Cruel World (song)

Lana Del Rey
Writer(s)	Lana Del Rey Blake Stranathan
Producer(s)	Dan Auerbach
Recorded	December 2013 (demo) January 2014 (album version)
Released	June 13, 2014
Length	6:39 (See official versions)
From
Single(s)	"West Coast" "Ultraviolence" "Black Beauty"
Promotional single(s)	"Shades of Cool" "Ultraviolence" "Brooklyn Baby"
Ultraviolence track listing
"Ultraviolence"

"Cruel World" is a song by Lana Del Rey written with Blake Stranathan. It was produced by Dan Auerbach and serves as the opening track from Del Rey's second major-label studio album, Ultraviolence, which was released on June 13, 2014.

Background

"'Cruel World' was the first song me and the band at Nashville started to play. And that was when we really knew, I think, that we had something because we were playing it really loosely and had really heavy drums in it, but were still going for that West Coast feeling. So, by the end of the day, we loved all the takes we had and we just really felt like we were really onto it. Like, once we did 'Cruel World' on that first day, we knew exactly what we were going for. So, it really set the tone for the record. And for me, it's my favorite song, hands down, it's just my most favorite."

Del Rey in the song's official Ultraviolence Audio Commentary track

During a show at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California, on April 18, 2014, Del Rey revealed the title of the song by telling a fan that it was her favorite track from her then-upcoming album. In an interview with Connecticut radio station 96.5TIC, Del Rey revealed that she wrote the song with her touring guitarist Blake Stranathan.

The instrumental of the song leaked on June 19, 2014. An early mix of the song leaked in .wav format on November 10, 2020. On March 25, 2022, a variety of seven instrumental and vocal stem snippets leaked. The next day, the song's studio a cappella leaked. A demo of the song is rumored to exist.

Composition and writing

"Cruel World" is a rock song in 4/4 performed at approximately 117 beats per minute in the key of F major. Lyrically, the song describes a violent and drug-fueled relationship that has ended. On writing the song, Del Rey explained:

"I went down to the beach and I was thinking about everything, personally. The verse is thoughtful and laid back, but then the chorus falls into this world of chaotic and heavy sub-bass. The juxtaposition of those two worlds, the peaceful beginning and the chaotic chorus, it summed up my personal circumstances of everything going easily and then everything being fucked up. It felt like me."

In another interview with Les Inrockuptibles' June issue, she expanded on what gave Ultraviolence its tone, citing "Cruel World" specifically:

"The first song of the album, 'Cruel World' determined everything. Geographically, it puts the album: Dan's guitar meets immediately California. There is in the beginning of the text a certain "épure", a simplicity. And then arrives the chorus with its big drums and electric disorder...This cohabitation between normality and chaos is very symbolic of what I had gone through my life."

Blake Stranathan spoke with pedal manufacturer Strymon on the writing and production process of the song. Stranathan showed Del Rey a video of a Strymon BigSky, to which she replied, "Fuck! That sounds amazing. We need that." He explained the process after a runner was able to find one for them to use:

"On the last day while Phil Joly, the engineer, was bouncing down a couple sessions...she asked me if I wanted to play around with the new pedal in the live room. I played maybe a few chords and we immediately started writing 'Cruel World'. We recorded it just guitar and vocal in one take, and then Dan Auerbach went on to produce the song not long after. Everything about the recording and writing process was super organic, plus the energy in [Electric Lady Studios] is very powerful."

Critical reception

Reviews of the song likened it to compositions by Mazzy Star, Bonnie Tyler, and Chris Isaak. Kenneth Patridge of Billboard remarked the song to be a "woozy, bluesy slow-burner about a self-professed crazy girl who's just removed herself from a destructive relationship." Mark Richardson of Pitchfork noted the "twangy guitars and thudding drums exploding at just the right moments". In an album review of Ultraviolence, Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone stated: "'Cruel World', where a reverb-drenched riff lurks behind seductively kvetched lyrics about love and madness."

