"Get Free" (originally titled "Malibu") is a song by Lana Del Rey. It was co-written and produced with Rick Nowels, Kieron Menzies and Dean Reid. It serves as the closing track on her fifth studio album and fourth major-label studio album, Lust for Life, which was released worldwide on July 21, 2017.
Writing
Lana, Rick and Kieron listened to Radiohead's hit 90's song 'Creep' and just...like...did that.
Critical reception
Meaghan Garvey of Pitchfork called "Get Free" the most stunning and thematically essential song on the album along with "Change", stating that "Del Rey delivers, at last, the album’s mission statement: 'Finally, I’m crossing the threshold/From the ordinary world/To the reveal of my heart.' It is not so much a revelation as a promise that one is coming, and when she sings plainly, 'This is my commitment,' the album cover’s uncharacteristic smile reveals itself not as a declaration of happiness, but a reminder that it’s still worth believing in".[1]
The FADER magazine named it the best song on Lust for Life and added it was "an amalgam of influences and interpolations and inter-references to the sprawling Lana universe". It was described as a "gorgeous-sounding promise" and pact between Del Rey and herself to "unapologetically rid her life of unnecessary darkness". They went on to call it the most spiritually uplifting Del Rey song to date and as the album’s last track, it solidified it’s mission statement: "Lana will always be Lana, but she reserves the right to make life changes, to feel proud of what she’s accomplished, and to sing about being happy and free, for once".[2]
Live performances
For the first time Del Rey sang a brief a cappella snippet of the song on August 1, 2017 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California. On October 23, 2017, at Terminal 5 in New York City, Del Rey performed another a cappella version of the song and revealed the censored words in the first pre-chorus to be "Amy" and "Whitney", as a nod to two of Del Rey's inspirations Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston, whose names she has tattooed above her chest. Del Rey sang the line as "I'm doing it for all of us, who never got the chance, for Amy and for Whitney".
Music video
In an interview with Gabrielle Wilson for MTV which was published on October 31, 2017, Del Rey expressed interest in creating a music video for "Get Free" or "Cherry".[3] A brief snippet of the song is also featured in the "White Mustang" music video.
Cross-references
- Direct reference to the song "Ride".
- A mention of "paradise" most notably appears in "Dark Paradise", "Tomorrow Never Came", and the song of the same name, among many others.
- "Out of the black, into the blue" is a similar lyric to "you turn my mood from black to blue" from "Hundred Dollar Bill".
- "Get free" is a phrase mentioned in "Children of the Bad Revolution" and a subtle reference to the song appears in "God Bless America - and All the Beautiful Women in It".
- A snippet of the song can be heard in the "White Mustang" music video.
- The sound of a motorcycle revving its engine heard in the pre-chorus can also be heard in the intro of "Lust for Life".
Lyrics
Finally, I'm crossing the threshold
From the ordinary world
To the reveal of my heart
Undoubtedly, that will for certain
Take the dead out of the sea
And the darkness from the arts
This is my commitment
My modern manifesto
I'm doing it for all of us
Who never got the chance
For (ah) and for (yeah)
And all my birds of paradise
Who never got to fly at night
'Cause they were caught up in the dance
Sometimes it feels like I've got a war in my mind
I wanna get off but I keep riding the ride
I never really noticed that I had to decide
To play someone's game or live my own life
And I now I do, I wanna move
Out of the black (out of the black)
Into the blue (into the blue)
Finally, gone is the burden
Of the crowd, the way of being
That comes from energies combined
Like my part was I, was not discerning
And you, as we found out
Were not in your right mind
There's no more chasing rainbows
And hoping for an end to them
Their arches are illusions
Solid at first glance
But then you try to touch them (touch, touch)
There's nothing to hold onto (hold, hold)
The colors used to lure you in
And put you in a trance (ah, ah, ah, yeah)
Sometimes it feels like I've got a war in my mind
I wanna get off but I keep riding the ride
I never really noticed that I had to decide
To play someone's game or live my own life
And I now I do, I wanna move
Out of the black (out of the black)
Into the blue (into the blue)
Out of the black (out of the black)
Into the blue (into the blue)
Out of the black (out of the black)
Into the blue (into the blue)
Out of the black (out of the black)
Into the blue (into the blue)
Credits
- Personnel
- Lana Del Rey — vocals, songwriting, production
- Rick Nowels — songwriting, production, bass, organ, keyboards, synth pad
- Kieron Menzies — songwriting, production, engineering, mixing, percussion, synthesizer, field recording
- Dean Reid — production, engineering, mixing, synth bass, percussion, electric guitar
- Trevor Yasuda — engineering, keyboards
- David Levita — electric guitar
- Zac Rae — synth pad, organ, Mellotron, guitar
- Aaron Sterling — live drums, percussion
- Mighty Mike — drums, percussion
- Chris Garcia — engineering
- Adam Ayan — mastering
- Technical
- Published by Cosmic Lime (ASCAP) / R-Rated Music administered by EMI April Music Inc. (Global Music Rights) / Sony/ATV Music Publishing (ASCAP)
- Recorded at The Green Building, Los Angeles and Hampstead Studios, London
- Mastered at Gateway Mastering, Portland, Maine
Charts
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[4] | 47 |
References
- ↑ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/lana-del-rey-lust-for-life/
- ↑ http://www.thefader.com/2017/07/24/lana-del-rey-get-free-lust-for-life
- ↑ MTV News (October 31, 2017). "Lana Del Rey Talks Next Music Video & Tour w/ Kali Uchis & Jhené Aiko". YouTube.
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/306420/Lana%20Del%20Rey/chart?page=1&f=902
