Mermaid Motel (song)

Lana Del Rey
Writer(s)	Lana Del Rey
Producer(s)	David Kahne
Length	3:59 (See official versions)
From
Lana Del Ray track listing
"Jump"
"Raise Me Up (Mississippi South)"

"Mermaid Motel" (registered as "Mermaid Hotel") is a song written by Lana Del Rey and produced by David Kahne. It was released in 2010 on Del Rey's debut album, Lana Del Ray.

Background and writing

In an interview with ex-boyfriend Michael Mizrahi, Del Rey stated:

"I wrote "Mermaid Motel" because I was so happy. I was on such a roll. I wrote three smashing songs, in my opinion. I wrote "Queen of the Gas Station", "Jump" and "Put Me in a Movie" in a week. And that's how it happens. I have to wait so long, I never know how long, could be years [for inspiration], but I know exactly when I have a song, and it comes all at once. It doesn't take long to write. It comes with the melody. It comes with the harmonies and I have to take as long as it takes that day, because then it does leave."

An extended studio demo, recorded in 2007, was leaked on July 1, 2017. The original file leaked the next day, July 2, 2017. The file comes from an album called "No Kung Fu Demos (Received 2007-09-06)" confirming that the demo was a track on Del Rey's demo EP, No Kung Fu. This version of the song was produced by Steven Mertens.

There is an alternate version called "Mermaid Hotel", with a length of 3:00. It is registered and remains unleaked.

Lana Del Rey
Writer(s)	Lana Del Rey
Producer(s)	Steven Mertens
Recorded	2007
Length	6:21 (See official versions)
No Kung Fu track listing
Jump
Put Me in a Movie

Music video

Music video	Information
	Released	May 19, 2009
	Length	4:09
	Director	Lana Del Rey
	Producer
	Filmed	2009
	Location	Unknown
	Vevo views	N/A

Background and description

Del Rey created her own homemade music video for the song in 2009 and posted it to YouTube on May 19, 2009. Like most of her earlier music videos, it features clips of Del Rey singing along to the song and clips she gathered from miscellaneous films and videos.

Cross-references

• References to Coney Island are also present in "Off to the Races", "Carmen" and "TV in Black & White".
• Refers to singing the "National Anthem".
• The phrase "Miss America" is mentioned in "Driving in Cars with Boys" and "Trash Magic".
• Heavy metal is also referenced in "Smarty", "Axl Rose Husband", "Angels Forever, Forever Angels" and "Guns and Roses".
• Del Rey sings the phrase "God bless.." in "God Bless America - and All the Beautiful Women in It".

Official versions

• Album version — 3:59
• No Kung Fu demo — 6:21
• "Mermaid Hotel" version (Unleaked) — 3:00

Lyrics

Album version

Maybe we could go to Coney Island
Maybe I could sing the national anthem
Buy a white sweater for the last white day of the summer

Buy my purple wig for my mermaid video
Walk back to where I lived in my motel on Neptune Avenue

You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off
You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off

Maybe we could go to Suede Tokyo
Or see Van Halen at their reunion show
Heavy metal hour on TV
Diamond Dave and Ray Lee
And you salute me, Miss America
Because I am, I am

You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off
You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off

Maybe we could go to Coney Island
Maybe I could sing you to sleep
God bless the universe, God bless the ocean
God bless you and God bless me
God bless you and God bless me

You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, t-take it off
You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off

Demo version

Maybe we can go to Coney Island
Maybe I can sing the national anthem
Buy a white sweater for the last white day of the summer

Like my purple hair for my mermaid video
Walk back to where I live in my motel
On Neptune Avenue (it's pretty fancy)

You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off
You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off

Maybe we could visit Suede Tokyo
See Van Halen at the reunion show
Heavy metal hour on TV
Diamond Dave and Ray Lee
And you salute me, Miss America
Because I am, I am

You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off
You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off

All I wanna do is lie on chandeliers
I've been beautiful for more than a thousand years
All I wanna do is lie on chandeliers and stare at you, baby
Smile you to tears

Maybe we can go to Coney Island
Maybe I can sing you to sleep
God bless the universe, God bless the ocean
God bless the blue and God like them mean
God bless the blue and God like them mean

You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off
You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off

You call me lavender, you call me sunshine

(You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off
You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off)

(You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off
You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off)

(You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
You say take it off, take it off
You call me lavender, you call me sunshine
Take it off, take it off)