"Venice Bitch" (stylized in sentence case) is a song written and produced by Lana Del Rey and Jack Antonoff. The song was released on September 18, 2018, and it serves as the second single from her sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!.
Background[]
On September 12, 2018, The Fader announced Del Rey would release the song on September 18, 2018, and it would be accompanied by a music video shot by Chuck Grant:
- ""Venice Bitch" and "Mariners Apartment Complex" serve as singles for Del Rey's upcoming album, which will be released on August 30, 2019."[1]
The song premiered on Beats 1 Radio with Zane Lowe.[2][dead link] Before the release, Lowe announced on Twitter that the track length was 10 minutes.[3] During the interview, Del Rey explained her managers' reaction to her interest in releasing the track as a single.
- "I played it for my managers and I was like, "yeah I think this is the single I want to put out". And they were like "It's 10 minutes long, are you kidding me? It's called “Venice Bitch”. Like why do you do this to us? Can you make a three minute normal pop song?" I was like "well, end of summer, some people just wanna drive around for 10 minutes get lost in some electric guitar"."
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Jack Antonoff revealed that a 3-minute beat-driven version of the song exists.[4] This version was included on "Taco Truck x VB" of Del Rey's ninth album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.[5]
Composition[]
"Venice Bitch" runs at 9 minutes and 36 seconds long, making it Del Rey's longest-running track released to date. Running at a moderate tempo of 79 beats per minute, the track consists of drums, guitar, piano, and electric guitar mainly. Towards half of the song, there is a long instrumental part, which shows an electric guitar solo. The chorus repeats itself several times throughout the song, and Del Rey's vocals during the bridge and towards the end of the song are airy and layered, similar to those of "West Coast".
Critical reception[]
Pitchfork named the song "Best New Track" upon its release. In the review, critic Sam Sodomsky compared the song to "Mariners Apartment Complex", stating that the singles were "set in the golden haze of 1970s FM radio". Sodomsky wrote that the track was unlike anything Del Rey had ever written and that while it's nearly 10 minutes long, it's also "one of her most gripping", and added "she has never allowed herself to sink so completely into an atmosphere, burrowing deep into the song's dark blue, moody grooves".[6]
Year-end lists[]
Venice Bitch ranked on many critics 2018 year end lists.
| Critic outlet | Position |
|---|---|
| Crack | 2 |
| Dazed | 8 |
| Hot Press | 16 |
| Idolator | 1 |
| Noisey | 4 |
| Paper | 3 |
| Pitchfork | 37 |
| Slant | 21 |
| Spin | 3 |
| Uproxx | 11 |
Live performances[]
Lana performed the song live for the first time at an Apple Event on October 30, 2018, changing the lyrics "Bitch" to "Chick" and "Fucks" to "Cares".[7] The track was also a part of the Norman Fucking Rockwell Tour. During the performance of this song, as well as of "Blue Jeans", as part of the Norman Fucking Rockwell Tour, Del Rey would go up to the audience to take selfies, sign autographs and accept gifts, just like she did during the 2019 Festival Tour.
During the performances of the song at Latitude Festival in Southwold, UK, on July 21, 2019, and at Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, USA, on October 8, 2019, Lana changed the lyrics in the first verse from "Live stream, I'm sweet for you" to "Live stream, send nudes to you".
Artwork[]
The single's official artwork was shot and edited by Del Rey.
Music video[]
| Music video | Information | |
|---|---|---|
|
Released | September 18, 2018 |
| Length | 9:41 | |
| Director | Chuck Grant | |
| Producer | ||
| Filmed | ||
| Location | California | |
| Vevo views | 26 Million views | |
Background and description[]
The music video was shot by Chuck Grant with Del Rey's iPhone and released simultaneously with the track. It features Del Rey's backup dancers Ashley Rodriguez and Alexandria Kaye who previously appeared in the video for "Mariners Apartment Complex".
On January 11, 2019, Del Rey posted a snippet of the music video for "Happiness Is a Butterfly" on Instagram, and it revealed that clips from that video were featured in the "Venice Bitch" and "Mariners Apartment Complex" music video.[8][dead link]
Cross-references[]
- A garden is also mentioned in "Burnt Norton (Interlude)", "Cherry", "Off to the Races" and in the "My Bedroom is a Sacred Place Now — There Are Children at the Foot of My Bed".
- A yard is also mentioned in "How to Disappear".
- Being an ice queen is also mentioned in "Crooked Cop".
- Being/getting high is also mentioned in "Born to Die", "Carmen", "Florida Kilos", "High by the Beach" and "Hollywood", among several others.
- Diamonds are also mentioned in "Fake Diamond", "Fine China", "Last Girl on Earth", "Money Power Glory" and "Young and Beautiful", among several others.
- Direct reference to the album title Norman Fucking Rockwell!.
- Fingertips are also mentioned in "Arcadia", "Criminals Run the World" and in the song of the same name.
- Fire is also mentioned in "Freak", "Live Forever (Golden Grill)", "Sad Girl" and "West Coast".
