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|album = [[Norman Fucking Rockwell (album)|Norman Fucking Rockwell]]
 
|album = [[Norman Fucking Rockwell (album)|Norman Fucking Rockwell]]
 
|MiX = {{Singles7}}
 
|MiX = {{Singles7}}
|Last single image = SOTWCover.jpeg
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|Last single image = NormanFuckingRockwell.jpg
|Last single link = Season of the Witch (song)
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|Last single link = Fuck It I Love You (song)
|Last single title = Season of the Witch
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|Last single title = Fuck It I Love You
 
|This single image = NormanFuckingRockwell.jpg
 
|This single image = NormanFuckingRockwell.jpg
 
|This single link = The Greatest (song)
 
|This single link = The Greatest (song)
 
|This single title = The Greatest
 
|This single title = The Greatest
|Next single image = NormanFuckingRockwell.jpg
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|Next single image =
|Next single link = Fuck It I Love You (song)
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|Next single link =
|Next single title = Fuck It I Love You}}"'''The Greatest'''" (stylised in sentence case) is a song by [[Lana Del Rey]] for her upcoming sixth studio album, ''[[Norman Fucking Rockwell! (album)|Norman Fucking Rockwell!]]''. It was accidentally uploaded on Google Play on August 15, 2019 and was removed hours later.<ref>[https://play.google.com/store/music/album?id=Bn5pwuqrac5z6x52vr76ehlsg5u&tid=song-Tm7ymqfyocectightjyacu3utxm Lana Del Rey: The greatest - Music on Google Play]</ref> It was officially released as a single on August 22, 2019.
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|Next single title = }}"'''The Greatest'''" (stylized in sentence case) is a song by [[Lana Del Rey]] for her upcoming sixth studio album, ''[[Norman Fucking Rockwell! (album)|Norman Fucking Rockwell!]]''. It was accidentally uploaded on Google Play on August 15, 2019 and was removed hours later.<ref>[https://play.google.com/store/music/album?id=Bn5pwuqrac5z6x52vr76ehlsg5u&tid=song-Tm7ymqfyocectightjyacu3utxm Lana Del Rey: The greatest - Music on Google Play]</ref> It was officially released as a single on August 22, 2019.
   
 
== Background and composition ==
 
== Background and composition ==

Revision as of 21:22, 22 August 2019

"The Greatest" (stylized in sentence case) is a song by Lana Del Rey for her upcoming sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!. It was accidentally uploaded on Google Play on August 15, 2019 and was removed hours later.[1] It was officially released as a single on August 22, 2019.

Background and composition

On July 26, 2019, Del Rey announced the song via Instagram along with "Fuck It I Love You".[2] Co-producer and co-writer Jack Antonoff tweeted on July 31, 2019 that "The Greatest" was his favorite song on Norman Fucking Rockwell!.[3]

"The Greatest" is a surf rock torch song with a total running time of 5 minutes, playing at appoximately 80 beats per minute in the key of D minor. The track opens with guitars before Del Rey begins the first verse accompanied by piano. As the song progresses to the first chorus, vocal harmonies, drums, guitars and strings are introducted to the instrumentation. A drum break then leads the song into a 30 second electric guitar solo. The second verse returns to stripped back instrumentation, with a piano, single guitar and light drums before returning to the full instrumentation in the second chorus. The outro features Del Rey singing multiple harmonies over guitar and piano which slowly draw the song to a close.

The lyrics make multiple references to various musicians and songs, including The Beach Boys' "Kokomo", David Bowie's "Life on Mars" and Kanye West. The song focuses on Del Rey lamenting how she misses a former flame in California, her old friends in New York and her previously uncomplicated life. It also brings in themes of worldwide poltical unrest, Millenial and Generation X culture, and the 2019 California wildfires which are featured in the background of the Norman Fucking Rockwell! album cover.

Cross-references

  • The Beach Boys are also mentioned in "My Song 57".
    • The phrase "Dennis's last stop before Kokomo" references the death of the Beach Boys member Dennis Wilson and the band's song "Kokomo".
  • The phrase "Life on Mars ain't just a song" is a direct reference to David Bowie's song "Life on Mars".
  • California, New York, and rock and roll music have all been recurring themes throughout Del Rey's career.

Music video

Del Rey confirmed that the music video was directed by Rich Lee and that it is a double music video with "Fuck It I Love You".[2] It premiered August 22.[4]

Lyrics

I miss Long Beach and I miss you, babe
I miss dancing with you the most of all
I miss the bar where the Beach Boys would go
Dennis' last stop before "Kokomo"

Those nights were on fire
We couldn't get higher
We didn't know that we had it all
But nobody warns you before the fall

And I'm wasted
Don't leave, I just need a wake-up call
I'm facing the greatest
The greatest loss of them all
The culture is lit and I had a ball
I guess I'm signing off after all

I miss New York and I miss the music
Me and my friends, we miss rock and roll
I want you to feel just like you used to
When, baby, I was doing nothing the most of all

The culture's lit and if this is it, I had a ball
I guess that I'm burned out after all

I'm wasted
Don't leave, I just need a wake-up call
I'm facing the greatest
The greatest loss of them all
The culture is lit and I had a ball
But I guess that I'm burned out after all

If this is it, I'm signing off
Miss doing nothing the most of all
Hawaii just missed a fireball
L.A.'s in flames, it's getting hot
Kanye West is blind and gone
"Life on Mars" ain't just a song
Oh, the livestream's almost on

References