"This Is What Makes Us Girls" (also registered as "What Makes Us Girls"[1]) is a song by Lana Del Rey from her first major-label album, Born to Die. It serves as the closing track on the standard edition of the album. The track was written with Tim Larcombe and Jim Irvin, and was produced by Al Shux and Emile Haynie.
Background[]
Three demos of the song exist. The first demo - produced by Tim Larcombe - leaked on November 6, 2011, two months prior to the album's release. The second was posted to SoundCloud on July 25, 2011, but went undiscovered until September 29, 2012. The third demo of the song leaked on January 23, 2015. Both the second and third demos were produced by Peter Ibsen. The instrumental of the song leaked on January 28, 2014, and a higher quality version leaked on October 5, 2016.
Writing and composition[]
About the writing of the song, Del Rey told SuperSuper:[2]
- "When I was younger, in high school, the group of girls I ran with were already living their own grownup lives. We really did whatever we wanted. It was beautiful for a short time, and then before I knew it, my lifestyle caught up with me and I had to go to another school. When I work with my producer, Emile Haynie, we talk in terms of colours and pictures. For this song I said, 'Okay Emile, think the American Beauty soundtrack meets Bruce Springsteen...girls sneaking out in the middle of the night in Miami, living for themselves - living on the edge.' He knows exactly what that translates to, and helps me create a soundscape for the record. Larry Gold also understands working with pictures as far as direction goes. He conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra and put strings on most of the record, knowing that I wanted lush strings that had a sad, summertime sound."
The line "sweet sixteen and we had arrived" may refer to the time when Del Rey went to live in Santander, Spain, for four months with a host family on summer from boarding school. She explained in an interview, "I wasn't allowed to come home so I went straight to Spain, to Santander. I remember on the plane ride there they gave me a little cake that said 'Sweet 16' because I'd turned sixteen in the air. And I was like, 'This is cool' but it's also like, 'Am I ever, like, gonna go home?'".[citation needed]
During an interview in May 2014, Del Rey described the "stealing police cars with the senior guys" lyric as actually from her time in Lake Placid, when an unnamed female friend of hers got into a police car with the door open, but failed to get away because she was unable to drive.[citation needed]
The song samples "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force, as does "Off to the Races".
Live performance[]
Although the song has never been performed in its entirety, Del Rey sang the first verse and chorus a cappella on February 8, 2018, during a visit to Children's Medical Center at Seacrest Studios in Dallas, Texas.
Cross-references[]
- Del Rey talks about her time at school in "Boarding School".
- Cherries are also mentioned in "Carmen" and "Cherry".
- A mention of ribbons in one's hair is found in "Heroin" and "Tired of Singing the Blues".
- Blue ribbon is also mentioned in the title of "Gramma (Blue Ribbon Sparkler Trailer Heaven)".
- Velvet is also referenced in "Blue Velvet", "Fake Diamond", and "Velvet Crowbar".
- The word "sweet" is also mentioned in "Fuck It I Love You", "Venice Bitch", "Radio", "Trash Magic", "Without You", "Serial Killer", "Meet Me in the Pale Moonlight", "West Coast", "Living Legend", and in the song of the same name, among many others.
Official versions[]
- Album version – 3:58
- Instrumental version – 3:58
- Demo version 1 (produced by Tim Larcombe) – 3:36
- Demo version 2 (produced by Peter Ibsen) – 4:06
- Demo version 3 (produced by Peter Ibsen) – 4:03
Lyrics[]
Album version[]
Remember how we used to party up all night?
