Salvatore (song)

Lana Del Rey
Writer(s)	Lana Del Rey Rick Nowels
Producer(s)	Lana Del Rey Rick Nowels Kieron Menzies
Recorded	September–December 2014
Released	September 18, 2015
Length	4:41 (See official versions)
From
Single(s)	"High by the Beach" "Music to Watch Boys To"
Promotional single(s)	"Terrence Loves You" "Honeymoon"
Honeymoon track listing
"Religion"
"The Blackest Day"

"Salvatore" (originally titled "Ice Cream") is a song written by Lana Del Rey and Rick Nowels that is featured as the tenth track on Del Rey's third major-label full-length album Honeymoon.

Background and writing

The song was written and recorded in 2014. "Salvatore" premiered on Huw Stephens' BBC Radio 1 show on September 15, 2015, three days prior to the release of Honeymoon.

Del Rey described the song as "probably the [one] that's the most different from all the other tracks on the record." She described it as having an "Old World, Italian feel," and classified it as a "weirder" and "filmic" song. She stated that she loves the chorus of the song.

Critical reception

After the song was premiered on BBC Radio 1, Jon Blisten of Rolling Stone described the track as a glamorous, sensual new ode and also said: "From its title to its marching drums and swelling, aching string melody, "Salvatore" has a classic Italian feel, and Del Rey's breathy, delicate vocals bring a strong sense of cinematic nostalgia to the lyrics."

Live performances

Del Rey sang an a cappella snippet of the song on July 13, 2016, at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland by audience request; on August 1, 2017, at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California; on February 1, 2018, in Sunrise, Florida at the LA to the Moon Tour; on July 2, 2023, in Lido di Camaiore, Italy, for the La Prima Estate, as part of the Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd Promotional Tour; and on June 23, 2025, in Cardiff, Wales, at the Principality Stadium, as part of the 2025 Tour.

Cross-references

• Directly referenced in "Backfire".
• A hot summer is also mentioned in "Shades of Cool", while summer is also mentioned in "Summer Bummer", "Summer of Sam", and "Summertime Sadness", among several others.
• Del Rey also calls her lover a king in "Catch and Release", "Hawaiian Tropic", "Heavy Hitter", "JFK", "Prom Song (Gone Wrong)", "Queen of Disaster", and "Starry Eyed".
• Ice cream is also mentioned in "Black Bathing Suit", "Venice Bitch", and the song of the same name.
  • "Soft ice cream" is also mentioned in "Carmen".
• Jazz is also mentioned in "Brooklyn Baby", "Shades of Cool", "Terrence Loves You", and "Ultraviolence", among several others.
• Limousines are also mentioned in "St. Tropez".
• Miami is also mentioned in "Florida Kilos".
• Rain is also mentioned in "Born to Die", "Hot Hot Hot", "Let Me Love You like a Woman", and "God Knows I Tried".
• Rap is also mentioned in "Playground".
• The color blue is also mentioned in "Honeymoon", "Old Money", "The Blackest Day", "Video Games", and "Your Girl", among many others.
  • "The blues" are also mentioned in "Sweet Carolina", "Tired of Singing the Blues", "Black Bathing Suit", and "Terrence Loves You".
• The "downtown scene" is also mentioned in "Art Deco", "Dum Dum", and "So Legit".
• The ocean is also mentioned in "Bentley", "Religion" ,and in the poem "LA Who Am I to Love You"; it is also serves as the original title for "Kill Kill".
• The phrase "I adore you" also appears in "Tomorrow Never Came" and in the poem "LA Who Am I to Love You".

Official versions

• Album version – 4:41
  • Instrumental version – 4:43
• "Ice Cream" demo version (unleaked) – Unknown

Lyrics

All the lights in Miami begin to gleam
Ruby, blue and green, neon too
Everything looks better from above, my king
Like aquamarine, ocean’s blue

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Cacciatore
La-da-da-da-da, la-da-da-da-da
Limousines
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Ciao, amore
La-da-da-da-da, la-da-da-da-da
Soft ice cream

All the lights are sparkling for you, it seems
On the downtown scenes, shady blue
Beatboxing and rapping in the summer rain
Like a boss, you sang jazz and blues

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Cacciatore
La-da-da-da-da, la-da-da-da-da
Limousine
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Ciao, amore
La-da-da-da-da, la-da-da-da-da
Soft ice creams

The summer’s wild
And I’ve been waiting for you all this time
I adore you
Can’t you see you’re meant for me?

Summer’s hot
But I’ve been cold without you
I was so wrong not to tell
your Medellín, tangerine dreams

Catch me if you can, working on my tan
Salvatore
Dying by the hand of a foreign man
Happily
Calling out my name in the summer rain
Ciao, amore
Salvatore can wait, now it’s time to eat
Soft ice cream

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Cacciatore
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Limousines
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Ciao, amore
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Soft ice cream

Credits

Personnel

• Lana Del Rey – songwriting, production, vocals
• Rick Nowels – songwriting, production, pads, Mellotron, strings, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, bass, percussion
• Kieron Menzies – production, percussion, engineering, mixing, recording
• Patrick Warren – orchestrations
• Brian Griffin – live drums, percussion
• Trevor Yasuda – engineering, additional recording
• Chris Garcia – engineering, additional recording
• Phil Joly – engineering assistance
• Iris Sofia – engineering assistance
• Adam Ayan – mastering

Technical

• Published by R-Rated Music, administered by EMI April Music Inc. (Global Music Rights) / Sony/ATV Music Publishing
• Recorded at Electric Lady Studios, New York City, New York.
• Mixed at The Green Building, Santa Monica, California
• Mastered at Gateway Mastering, Portland, Maine