Live performances

Del Rey performed the song live for the first time October 6, 2014, in Mexico City, Mexico, as part of the Paradise Tour. It remained on the set list for the remainder of the tour, and was also a permanent fixture of the Endless Summer Tour and 2016 festival tour. The track was performed on most dates of the Lust for Life Promotional Tour, but unlike previous tours, was not performed as the opening song. Del Rey performed it at two January 2019 shows on the LA to the Moon Tour, but hasn't performed it since.

Cross-references

• Del Rey also sings about a violent religious man in "Butterflies Pt. 2".
• A red dress is mentioned in "Summertime Sadness", "Off to the Races", "Carmen", "Say Yes to Heaven", and "Criminals Run the World".
  • A party dress is also mentioned in "Hundred Dollar Bill", "Love Song", and "National Anthem".
• Being "young, wild, free, and crazy" is mentioned in the "Ride" monologue.
• The song's title is referenced in "Hollywood's Dead", "Nectar of the Gods", "Cherry Blossom", as well as a live interlude once performed before "Cola".
• The phrase "got your gun" also appears in "Is This Happiness" and as "got my new car and my gun" in "The Blackest Day".
  • Guns are also mentioned in "Bartender", "Kinda Outta Luck", and "Living Legend".
• Reference to the song "Heroin".
• The Bible is also mentioned in "I Talk to Jesus", "Ave Maria", "Not All Who Wander Are Lost", and "Tulsa Jesus Freak".
• Being or feeling crazy is also referenced in "Ride", "Off to the Races", "Happiness Is a Butterfly", and the poem "My Bedroom Is a Sacred Place Now – There Are Children at the Foot of My Bed".

Official versions

• Album version – 6:39
  • Instrumental version – 6:38
  • A cappella version – 6:46
• Clean version – 6:39
• Early mix – 6:47
• Audio Commentary track – 0:36

Lyrics

Shared my body and my mind with you, that's all over now
Did what I had to do, 'cause you're so far past me now
Shared my body and my life with you, that's way over now
There's not more I can do, you're so famous now

Got your bible, got your gun
And you like to party and have fun
And I like my candy and your women
I'm finally happy now that you're gone

Put my little red party dress on
Everybody knows that I'm the best, I'm crazy
You get a little bit of bourbon in ya
You get a little bit suburban and go crazy

Because you're young, you're wild, you're free
You're dancin' circles around me
You're fucking crazy
Oh, oh, you're crazy for me

I shared my body and my mind with you, that's all over now
I did what I had to do, I found another anyhow
Shared my body and my mind with you, that's all over now
I did what I had to do, I could see you leaving now

I got your bible and your gun
And you love to party and have fun
And I love your women and all of your heroin
And I'm so happy now that you're gone

Put my little red party dress on
Everybody knows that I'm a mess, I'm crazy, yeah, yeah
Get a little bit of bourbon in ya
You go a little bit suburban and go crazy, yeah, yeah

Because you're young, you're wild, you're free
You're dancin' circles around me
You're fucking crazy
Oh, oh, you're crazy for me

Got your bible and your gun
You like your women and you like fun
I like my candy and your heroin
And I'm so happy, so happy now you're gone

Put my little red party dress on
Everybody knows that I'm a mess, I'm crazy, yeah, yeah
Get a little bit of bourbon in ya
You get a little bit suburban and go crazy, yeah, yeah

Because you're young, you're wild, you're free
You're dancin' circles around me
You're fucking crazy
Oh, oh, you're crazy for me
Oh, oh, you're crazy for me

Credits

Personnel

• Lana Del Rey – songwriting, vocals
• Blake Stranathan – songwriting, electric guitar, claps
• Dan Auerbach – production
• Nick Movshon – electric bass, claps
• Leon Michels – synthesizers, Mellotron, claps
• Kenny Vaughan – electric guitar
• Seth Kaufman – synthesizer, claps
• Russ Pahl – pedal steel
• Maximilian Weissenfeldt – drums, claps
• Collin Dupuis – engineering
• Robert Orton – mixing
• John Davis – mastering

Technical

• Published by Copyright Control / Sony / ATV Music Publishing
• Recorded at Easy Eye Sound, Nashville, United States
• Mixed at Hot Rocks Studios, Santa Monica, United States
• Mastered at Metropolis Studios, London, United Kingdom