"Off to the Races" is a song written by Lana Del Rey and Tim Larcombe, and produced by Patrik Berger and Emile Haynie. Taken from Del Rey's first major-label album Born to Die, the song served as the album's first promotional single, released in the United Kingdom on December 20, 2011, then worldwide on January 6, 2012.
Background[]
A demo version of the song, produced by Shawn Lee and Tim Larcombe was posted to Del Rey's SoundCloud page on May 22, 2010.[1] The song was downloaded by a single person at the time, and has currently yet to resurface online after being taken down. A mix of the song, labeled "Mix 9", leaked on July 25, 2016, potentially from an out-of-print promotional CD. An earlier mix of the song would also surface from a French promotional CD of Born to Die on August 14. It has been said that the two earlier mixes may actually be the same, one just being a higher quality version of the other,[S 1] but this remains as speculation.
An insider shared that the song was recorded on September 26, 2011.[S 2]
Writing and inspiration[]
In a 2012 interview on Italian television, Del Rey spoke about the song and its conception:[2]
- "Off to the Races" is one of those songs where you could tell by the energy of it, that I'm right in the middle of...a relationship where times were happy but also chaotic...We were traveling between L.A. and Las Vegas...he was gambling, I was just swimming...I used to indulge in a lot of...drugs and dark poetry and pop culture and amazing music, but I've quieted down a lot, but I just reminisce about it...I live a really simple life today, but I was really influenced by certain poets and storytellers...like Allen Ginsberg, beat poets in his circle."
Composition[]
Del Rey employs an alternative rapping technique, hip-hop beat and heavy basslines, similar to that of "National Anthem" and "Diet Mountain Dew" in the song;[3] indie music website Pitchfork said the rapping technique was almost "chatting."[4] The song samples "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force while the beat subtly samples "Dernier Domicile Connu" by François de Roubaix.
Critical reception[]
"Off to the Races" has been lyrically described as "a freak show of inappropriate co-dependency".[5] Giving the song a negative review, Pitchfork said it "...aim[s] for chatty, sparkling opulence," adding that she "doesn't have the personality to bring it off."[4] The Guardian wrote, "Off to the Races" turns Del Rey from vintage siren to R&B hoochie most convincingly. There's jazz in Del Rey's dextrous vocal, and new territory in the swoop and pow of Haynie's undertow."[6] Comparing the song to "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans", The Huffington Post blogged that the song was "...pretty good...and it sounds just as catchy...".[7] Of the song's music video, reviewer Robbie Daw commented: "...it seems the video's producer was off to find the cheesiest footage of old shoot-'em-up '80s B-movies for this clip."[8]
Use in media[]
The song is featured in an episode of CBS' The Mentalist; the episode aired on May 3, 2012, and is titled "So Long, and Thanks for All the Red Snapper".[9]
Live performances[]
Del Rey performed the song for the first time at the Ruby Lounge in Manchester, United Kingdom, on November 4, 2011, before it was officially released. The song has since been featured on the set list of most of Del Rey's concert tours, usually serving as the final song of the set. It was last performed as part of the Norman Fucking Rockwell Tour.
Music video[]
| Music video | Information | |
|---|---|---|
|
Released | December 21, 2011 |
| Length | 5:04 | |
| Director | Lana Del Rey | |
| Producer | ||
| Filmed | N/A | |
| Location | N/A | |
| Vevo views | N/A | |
Background and description[]
On December 21, 2011, Del Rey uploaded a homemade music video for "Off to the Races" on her YouTube channel. It is composed of film clips, and does not feature Del Rey herself. Del Rey included clips from the 2006 documentary film Cocaine Cowboys and the 2009 French film Amer, among clips from other independent films and telenovelas. The video has since been made private.
Cross-references[]
- A "cocaine heart" is also mentioned in the demo version of "Carmen".
- A garden is also mentioned in "Bartender", "Big Eyes", "Burnt Norton", "Cherry", and "I Can Fly".
- A gold chain is also mentioned in "Be My Daddy" and "Dangerous Girl".
- Drug references are found throughout many of Del Rey's songs; these include "Disco", "Hollywood", and "Yayo", among several others.
- Alcohol is also a recurring theme in many of Del Rey's songs.
- A red dress is also mentioned in "Carmen", "Criminals Run the World", "Cruel World", "Summertime Sadness", and "Say Yes to Heaven".
- Being or acting crazy is also mentioned in "Chemtrails over the Country Club", "Cruel World", "Ride", and in the poem "My Bedroom Is a Sacred Place Now – There Are Children at the Foot of My Bed".
