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"Cola" (originally titled "P*ssy" and "Pepsi Cola",[S 1] and also registered as "My P*ssy Tastes Like Pepsi Cola"[1]) is a song by Lana Del Rey, serving as the third track from her second major-label EP Paradise, which was released worldwide on November 9, 2012. The track was co-written with Rick Nowels, who also produced it.
Background[]
In a November 5, 2012, interview with Just Jared on 102.7 KIIS FM, Del Rey revealed that the song would be released as the second single off of Paradise,[2] but no further details or release dates were announced and the release was scrapped. The single's scrapped artwork leaked on November 10, 2020.
When asked in an interview with Triple J if she had hesitation to release the song, Del Rey answered: "I didn't but everyone around me did. They just thought it was really weird - nothing new here...For me that song was so cool. The guys got to play electric guitars...the amazing surf sounds on it, and I love the way the chorus opens up and has really tropical undertones. For me, the vibe of it is so good, I love it." She also added, "There was a lot of laughter [in the studio]...I'm getting lots of Pepsi comments...lots of Pepsi fan mail."[3] When asked of the song's iconic opening line, Del Rey said: "I have a Scottish boyfriend, and that's just what he says, so I don't know really!"
Del Rey performed a reading of Walt Whitman's poem "Song of Myself" to accompany the song's instrumental in a promotional video for her April 2013 photoshoot with L'Officiel. In it, Del Rey "stars" as Rosalita, a Mexican film starlet.
A snippet of the song's instrumental leaked on April 21, 2018, followed by its leak in full on November 17. The instrumental then leaked in .wav format on August 9, 2023. A snippet of a demo version of the track titled "P*ssy" leaked on April 4, 2023. Del Rey has confirmed the existence of a laptop demo that she recorded on GarageBand and subsequently presented to Rick Nowels,[3] though it has not leaked.
Use in media[]
The song was used in an episode of Italian agricultural program Linea Verde in 2024.[4]
Critical reception[]
"Cola" received polarized reviews. The track was described by Stuff as containing "fresh, is-she-serious lyrics" in response to the controversial opening line.[5] Hindustan Times criticized the snippets shared before the release of Paradise - singling out "Cola" - saying they proved she was "short on ideas" and that the songs all sounded alike.[6] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy wrote that the multiple hooks in the song "feel polished without compromising [Del Rey's] rebellious nature".[7] Contrarily, Jesse Cataldo of Slant wrote of "Cola": "[it pushes] Del Rey's pop-art take on signifier-addled femme fatality too far into the realm of cheekiness, but also shattering a persona that already exists inside a hall of mirrors."[8]
Live performances[]
Del Rey performed the song live for the first time on the first date of the Paradise Tour on April 3, 2013, at Le Galaxie in Amnéville, France. "Cola" would serve as the opening song for the majority of the shows on the tour throughout 2013 and 2014. It continued to be included on the set lists for the Endless Summer Tour and the 2016 festival tour, though this was the last it was ever performed live.
At many of her 2014 performances, Del Rey would walk out on stage to a short composition that fans have since dubbed the "Cruel World Intro", referencing its lyrics. The intro featured similar instrumentation to "Cola" and would precede Del Rey performing the song. In a 2024 interview, Del Rey's guitarist Blake Stranathan revealed that some of the interludes that didn't make it on to Ultraviolence were reworked into her live shows.[9]
When performing the song live, Del Rey was known to alter lyrics towards the end of the song, often singing instead, "we can work it out, work it real fine", or a variation of that, to close the performance.
The song was part of a session recorded by Del Rey's live touring band in preparation for her Paradise Tour performances. The full rehearsal session, which featured Del Rey's pre-recorded vocals and were created with the intent of aiding the tour's videographer, leaked on October 15, 2020.
Controversy and retirement[]
During October 2017, film executive Harvey Weinstein was fired from his production company, The Weinstein Company, following numerous reports of sexual abuse from women in the film industry. Media brought Del Rey into the controversy through speculation that Weinstein was the subject of the song "Cola", citing the line "Harvey's in the sky with diamonds and he's making me crazy". In an interview for MTV that was published on October 31, 2017, Del Rey stated that she would retire the song from her live shows in response to the controversy. Regarding the track, Del Rey explained that the song was not directly written about Weinstein, but was written about a character based on both him and Harry Winston, whom she envisioned as a "benevolent diamond bestowing upon starlets visual". She further commented that, since learning about Weinstein's crimes, she finds the song sad and uncomfortable, and would no longer include it in any of her performances.[10]
In an "All About Me" interview with Harper's BAZAAR, Del Rey was prompted to recall the song she opened with at her June 2014 Glastonbury debut show, to which she eventually guessed "Cola" correctly. She would further refer to the song, or perhaps herself for writing the song, as "a nuisance to society".[11]
Cross-references[]
- The live intro contains references to "Cruel World" and "Let the Light In".
