"Kill Kill" (originally titled "The Ocean" and also referred to as "Florida Dark") is a song written by Lana Del Rey and produced by David Kahne. In 2008, it was released as the opening song and title track from Del Rey's first studio EP, then was later released in 2010 as the opening track for her debut studio album Lana Del Ray.
Background[]
"Kill Kill" was recorded sometime during 2007 in a studio on the fourth floor of 12 West 37th Street, New York City, New York.[citation needed]
The final version of the song was mastered on February 25, 2008, between 6 and 7 PM, along with the rest of the songs from Lana Del Ray, excluding "Gramma (Blue Ribbon Sparkler Trailer Heaven)" and "Raise Me Up (Mississippi South)".[S 1]
Photo of the CDr mixtape given to Naison by Del Rey
A snippet of the original demo of "The Ocean" leaked on December 4, 2016. The full track, produced by Steven Mertens, leaked the next day. Other versions of this demo have been rumored to exist.[S 2] On July 5, 2017, the unmastered version of "Kill Kill" leaked.
"Kill Kill" was also featured on a 3-track mixtape (alongside "Roller Dirby" and "Ruby") that was given to Del Rey's friend and Fordham professor, Mark Naison.
Del Rey acknowledged the song during an Instagram livestream on July 27, 2017. Upon seeing a fan comment the song's title, she read it aloud and added, "that's so funny."[1]
Composition[]
The song was originally titled "The Ocean", which was described as "boring" by a record producer. Upon returning home, Del Rey scribbled out "The Ocean" and wrote "Kill Kill" above the lyrics in frustration.[2]
Live performance[]
There is one known live performance of "Kill Kill"; Del Rey performed the song at Pianos in New York City, New York on February 17, 2009. Some photos of the performance - which was a Cross-Pollination show with Wes Hutchinson - have surfaced, but no recordings are known to exist.
Music videos[]
| Music video | Information | |
|---|---|---|
|
Released | 2008 |
| Length | 3:54 | |
| Director | Lana Del Rey | |
| Producer | ||
| Filmed | Unknown | |
| Location | Unknown | |
| Vevo views | N/A | |
| Music video | Information | |
|---|---|---|
|
Released | November 6, 2008 |
| Length | 4:01 | |
| Director | Lana Del Rey | |
| Producer | ||
| Filmed | Unknown | |
| Location | Unknown | |
| Vevo views | N/A | |
| Music video | Information | |
|---|---|---|
|
Released | 2008 |
| Length | 4:05 | |
| Director | Lana Del Rey | |
| Producer | ||
| Filmed | Unknown | |
| Location | Unknown | |
| Vevo views | N/A | |
Background and description[]
A music video featuring old clips of people surfing, old fashioned cars, and people on the beach in California were cut together by Grant along with several scenes of Grant covered in an American flag with a Marilyn Monroe-like hairstyle, another with flowers in her hair in front of floral pattern, and one with Grant wearing a simple strap dress with another Marilyn Monroe hairstyles. The clips of Grant feature her mouthing the words to the song in home videos. Grant removed the video but it was leaked along with plenty of other videos for songs off of her album, after she had established herself as Lana Del Rey.
A second official version has also surfaced, featuring many of the same scenes from the first video but with new clips of Del Rey and of the ocean. This version was uploaded to YouTube under the title "Florida Dark" on November 6, 2008.[3] The description of the video simply read "Tropicana".
On September 15, 2023, a third version of the music video was confirmed to have leaked. It had circulated the internet for years prior, but was only verified upon its secondary leak and was later found to have been posted by a fan on VKontakte on August 8, 2008, who commented that they had ripped the original video from Del Rey's YouTube. This upload date indicates that the video may predate either of the previously known music videos.
Cross-references[]
- A dying man is also referenced in "Move" and "Money Hunny".
- Ray is mentioned in many of Del Rey's songs, including "Wayamaya" and "Raise Me Up (Mississippi South)".
- The ocean is also mentioned in "Bentley", "Religion", "Salvatore", and in the poem "LA Who Am I to Love You".
- Sand is also referenced in "High by the Beach".
Official versions[]
- Lana Del Ray version – 3:57
- Kill Kill version – 3:59
- Unmastered version – 4:08
- "The Ocean" demo version (produced by Steven Mertens) – 3:50
Lyrics[]
Album version[]
Bound up the stairs, I'm in the shower
Do you know I am goin' to leave you?
Do you know I am goin' to leave you?
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love, lyin' in the sand, hm
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I have done everything I can, hm
Tell me about Ray and his girl
Do I know Ray is goin' to meet you?
Love you, I do, stay here, I won't
The stars fade from your eyes
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love, lyin' in the sand, hm
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I have done everything I can, hm
One, two, make it fun
Don't trust anyone
One, two, make it fun
Don't trust anyone
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I have done everything I can, hm
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I have done everything I can, hm
One, two, make it fun
Don't trust anyone
One, two, make it fun
Make it fun, make it fun
"The Ocean" demo version[]
Bound up the stairs, I'm in the shower
Do you know I am going to leave you?
Fresh from the shore, blonde hair is wide
The ocean makes me cry
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love, lyin' in the sand, hm
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I have done everything I can, hm
Tell me about Ray and his girl
Did I know Ray is goin' to meet you?
Love you, I do, stay here, I won't
The stars fade from your eyes
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love, lyin' in the sand, hm
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I have done everything I can, hm
One, two, make it fun
Don't trust anyone
One, two, make it fun
Don't trust anyone
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I have done everything I can, hm
I'm in love with a dyin' man
I'm in love with a dyin' man
References[]
- ↑ Celebrity Snapchat Diaries (July 27, 2017). "Lana Del Rey | Instagram Live Stream | 27 July 2017". YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_uPbknbxcc. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
- ↑ Bates, Andy (November 4, 2008). "What you see vs. what you get". Adirondack Daily Enterprise. Archived from the original on May 21, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130521090634/http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/503335.html?nav=5050.
- ↑ MsSaintTropez (November 6, 2008). "Florida Dark". YouTube. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120515193424/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1iGQLA3Gpo.
Notes[]
- ↑ This is speculation and should not be relied upon. It has not been confirmed by any official sources, but has been reported by Eclipse, 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 source, but is considered widespread knowledge within the community.
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