- Casinos are also mentioned in "Queen of the Gas Station" and presumably, the song of the same name.
- Cipriani is also referenced in "Ice Cream".
- Coney Island is also mentioned in "Carmen", "Mermaid Motel", and "TV in Black & White", among others.
- Del Rey pleas with someone to come and save her in "Daddy Issues" and "God Bless America – and All the Beautiful Women in It".
- Del Rey refers to her nail polish in "The Blackest Day" and "1949", and alludes to it in "Your Girl".
- Direct reference to "Without You".
- Las Vegas is also mentioned in "Go Go Dancer", "Guns and Roses", "Hollywood's Dead", and "Noir", among several others.
- L.A. is also mentioned in "Because of You", "Birds of a Feather", "Never Let Me Go", and "1949", among several others.
- Leather is also mentioned in "Baby Blue Love", "Black Beauty", "Freak", "I Don't Wanna Go", and in the poem "Patent Leather Do-Over".
- "Light of my life, fire of my loins" is a phrase from the book "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov, which directly inspired the song of the same name.
- Lilacs are also mentioned in "Roses Bloom For You" and "Sweet Carolina".
- Perfume is also mentioned in "The Other Woman" and "Video Games".
- Praying is also mentioned in "Tulsa Jesus Freak".
- Swimming pools are also mentioned in "Chemtrails over the Country Club", "Gangsta Boy", "Heavy Hitter", "Push Me Down", and "This Is What Makes Us Girls", among several others.
- The Chateau Marmont, a historic hotel in Los Angeles, California is mentioned in many of Del Rey's songs, including "Elvis", "Heavy Hitter", and "She's Not Me".
- The phrase "glimmering darling" is similar to the lyric "I'm your vulgar darling in the swimming pool, glimmering" from "Moi Je Joue".
- The phrase "I love you" also appears in "Fuck It I Love You", "Pretty Baby", and "Ultraviolence", among others.
- The phrase "my old man" is also used in "Heroin".
- The phrase "true love" is also mentioned in "I Talk to Jesus", "True Love on the Side", and "Ultraviolence".
- The lyric "I need you, I breathe you" is similar to the lyric "need you, baby, like I breathe you, baby" which appears in "Fucked My Way Up to the Top".
- The lyric "the way I roll like a rolling stone" is similar to "when you're used to rollin' like a rollin' stone" from "Dance Till We Die".
Official versions[]
- Album version – 4:59
- Instrumental version – 5:01
- Single version – 5:01
- Radio edit – 3:54
- Demo version (unleaked; produced by Shawn Lee and Tim Larcombe) – 5:02
- Early mix – 5:10
- Mix 9 – 5:05
Lyrics[]
Album version[]
My old man is a bad man, but
I can't deny the way he holds my hand
And he grabs me, he has me by my heart
He doesn't mind I have a Las Vegas past
He doesn't mind I have a L.A. crass way about me
He loves me with every beat of his cocaine heart
Swimming pool glimmering, darling
White bikini off with my red nail polish
Watch me in the swimming pool, bright blue ripples, you
Sittin', sippin' on your black Cristal, yeah
Light of my life, fire of my loins
Be a good baby, do what I want
Light of my life, fire of my loins
Give me them gold coins, give me them coins
And I'm off to the races, cases of Bacardi chasers chasin' me all over town
'Cause he knows I'm wasted, facin' time again at Riker's Island and I won't get out
Because I'm crazy, baby, I need you to come here and save me
I'm your little scarlet, starlet, singin' in the garden, kiss me on my open mouth
Ready for you
My old man is a tough man, but
He got a soul as sweet as blood red jam
And he shows me, he knows me, every inch of my tar black soul
He doesn't mind I have a flat, broke-down life
In fact, he says he thinks it's what he might like about me
Admires me, the way I roll like a rolling stone
He likes to watch me in the glass room, bathroom, Chateau Marmont
Slippin' on my red dress, puttin' on my makeup
Glass room, perfume, cognac, lilac fumes
Says it feels like Heaven to him
Light of his life, fire of his loins
Keep me forever, tell me you own me
Light of your life, fire of your loins
Tell me you own me, give me them coins
And I'm off to the races, cases of Bacardi chasers chasin' me all over town
'Cause he knows I'm wasted, facin' time again at Riker's Island and I won't get out
Because I'm crazy, baby, I need you to come here and save me
I'm your little scarlet, starlet, singin' in the garden, kiss me on my open mouth
Yo, I'm off to the races, laces, leather on my waist is tight and I am fallin' down
I can see your face is shameless, Cipriani's basement, love you but I'm going down
God, I'm so crazy, baby, I'm sorry that I'm misbehaving
I'm your little harlot, starlet, queen of Coney Island, raisin' hell all over town
Sorry 'bout it
My old man is a thief and I'm gonna stay and pray with him 'til the end
But I trust in the decision of the Lord to watch over us
Take him when He may, if He may
I'm not afraid to say that I'd die without him
Who else is gonna put up with me this way?
