdom (3700310)

	Label: Polydor Format: 7" picture disc vinyl in plastic sleeve Released: April 9, 2012 Barcode: 602537003105 Photography: Nicole Nodland Design: Unknown

#	Name	Time
1.	"Blue Jeans"	3:29
2.	"Carmen"	4:09

Worldwide (Promotional)

	Label: RAC Records Format: BeatPort digital single Released: May 23, 2012 Barcode: N/A Photography: N/A Design: Unknown

#	Name	Time
1.	"Blue Jeans" (Kris Menace Remix)	6:42
2.	"Blue Jeans" (Kris Menace Instrumental)	6:24

Worldwide (Promotional)

	Label: RAC Records Format: BeatPort digital single Released: May 29, 2012 Barcode: N/A Photography: N/A Design: Unknown

#	Name	Time
1.	"Blue Jeans" (RAC Remix)	3:38

United Kingdom (Promotional)

	Label: Polydor Format: BeatPort single Released: July 3, 2012 Barcode: N/A Photography: Nicole Nodland Design: Unknown

#	Name	Time
1.	"Blue Jeans" (MK Dark Blue Dub)	6:17

France (371 080-6)

	Label: Interscope, Polydor Format: Maxi Released: July 23, 2012 Barcode: 602537108060 Photography: Nicole Nodland Design: Unknown

#	Name	Time
1.	"Blue Jeans" (Album version)	3:30
2.	"Blue Jeans" (Club Clique Nothing Is Real Remix)	4:11
3.	"Blue Jeans" (Smims & Belle Remix [feat.Azealia Banks])	3:01
4.	"Blue Jeans" (Gesaffelstein Remix)	4:35
5.	"Blue Jeans" (Odd Future's The Internet Mix)	4:00
6.	"Blue Jeans" (Kris Menace Remix)	6:41
7.	"Blue Jeans" (Penguin Prison Remix)	5:36
8.	"Blue Jeans" (RAC Mix)	3:38
9.	"Blue Jeans" (Blood Orange Remix)	3:31

France (371 080-7)

	Label: Polydor Format: 12" picture disc vinyl in plastic sleeve Released: Unknown, 2012 Barcode: 602537108077 Photography: Nicole Nodland Design: Unknown

Side A

#	Name	Time
1.	"Blue Jeans" (Album Version)	3:30
2.	"Blue Jeans" (Club Clique 'Nothing Is Real' Remix)	4:11
3.	"Blue Jeans" (Smims & Belle Remix [feat. Azealia Banks])	3:01
4.	"Blue Jeans" (Gesaffelstein Remix)	4:35
5.	"Blue Jeans" (Odd Future's The Internet Remix)	4:00

Side B (33RPM)

#	Name	Time
1.	"Blue Jeans" (Kris Menace Remix)	6:41
2.	"Blue Jeans" (Penguin Prison Remix)	5:36
3.	"Blue Jeans" (RAC Remix)	3:38
4.	"Blue Jeans" (Blood Orange Remix)	3:31

Worldwide (Promotional)

	Label: Alola Records Format: BeatPort digital single Released: December 24, 2012 Barcode: N/A Photography: N/A Design: Unknown

#	Name	Time
1.	"Blue Jeans" (Omid 16B Remix)	6:31
2.	"Blue Jeans" (Omid 16B Dub)	4:15
3.	"Blue Jeans" (Omid 16B Club Mix)	7:56
4.	"Blue Jeans" (Omid 16B Club Reprise)	4:13
5.	"Video Games" (Omid 16B Remix)	4:07
6.	"Video Games" (Omid 16B Instrumental Mix)	5:08
7.	"Video Games" (Omid 16B Instrumental Reprise)	2:35

Music videos

Music video	Information
	Released	July 22, 2011
	Length	3:58
	Director	Lana Del Rey
	Producer	Unknown
	Filmed	Las Vegas, Nevada and San Francisco, California
	Location	Miami, Florida
	Vevo views	45+ Million Views

Video #1

Information

Background

The song was released as a double-A side with "Video Games", which had received a video treatment with Lana's previous style of combining webcam clips and older film bits. Stranger Records, who released the single, also asked Lana to film a video for Blue Jeans in a similar fashion.

Description

Lana shot this version of "Blue Jeans" on July 22, 2011 in concurrence with the various Born to Die promotional photoshoots and album photoshoot done with Nicole Nodland. The clips of Lana were shot in Miami, Florida. The clips used show places such as Las Vegas, Nevada and San Francisco, California. The video was posted September 9, 2011. The video contains various shots of Lana in multiple outfits, interlaced with her traditional film noir clips.

Scene #1

The video begins with a clip of Lawrence Ferlinghetti reading The Lord's Prayer from the film The Last Waltz. It primarily contains various shots of Lana in a white sweater, primarily in black & white. It also shows her in highly desaturated shots sitting in a truck. Very small clips taken from her older videos shot for Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant are shown, as well as short clips of her behind-the-scenes of the photoshoots with both photographers Michael Heny and Heinz Peter Knes. Clips of various locations and people such as Las Vegas strip, rapper Tupac Shakur, and skateboarders are interlaced in between the various shots of Lana.

Scene #2

Relatively late into the song, the video of Lana focuses on the part of her photoshoot with Nicole Nodland that would later be used as the album cover for Born to Die. The video ends with the song fading into The Sword of Truth, a song by Justin Bianco, and clips of Super-8 camera shots of San Francisco, California.

Video #2

Information Shot March 2, 2012 Director(s) Yoann Lemoine Producer(s) Oualid Mouaness Executive Producer(s) Charles Marie Anthonioz Coleen Haynes Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto Length 4:21 4:16 Leaked version Location Los Angeles, California

Background

Upon official release of Blue Jeans as a single, Interscope commissioned Yoann Lemoine, who had previously directed the video for "Born to Die" to shoot a new video for the song.