- Cola is mentioned in a number of Del Rey songs, including "Us Against the World", "Serial Killer", "Florida Kilos", "Coca Colla", "Coca Cola", "I Learned How to Make Love from the Movies", and many others.
- Cherry pies are mentioned in "Betty Boop Boop", among other songs.
- "Harvey's in the sky with diamonds" is a similar lyric to "Lucy's in the sky with ice" from "Television Heaven".
- A "pretty baby" is mentioned in "Florida Kilos", "For K, Pt. 2", and the song of the same name.
- Vanilla ice cream is also mentioned in both "Dynamite", "Paradise", and "Ice Cream".
- Del Rey sings about decorating her neck with jewelry in "Raise Me Up (Mississippi South)".
- Del Rey also references her dad in "Is This Happiness", "Ride", "Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It", and "Black Bathing Suit", among others.
- The phrase "come on" is also used in "Wolf T-Shirt", "Be My Daddy", "Put Me in a Movie", "Heroin", and "For K, Pt. 2".
- Direct reference to "Ride".
Official versions[]
- Album version – 4:20
- Instrumental version – 4:19
- Clean version – 4:20
- "P*ssy" demo version (unleaked) – Unknown
- Paradise Tour rehearsal session – 6:42
Lyrics[]
Album version[]
My p*ssy tastes like Pepsi-Cola
My eyes are wide like cherry pies
I gots a taste for men who are older
It's always been, so it's no surprise
Harvey's in the sky with diamonds and he's making me crazy
(I come alive, alive)
All he wants to do is party with his pretty baby
Come on, baby, let's ride
We can escape to the great sunshine
I know your wife and she wouldn't mind
We made it out to the other side
We made it out to the other side
We made it out to the other side
Come on, come on
Come on, come on, come on, baby
Woah, ahh-yeah
I fall asleep in an American flag
I wear my diamonds on skid row
I pledge allegiance to my dad
For teaching me everything he knows
Harvey's in the sky with diamonds and he's making me crazy
(I come alive, alive)
All he wants to do is party with his pretty baby, yeah
Come on, baby, let's ride
We can escape to the great sunshine
I know your wife and she wouldn't mind
We made it out to the other side
We made it out to the other side
We made it out to the other side
Drugs, suck it up, like vanilla icys
Don't treat me rough, treat me really niceys
Decorate my neck, diamantes ices
Why, come on, come on
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-yeah
Come on, baby, let's ride
We can escape to the great sunshine
I know your wife and she wouldn't mind
We made it out to the other side
Come on, baby, let's ride
We can escape to the great sunshine
We made it out to the other side
We made it out to the other side
Come on, come on, come on, baby
Come on, come on, come on, baby
Whoa-ahh, yeah
(My p*ssy tastes like Pepsi-Cola)
Ooh-ah
(My p*ssy tastes like Pepsi-Cola)
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
(My p*ssy tastes like Pepsi-Cola)
Ooh, whoa-yeah
"P*ssy" demo version[]
[Snippet]:
My p*ssy taste like Pepsi-Cola
My baby sips it like cherry sunrise
I got him feeling like a holy roller
Down on the floor, praising me all night
"Cruel World" live intro[a][]
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh
Let the light in
Let the light shine in
It's a cruel world
Credits[]
- Personnel[b]
- Lana Del Rey – songwriting, vocals
- Rick Nowels – songwriting, production, keyboards, Juno bass, acoustic guitar, drums
- Devrim Karaoğlu – co-production, drums
- Kieron Menzies – recording, drum programming, mixing
- Chris Garcia – additional recording
- Jordan Stilwell – additional recording
- Patrick Warren – strings, glockenspiel, brass, organ, electric guitar, piano, synthesizer
- Tim Pierce – slide guitar
- John Davis – mastering
- Technical
- Published by EMI / R-Rated Music administered by EMI April Music Inc. (ASCAP)
- Recorded at The Green Building, Santa Monica, United States
- Mastered at Metropolis Mastering, London, United Kingdom
