Salvatore (song)

Lana Del Rey Writer(s) Lana Del Rey Rick Nowels Producer(s) Lana Del Rey Rick Nowels Kieron Menzies Recorded 2014–2015 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

"Salvatore" premiered on Huw Stephens' BBC Radio 1 show on September 15, 2015, three days before 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. The track was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, New York.

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 performance(s)

Del Rey sang an a cappella snippet of the song on July 13, 2016, at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland by audience request and on August 1, 2017 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California. The song was partly performed again on February 1, 2018, in Sunrise, Florida at the LA to the Moon Tour.

Cross-references

• Miami is also mentioned in "Florida Kilos".
• "Soft ice cream" is also mentioned in "Carmen".
• The "downtown scene" is also referenced in "Art Deco", "So Legit" and "Dum Dum".
• "Shady blue" is similar to "dark blue" from "Honeymoon" or "shades of blue" from "Shades of Cool".
• A hot summer is also mentioned in "Shades of Cool", while summer is mentioned in "Summertime Sadness", "Summer Bummer" and "Summer of Sam", among many other songs.
• Jazz is mentioned in many songs like "Ultraviolence", "Brooklyn Baby", "Terrence Loves You" and "Shades of Cool".
• The blues is a common theme in "Terrence Loves You".
• "Salvatore" is first mentioned in "Backfire".
• Del Rey calls her lover a king in "Heavy Hitter", "Prom Song (Gone Wrong)", "Hawaiian Tropic", "JFK", "Starry Eyed", "Queen of Disaster" and "Catch and Release".
• The melody of the bridge is an adaptation of the saxophone intro from "Careless Whisper", a 1984 hit song by George Michael. Whether it's intentional or not is not known.
• Rain is also mentioned in "Born to Die", "Hot Hot Hot" and "God Knows I Tried".
• The phrase "I adore you" also appears in "Tomorrow Never Came" and in the poem "LA Who Am I to Love You".
• A reference to rap also appears in "Art Deco".

Official versions

• Album version — 4:41
  • Instrumental version — 4:43

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