Salvatore (song)

Lana Del Rey Writer(s) Lana Del Rey Rick Nowels Producer(s) Lana Del Rey Rick Nowels Kieron Menzies 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" This box: view • talk

"Salvatore" (originally titled "Ice Cream"^[1]) 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 writingEdit

"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.^[2] The track was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, New York.

Critical reception Edit

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."^[3]

Live performance(s) Edit

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-referencesEdit

• 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".
• 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.
• The rain is also mentioned in "Born to Die".
• The phrase "I adore you" also appears in the poem "LA Who Am I to Love You".
• A reference to rap also appears in "Art Deco".

Official versions Edit

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

LyricsEdit

Credits Edit

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

ReferencesEdit