"Salvatore" 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.[1]
Live performance
Del Rey has only performed the song live once. She sang an acapella snippet of it on July 13, 2016, at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland by audience request.
Cross-references
- "Miami" is also mentioned in songs such as "Florida Kilos".
- "Soft ice cream" is also mentioned in "Carmen".
- The "downtown scene" is also mentioned in "Art Deco", "So Legit" and "Dum Dum".
- "Shady blue" is similar to "dark blue" in "Honeymoon".
- "Jazz" is mentioned in many songs like "Ultraviolence", "Brooklyn Baby", and "Terrence Loves You".
- "Blues" is a common theme in "Terrence Loves You".
- "Salvatore" is first mentioned in "Backfire".
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 oceans 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, he 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
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 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?
The summer's hot
But I've been cold without you
I was so wrong not to tell
I’m in regine, 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
- Written by Lana Del Rey and Rick Nowels.
- Produced by Lana Del Rey, Rick Nowels, & Kieron Menzies.
- Vocals by Lana Del Rey.
- Orchestration by Patrick Warren.
- Engineered by Kieron Menzies, Trevor Yasuda, & Chris Garcia.
- Pads, mellotron, strings, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, bass, & percussion by Rick Nowels.
- Percussion by Kieron Menzies.
- Live drums & percussion by Brian Griffin.
- Recorded & mixed by Kieron Menzies.
- Mastered by Adam Ayan at Gateway Mastering, Portland, Maine.
References
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