Swan Song (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	5:23 (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
"24"
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"

"Swan Song" is a song written by Lana Del Rey and Rick Nowels that is featured on Del Rey's third major-label full-length album, Honeymoon.

Background

The song was written and recorded in 2014. In May 2015, a few fans met Del Rey and she revealed to them that a song off her record would be titled "Swan Song".

The opening of the song samples vocals from "High by the Beach".

In an interview with W magazine on May 17, 2022, when asked which song of hers makes her cry, she mentioned this song.

"It’s the antithesis of hopefulness. It’s about trying to find beauty in giving up. If I had my way, I would continue to persist in all areas of my life, but it can be quite challenging because I can be too trusting too soon. The burn that can come from that really can incinerate your whole thinking life and your daily processes. At the end of every album, I say goodbye and thank you—very Old Hollywood style—and yet I cannot help but just continue to write."

Cross-references

• Ice is also mentioned in "Brooklyn Baby", "Freak", and "Venice Bitch".
• Money is also mentioned in "Dance for Money", "Dealer", "Money Hunny", "Pawn Shop Blues", and "Religion". It is referred to as cash in "Hundred Dollar Bill" and "Old Money".
• Working hard is also mentioned in "Wait for Life".
• The lyric "and I will never sing again" is similar to "what would you do if I wouldn't sing for them no more?" from "Wild at Heart".
• The lyric "put your white tennis shoes on and follow me" is similar to "put your red boots on, baby, giddy-up" from "If You Lie Down with Me".
• The lyric "the world can change in a day" is similar to "it's funny how some things just change in a day" from the first two demos of "Lust for Life".

Official versions

• Album version – 5:23
  • Instrumental version – 5:23

Lyrics

Put your white tennis shoes on and follow me
Why work so hard when you could just be free?
You got your money now, you got your legacy
Let's leave the world for the ones who change everything

Nothing could stop
The two of us
Let's just get lost
That's what we want

And I will never sing again
And you won't work another day
I will never sing again
With just one wave it goes away

It will be our swan song
It will be our swan song
Be our swan song
It will be our swan song

Dive in, dive deep, and dive blue, my sweet
Brushing up from the water where the ice meets
And you've been gone so long you missed everything
The world can change in a day if you go away, but

Nothing could stop
The two of us
If that's what we want
We could just get lost

And I will never sing again
And you won't work another day
I will never sing again
With just one wave it goes away

It will be our swan song
It will be our swan song
Be our swan song
It will be our swan song

Do you like
Do you like where you've been and where you're going to? (Going to)
Say goodnight
Say goodnight to the life and the world you knew
I'm gonna follow you

And I will never sing again
And you won't work another day
And I will never sing again
You won't work another day

It will be our swan song
It will be our swan song
Be our swan song
It will be our swan song

Put your white tennis shoes on and follow me
Put your white tennis shoes on and follow me
Put your white tennis shoes on and follow me
Why you work so hard when you could just be free?

Credits

Personnel

• Lana Del Rey – songwriting, production, vocals
• Rick Nowels – songwriting, production, pads, organ, horns, bass
• Kieron Menzies – production, engineering, recording, mixing, drum loops
• Patrick Warren – orchestrations, strings, effects
• Phil Joly – engineering
• Chris Garcia – engineering, additional recording
• Trevor Yasuda – additional recording
• Josh Tyrrell – engineering assistance
• Derek "DJA" Allen – percussion
• David Levita – electric guitar, dulcimer
• Brian Griffin – live drums, percussion
• 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