Description

The video completes the K trilogy, starting with "Video Games" and "Born to Die". The video was shot in black & white, and remains the only video of Lana's to be so. The video was shot in March, 2012. It was leaked 3 days before it was officially released, slightly edited, on March 16, 2012. The official version premiered on March 19, 2012.

Scene #1 (Reflection)

The video begins with an orchestral opening of Blue Jeans featuring violins. Lana is shown blurred on a black water reflection, and she herself ripples as the camera slowly zooms in.

Shooting

Scene #2 (Poolside)

The video cuts to black for a second before the actual song begins. Bradley Soileau is shown smoking by a pool, next to a 50's-style home and palm trees. Lana is shown on the ground, and wakes up with the beginning of her singing. She is then shown to be inside the home, looking out upon Bradley. The camera alternates between up-close shots of her and Bradley removing his clothing. During the chorus, the video cuts back to showing her laying poolside singing, while Bradley caresses her and puts his index and middle finger into her mouth. He begins to splash water from the pool onto himself and dives into the pool while Lana remains poolside.

Scene #3 (Entering)

With the beginning of the second verse, a slightly submerged shot shows Lana entering the pool. Short shots of Bradley and an albino crocodile are shown while she submerges with a hesitant look.

Scene #4 (Submerged)

Once underwater, the second chorus begins. Various shots, including Lana gracefully swimming underwater with the crocodile near her and close-up shots of her singing while water ripples over her are shown. Lana and Bradley swim to each other and embrace, before kissing.

Scene #5 (Crocodiles)

With the beginning of the bridge, the shot of Lana swimming underwater includes many more crocodiles. Soon, shots of Bradley and a crocodile rapidly switch, indicating that they are the same entity. Eventually, Lana embraces only the crocodile. Shots of Lana rippling against the black pool background, Bradley, Lana singing underwater, and Lana swimming with the crocodiles begin to rapidly change before Bradley pushes Lana underwater.

Scene #6 (Embrace)

After coming up for air, Bradley is shown holding Lana in an embrace while the two slowly twirl in the water. In the end, Bradley holds Lana by the throat while the two begin to sink. The video ends with the music slowed down and them completely submerged.

Behind-the-scenes

Photoshoot by Nicole Nodland (March 2, 2012)

Scan

Raw

Retouched

• Camera - EOS 5D Mark II
• Camera manufacturer - Canon
• Stylist - Unknown

Blue Jeans
April 8, 2012

Blue Jeans
April 9, 2012

Blue Jeans
July 23, 2012

Blue Jeans
2012

Paradise
November 9, 2012

Born to Die - The Paradise Edition
November 9, 2012

Lyrics

Album version

Blue jeans, white shirt,
Walked into the room you know you made my eyes burn.
It was like James Dean, for sure,
You so fresh to death and sick as ca-cancer.
You were sorta punk rock, I grew up on hip hop.
But you fit me better than my favorite sweater, and I know,
That love is mean, and love hurts,
But I still remember that day we met in December, oh baby!

I will love you till the end of time,
I would wait a million years.
Promise you'll remember that you're mine,
Baby can you see through the tears?
Love you more,
Than those bitches before.
Say you'll remember, (oh baby) say you'll remember, (oh baby hoo)
I will love you till the end of time.

Big dreams, gangster,
Said you had to leave to start your life over.
I was like, "No please, stay here,
We don't need no money, we can make it all work."
But he headed out on Sunday, said he'd come home Monday.
I stayed up waitin', anticipatin' and pacin' but he was,
Chasing paper, "Caught up in the game" it was the last I heard.

I will love you till the end of time,
I would wait a million years.
Promise you'll remember that you're mine,
Baby can you see through the tears?
Love you more,
Than those bitches before.
Say you'll remember, (oh baby) say you'll remember, (oh baby hoo)
I will love you till the end of time.

You went out every night,
And baby that's alright.
I told you that no matter what you did I'd be by your side.
Cause I'ma ride or die,
Whether you fail or fly,
Well shit, at least you tried.
But when you walked out that door, a piece of me died.
Told you I wanted more, that's not what I had in mind.
I just want it like before, we were dancin' all night.
Then they took you away, stole you out of my life.
You just need to remember...

I will love you till the end of time,
I would wait a million years.
Promise you'll remember that you're mine,
Baby can you see through the tears?
Love you more,
Than those bitches before.
Say you'll remember, (oh baby) say you'll remember, (oh baby hoo)
I will love you till the end of time.

Demo version

Blue jeans, white shirt,
Walked into the room you know you made my eyes hurt.
It was like James Dean, for sure,
So-so fresh to death and sick as ca-cancer.
You were sorta punk rock, I grew up on hip hop.
But you fit me better than my favorite sweater, and I know,
That love's mean (uh-oh), and love hurts, (uh-oh!)
But I still remember that day we met in December, oh baby!

I will love you till the end of time,
I would wait a million years.
Promise you'll remember that you're mine,
Baby can you see through the tears?
Love you more, than them tricks before.
Say you'll remember, (oh baby) say you'll remember, (oh baby hoo)
I will love you till the end of time.

Big dreams, gangster,
Said you had to leave to start your life over.
I was like, "No please, stay here,
We don't need no money, we can make it all work."
Headed out on Sunday, said he'd come home Monday.
I stayed up waitin', anticipatin' and pacin' but he was,
Chasing paper, "Got caught up in the game" it was the last I heard.

I will love you till the end of time,
I would wait a million years.
Promise you'll remember that you're mine,
Baby can you see through the tears?
Love you more, than them tricks before.
Say you'll remember, oh baby, say you'll remember, oh baby hoo-o!
I will love you till the end of time.