Sneakin' out and lookin' for a taste of real life
Drinkin' in the small town firelight (Pabst Blue Ribbon on ice)
Sweet 16 and we had arrived
Walkin' down the streets as they whistle, "hi, hi"
Stealin' police cars with the senior guys
Teachers said we'd never make it out alive
There she was, my new best friend
High heels in her hands, swayin' in the wind
Oh, she starts to cry, mascara runnin' down her little Bambi eyes
"Lana, how I hate those guys"
This is what makes us girls
We all look for Heaven and we put love first
Somethin' that we'd die for, it's a curse
Don't cry about it, don't cry about it
This is what makes us girls
We don't stick together 'cause we put love first
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
It's all gonna happen
And that's where the beginning of the end begun
Everybody knew that we had too much fun
We were skippin' school and drinkin' on the job with the boss
Sweet 16 and we had arrived
Baby's table-dancin' at the local dive
Cheerin' our names in the pink spotlight
Drinkin' cherry schnapps in the velvet night
Yo, we used to go break in
To the hotel, glimmerin', we'd swim
Runnin' from the cops in our black bikini tops
Screamin', "get us while we're hot, get us while we're hot"
(Come on, take a shot)
This is what makes us girls
We all look for Heaven and we put love first
Somethin' that we'd die for, it's a curse
Don't cry about it, don't cry about it
This is what makes us girls
We don't stick together 'cause we put love first
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
It's all gonna happen
The prettiest in-crowd that you had ever seen
Ribbons in our hair and our eyes gleamed mean
A freshman generation of degenerate beauty queens
And you know something?
They were the only friends I ever had
We got into trouble and when stuff got bad
I got sent away, I was wavin' on the train platform
Cryin' 'cause I know I'm never comin' back
This is what makes us girls
We all look for Heaven and we put love first
Somethin' that we'd die for, it's a curse
Don't cry about it, don't cry about it
This is what makes us girls
We don't stick together 'cause we put love first
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
It's all gonna happen
Demo version 1[]
Remember how we used to party up all night?
Sneakin' out and lookin' for a taste of real life
Drinkin' in the small town firelight (Pabst Blue Ribbon on ice)
Sweet 16 and we had arrived
Walkin' down the streets as they whistle, "hi, hi"
Stealin' police cars with the senior guys
Teachers said we'd never make it out alive
There she was, my new best friend
High heels in her hands, swayin' in the wind
Oh, she starts to cry, mascara runnin' down her little Bambi eyes
"Lana, how I hate those guys"
This is what makes us girls
We all look for Heaven and we put love first
Don't you know we'd die for it? It's a curse
Don't cry about it, don't cry about it
This is what makes us girls
We don't stick together 'cause we put love first
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
It's all gonna happen
And that's where the beginning of the end begun
Everybody knew that we had too much fun
We were skippin' school and drinkin' on the job with the boss
Sweet 16 and we had arrived
Baby's table-dancin' at the local dive
Cheerin' our names in the pink spotlight
Drinkin' cherry schnapps in the velvet night
Yo, we used to go break in
To the hotel pool, glimmerin', we'd swim
Runnin' from the cops in our black bikini tops
Screamin', "get us while we're hot"
We don't give a what?
This is what makes us girls
We all look for Heaven and we put love first
Don't you know we'd die for it? It's a curse
Don't cry about it, don't cry about it
This is what makes us girls
We don't stick together 'cause we put love first
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
It's all gonna happen
The prettiest in-crowd that you had ever seen
Ribbons in our hair and our eyes gleamed mean
A freshman generation of degenerate beauty queens
And you know something?
They were the only friends I ever had
We got into trouble and when stuff got bad
I got sent away, I was wavin' on the train platform
Cryin' 'cause I know I'm never comin' back
This is what makes us girls
We all look for Heaven and we put love first
Don't you know we'd die for it? It's a curse
Don't cry about it, don't cry about it
This is what makes us girls
To all the little queens, do you know what you're worth?
I'll tell you everyday 'til you get it, girl
It's all gonna happen
This is what makes us girls, now, baby
This is why we rule the world, now, baby
This is what makes us girls, now, baby
Why we rule the world now, baby, oh (Baby oh, baby, oh, baby, oh)
This is what makes us girls, now, baby
This is why we rule the world, now, baby
This is what makes us girls, now, baby
Why we rule the world now, baby, oh (Baby oh, baby, oh, baby, oh)
This is what makes us girls, now, baby
This is why we rule the world, now, baby
This is what makes us girls, now, baby
Demo versions 2 & 3[]
Remember how we used to party up all night?
