"Dark but Just a Game" is a song by Lana Del Rey, which is featured on her upcoming seventh studio album, Chemtrails Over the Country Club.
Background
On December 18, 2020, it appeared on Shazam alongside the rest of the tracklist for Chemtrails Over the Country Club.
MOJO magazine stated the song "mixes Portishead, Ricky Nelson's song 'Garden Party' and Allen Ginsberg's poem 'Howl' ("The best ones lose their minds") into a potent statement of defiance.
Writing and Inspiration
As stated by Del Rey in an interview with MOJO magazine, the song's genesis began at a party that Del Rey and Jack Antonoff attended along with St. Vincent at the house of Guy Oseary. In the interview, she said "Something happened, kind of like a situation — never meet your idols. And I just thought, 'I think it's interesting that the best musicians end up in such terrible places'. I thought to myself, 'I'm going to try my best not to change because I love who I am'. I said 'Jack, it's dark'. And he said 'Well, it's dark— but it's just a game'". Antonoff told MOJO: 'Dark But Just A Game' is so her to me. Fly down the rabbit hole and smile in the same breath".
Cross-references
- A game is mentioned in "Video Games", "Beautiful People Beautiful Problems", "The Blackest Day", "Music to Watch Boys To", "Bartender".
- Dark(ness) is mentioned in "Dark Paradise" and in "Video Games" & "Honeymoon" (as dark blue).
- The chorus samples the pre-chorus of "Bird World".
Lyrics
"It's dark but just a game"
That's what he would say to me
The faces aren't the same
But their stories all end tragically
Sweet, w-whatever, baby
And that's the price of fame
A tale as old as time, you'd be
Sweet, w-whatever, baby
A pretty little fool
To think exceptions to the rule
Just walk around
Like you and me this way
But life is sweet, w-whatever, baby
You gotta take them for what they've got
And while the whole world is crazy
We're getting high in the parking lot
We keep changing all the time
The best ones lost their minds
So I'm not gonna change
I'll stay the same
No rose left on the vines
Don't even want what's mine
Much less the fame
It's dark but just a game
It's dark but just a game
It's dark but just a game
So play it like a symphony
You know our love's the same
They'll both go down in infamy
I was a pretty little thing
Ain't got a lot to sing, but
Nothing came for me the one but pain
But fuck it
Life is sweet, w-whatever, baby
Don't ever think it's not
While the whole world is crazy
We're making out in the parking lot
We keep changing all the time
The best ones lost their minds
So I'm not gonna change
I'll stay the same
No rose left on the vines
Don't even want what's mine
Much less the fame
It's dark but just a game
It's dark but just a game
We keep changing all the time
The best ones lost their minds
So I'm not gonna change
I'll stay the same
No rose left on the vines
Don't even want what's mine
Much less the fame
It's dark but just a game
It's dark but just a game
It's dark but just
Credits
- Lana Del Rey — vocals, producer.
- Jack Antonoff — composer, producer, mixer, 12-string acoustic guitar, bass, drums, guitar, mellotron, percussion, synthesizer.
- Laura Sisk — engineer, mixer.
- Chris Gehringer — mastering engineer.
- John Rooney — assistant recording engineer.
- Jon Sher — assistant recording engineer.
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||