"I Can Fly" is a song by Lana Del Rey, featured on the soundtrack of the 2014 film Big Eyes. It was co-written with Rick Nowels, who also serves as the track's producer. The song was kept a secret until the film was screened for industry insiders in early November 2014. The song was released with the rest of the soundtrack on December 23, 2014.
Background and writing[]
The song was first recorded in November 2013, in the same sessions as "Fine China", "Say Yes to Heaven", "Shades of Cool", "Sad Girl", "Is This Happiness", and "Your Girl". This version has not yet leaked.
After Del Rey's "Big Eyes" was deemed "too downbeat" to end the Tim Burton film,[1] Del Rey submitted an updated version of "I Can Fly" for the film's end credits.
The original 2013 demo was reworked by STINT[S 1] for Honeymoon in late 2014.[S 2] Later, the released version of the song would appear on an early draft tracklist for Blue Banisters.[citation needed]
Use in Big Eyes and reception[]
The Hollywood Reporter explains the song is used during the credits and "[celebrates] Margaret's escape from a pre-feminist cage with lines like "I had a dream that I was fine / I wasn't crazy, I was divine."[2]
Billboard would write, "It's a somberly triumphant ode, with Lana singing about flying like a once-caged bird. She certainly isn't changing up the sepia-toned hipster-pop sound that's dominated her work so far, but why should she? The quality is still there and there's no other pop singer this big who sounds at all similar.[3]
Cross-references[]
- "Eyes wide" references "Big Eyes" and "Cola".
- Del Rey sings about "mid-July" in "Young and Beautiful" and "Beautiful People", which was similarly written for Big Eyes.
- Del Rey mentions being on fire in "Sad Girl", "Summertime Sadness", and "Baby Blue Love".
- A garden is also mentioned in "Cherry", "Gods & Monsters", "Bartender", "Venice Bitch", and in the poem "My Bedroom Is A Sacred Place Now — There Are Children At the Foot of My Bed".
- Art is also mentioned in "Noir" and "Hot Hot Hot".
- Being crazy is a theme that appears in many songs, such as "Cruel World", "Off to the Races", "Crazy for You", "Love", and many others.
- A phoenix is also mentioned in the poem "Past the Bushes Cypress Thriving".
Official versions[]
- Ultraviolence version 1 — Unknown
- Single version / Blue Banisters version 2 — 5:48
- Honeymoon version 3 (produced by STINT) — Unknown
Lyrics[]
I can fly
You had me caged up like a bird in mid-summer
You saw me waitin', I was crazy, on fire, waiting to fly
I can fly
I had bright wishes in the summer, I was bathing in sunlight
Painting in the garden like a ghost in mid-July
Running fast from something
With my eyes wide like saucers spinning in the sun
I had a dream that I was fine
I wasn't crazy, I was divine
I can fly
You had me caged up like a bird in mid-summer
You saw me waitin', I was crazy, on fire, waiting to fly
I can fly
Your lies were hot kisses in the summer, I was dreaming of L.A.
Dreaming of the water, where I'd rise like a phoenix
Or an iron from the fire
I've got things to tell you like I know that you're a liar
I had a dream that I was fine
I wasn't crazy, I was divine
I can fly
You had me caged up like a bird in mid-summer
You saw me waitin', I was crazy, on fire, waiting to fly
I can fly
Your words cut like a knife in butter, I was fighting for my art
Fighting with my lover, you had me so tied up
Thinking there's no other
Yeah, right
Yeah, right
I can fly
You had me caged up like a bird in mid-summer
You saw me waitin', I was crazy, on fire, waiting to fly
I can fly
Credits[]
Personnel[a]
- Lana Del Rey — songwriting, vocals
- Rick Nowels — songwriting, production, piano
- S1 — snare drum
- STINT — drums
- Patrick Warren — strings
- Roy English — timpani
- Craig Armstrong — recording
- Trevor Yasuda — engineering, sampling
- Kieron Menzies — engineering, mixing, percussion
- Robert Orton — mixing
- Reuben Cohen — mastering
References[]
- ↑ Rich, Katey (December 3, 2014). "What It Sounds Like When Lana del Rey Teams Up with Tim Burton". Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/12/lana-del-rey-big-eyes. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ↑ Willman, Chris (November 18, 2014). "'Big Eyes': The Story Behind Lana Del Rey's Stunning Secret Songs". The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/big-eyes-lana-del-rey-749904/. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
- ↑ Payne, Chris (December 3, 2014). "Lana Del Rey Shares 'Big Eyes' & 'I Can Fly' From New Tim Burton Film". Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/lana-del-rey-tim-burton-big-eyes-soundtrack-i-can-fly-6334898//. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ↑ "Credits / Big Eyes: Music From The Original Motion Picture / Various Artists". Tidal. https://listen.tidal.com/album/38646389/credits. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
Notes[]
- ↑ This is speculation and should not be relied upon. It has not been confirmed by any official sources, but has been reported by Unknown, who is considered a reliable insider by the community.
- ↑ This is speculation and should not be relied upon. It has not been confirmed by any official sources, but has been reported by Unknown, who is considered a reliable insider by the community.