Sneakin' out and lookin' for a taste of real life
Drinkin' in the small town firelight
Sweet 16 and we had arrived
Walkin' down the streets as they whistle, "hi, hi"
Stealin' police cars with the senior guys
Teachers said we'd never make it out alive
There she was, my new best friend
High heels in her hands, swayin' in the wind
And she starts to cry, mascara runnin' down her little Bambi eyes
"Lana, how I hate those guys"
This is what makes us girls
We all look for Heaven and we puttin' love first
Somethin' that we'd die for, it's a curse
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
This is what makes us girls
We don't stick together 'cause we put love first
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
It's all gonna happen
And that's where the beginning of the end begun
Everybody knew that we had too much fun
We were skippin' school and drinkin' on the job with the boss
Sweet 16 and we had arrived
Baby's table-dancin' at our local dive
Cheerin' our names in the pink spotlight
Drinkin' Pérignon in the velvet night
Yo, we used to go break in
To the hotel, glimmerin', we'd swim
Runnin' from the cops in our black bikini tops
Screamin', "get us while we're hot"
We don't give a what?
This is what makes us girls
We all look for Heaven and we puttin' love first
Somethin' that we'd die for, it's a curse
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
This is what makes us girls
We don't stick together 'cause we put love first
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
It's all gonna happen
The prettiest in-crowd that you had ever seen
Ribbons in our hair and our eyes gleamed mean
A freshman generation of degenerate beauty queens
And you know something?
They were the only friends I ever had
I got into trouble and when stuff got bad
I got sent away, wavin' on the train platform
Cryin' 'cause I know I'm never comin' back
This is what makes us girls
We all look for Heaven and we puttin' love first
Somethin' that we'd die for, it's a curse
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
This is what makes us girls
We don't stick together 'cause we put love first
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
It's all gonna happen
This is what makes us girls, now, baby
It's why we rule the world, now, baby, oh (Baby, oh, baby, oh)
This is what makes us girls, now, baby
It's why we rule the world, now, baby, oh (Baby, oh)
Credits[]
- Personnel[a]
- Lana Del Rey – songwriting, vocals
- Tim Larcombe – songwriting
- Jim Irvin – songwriting
- Al Shux – production, vocal production, guitars, bass, keyboards, programming
- Emile Haynie – production, drums, sounds, additional keyboards
- Larry Gold – strings arrangement, strings conducting
- Steve Tirpak – strings assistance
- Manny Marroquin – mixing
- Erik Madrid – mixing assistance
- Chris Galland – mixing assistance
- John Davis – mastering
- Technical
- Published by EMI / Warner Chappell
- Mixed at Miloco's Engine Room, London, United Kingdom
- Mastered at Metropolis Mastering, London, United Kingdom
Certifications[]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[3] | Gold | 35,000 |
| United States (RIAA)[4] | Gold | 500,000 |
References[]
- ↑ HFA Songfile Song Code: W4826C
- ↑ "The Super Super Interview". Lana Del Rey Fan. https://www.lanadelreyfan.com/the-super-super-interview/. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ↑ "2023 Accreds". Australian Recording Industry Association. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/orr9fphn3kyhykimwm11l/AMPH66r7jahjKL4nComjUdQ?dl=0&e=1&preview=2023+Accreds.pdf&rlkey=b5et6u9n5p7f3gkxgmqhivbyf. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
- ↑ "American certifications – Lana Del Rey – This Is What Makes Us Girls". Recording Industry Association of America. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Lana+Del+Rey&ti=This+Is+What+Makes+Us+Girls&format=&type=#search_section. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
Notes[]
- ↑ Adapted from the album's liner notes.
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