I need you, I breathe you, I'd never leave you
They would rue the day I was alone without you
You're lyin' with your gold chain on
Cigar hanging from your lips, I said, "Hun
You never looked so beautiful as you do now, my man"
And we're off to the races, places, ready, set, the gate is down and then we're going in
To Las Vegas, chaos, casino oasis, honey, it is time to spin
Boy, you're so crazy, baby, I love you forever, not maybe
You are my one true love
You are my one true love
Ooh, ooh, ooh (Ah)
Ooh, ooh
You are my one true love
Radio edit[]
My old man is a bad man, but
I can't deny the way he holds my hand
And he grabs me, he has me by my heart
He doesn't mind I have a Las Vegas past
He doesn't mind I have a L.A. crass way about me
He loves me with every beat of his cocaine heart
Swimming pool glimmering, darling
White bikini off with my red nail polish
Watch me in the swimming pool, bright blue ripples, you
Sittin', sippin' on your black Cristal, yeah
Light of my life, fire of my loins
Be a good baby, do what I want
Light of my life, fire of my loins
Give me them gold coins, give me them coins
And I'm off to the races, cases of Bacardi chasers chasin' me all over town
'Cause he knows I'm wasted, facin' time again at Riker's Island and I won't get out
Because I'm crazy, baby, I need you to come here and save me
I'm your little scarlet, starlet, singin' in the garden, kiss me on my open mouth
Ready for you
My old man is a tough man, but
He got a soul as sweet as blood red jam
And he shows me, he knows me, every inch of my tar black soul
He doesn't mind I have a flat, broke-down life
In fact, he says he thinks it's what he might like about me
Admires me, the way I roll like a rolling stone
He likes to watch me in the glass room, bathroom, Chateau Marmont
Slippin' on my red dress, puttin' on my makeup
Glass room, perfume, cognac, lilac fumes
Says it feels like Heaven to him
Light of his life, fire of his loins
Keep me forever, tell me you own me
Light of your life, fire of your loins
Tell me you own me, give me them coins
And I'm off to the races, laces, leather on my waist is tight and I am fallin' down
I can see your face is shameless, Cipriani's basement, love you but I'm going down
God, I'm so crazy, baby, I'm sorry that I'm misbehaving
I'm your little harlot, starlet, queen of Coney Island, raisin' hell all over town
Sorry 'bout it
My old man is a thief and I'm gonna stay and pray with him 'til the end
But I trust in the decision of the Lord to watch over us
Take him when He may, if He may
I'm not afraid to say that I'd die without him
Who else is gonna put up with me this way?
I need you, I breathe you, I'd never leave you
They would rue the day I was alone without you
You're lyin' with your gold chain on
Cigar hanging from your lips, I said, "Hun
You never looked so beautiful as you do now, my man"
And we're off to the races, places, ready, set, the gate is down and then we're going in
To Las Vegas, chaos, casino oasis, honey, it is time to spin
Boy, you're so crazy, baby, I love you forever, not maybe
You are my one true love
You are my one true love
Ooh, ooh
Commercial release[]
Digital release[]
- Off to the Races - Single
|
Label: Stranger, Interscope Format: Digital download Released: January 6, 2012 Barcode: N/A Photography: Clement Jolin Design: Unknown |
|---|
| # | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Off to the Races" | 5:01 |
Promotional release[]
Off to the Races CDr by Stranger Records; United Kingdom[]
Credits[]
- Personnel[a]
- Lana Del Rey – songwriting, vocals
- Tim Larcombe – songwriting
- Patrik Berger – production, guitar, bass guitar, percussion, synthesizer, sampler, drum programming
- Emile Haynie – production, drums, additional keyboards
- Carl Bagge – strings arrangement
- Fredrik Syberg – violin
- Erik Holm – viola
- Pelle Hansen – cello
- Dan Grech-Marguerat – mixing
- Duncan Fuller – mixing assistance
- John Davis – mastering
- Technical
- Published by Copyright Control / EMI
- Mastered at Metropolis Mastering, London, United Kingdom