- Ice is also mentioned in "Brooklyn Baby" and "Freak".
- Ice cream is also mentioned in "Carmen" and "Salvatore".
- Jeans are also mentioned in "Blue Jeans" and "Lake Placid".
- Leather is also mentioned in "Freak", "Lake Placid", "Off to the Races" and in the poem "Patent Leather Do-Over".
- Refusing to be jealous is also mentioned in "Jealous Girl" and "Text Book".
- Summer is also mentioned in "Shades of Cool", "Summer Bummer", "Summer of Sam", "Summertime Sadness", "White Mustang" and "Without You", among several others.
- The color blue is also mentioned in "Blue Banisters", "Breaking Up Slowly", "Honeymoon", "Nectar of the Gods", "Norman Fucking Rockwell", "Video Games" and "1949", among several others.
- The color gold is also mentioned in "Back to tha Basics", "Ghetto Baby", "Heavy Hitter", "Lust for Life", "Margaret" and "Ultraviolence", among several others.
- The song is mentioned in "Mariners Apartment Complex".
- The word sweet is also mentioned in "Dark but Just a Game", "Fuck It I Love You", "Living Legend", "Meet Me in the Pale Moonlight", "Radio", "Serial Killer", "This Is What Makes Us Girls", "Trash Magic" and in the song of the same name, among several others.
- The lyric "Life's a dream" is similar to the lyric "And now life's a dream" from "Roses Bloom for You".
- The lyric "My baby, crimson and clover" is a direct reference to the 1968 single "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells.
- The lyric "Nothing gold can stay" is a reference to the poem of the same title written in 1923 by Robert Frost. The poem is also mentioned in "Music to Watch Boys To".
- The lyric "We'll be hanging around now" could be a reference to Del Rey's song "Hangin' Around".
- The lyric "We're American made" could be a reference to Del Rey's song "American".
- The lyric "Oh, God" is similar to the lyric "Oh, my God" from "Heroin", "Paradise", "The Blackest Day" and "When the World Was at War We Kept Dancing".
- The lyric "Paint me happy and blue" is similar to the lyric "Color me blue" from "Norman Fucking Rockwell".
- The lyric "You're beautiful and I'm insane" is similar to the lyric "You like your girls insane" from "Born to Die".
Official versions[]
- Album version — 9:37
- Instrumental version — 9:36
- Single version — 9:36
Lyrics[]
Fear fun, fear love
Fresh out of fucks, forever
Tryin' to be stronger for you
Ice cream, ice queen
I dream in jeans and leather
Life's dream, I'm sweet for you
Oh, God, miss you on my lips
It's me, your little Venice bitch
On the stoop with the neighborhood kids
Calling out, "Bang bang, kiss kiss"
You're in the yard, I light the fire
And as the summer fades away
Nothing gold can stay
You write, I tour, we make it work
You're beautiful and I'm insane
We're American made
Give me Hallmark
One dream, one life, one lover
Paint me happy and blue
Norman Rockwell
No hype under our covers
It's just me and you
Oh, God, miss you on my lips
It's me, your little Venice bitch
On the stoop with the neighborhood kids
Calling out, "Bang bang, kiss kiss"
You're in the yard, I light the fire
And as the summer fades away
Nothing gold can stay
You write, I tour, we make it work
You're beautiful and I'm insane
We're American made
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Signing off, "Bang bang, kiss kiss"
Yeah, yeah, oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Signing off, "Bang bang, kiss kiss"
Oh, God, want you on my lips (I do, I do)
It's me, your little Venice bitch
On the stoop with the neighborhood kids
Signing off, "Bang bang, kiss kiss"
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah, oh, yeah
(Signing off, "Bang bang, kiss kiss")
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
(Signing off, "Bang bang, kiss kiss")
Yeah, yeah
Young baby is back in town now
You should come on, come over
We'll be hanging around now
You should come on, come over
Oh, God, I love him on my lips
It's me, your little Venice bitch
Touch me with your fingertips
It's me, your little Venice bitch
Ba-back in the garden
We're getting high now
Because we're older
Me, myself, I like diamonds
My baby, crimson and clover
(La-la-la-la-la-la, losers)
(Beautiful losers)
(La-la-la-la-la-la, losers)
(Beautiful, losers)
Oh, oh, oh, oh, whatever
Everything, whatever
Oh, oh, oh, oh, whatever
Everything, whatever
(La-la-la-la-la-la, beautiful)
(Beautiful, beautiful)
(La-la-la-la-la-la, beautiful)
(Beautiful, beautiful)
(La-la-la-la-la-la, beautiful)
(Beautiful, beautiful)
(La-la-la-la-la-la, beautiful)
(Beautiful, beautiful)
Back in the garden
We're getting high now
Because we're older
Me and myself, I like diamonds
My baby, crimson and clover
Crimson and clover, honey
Crimson and clover, honey
Crimson and clover, honey
Crimson and clover, honey
Crimson and clover, honey
Crimson and clover, honey
Over and over, honey
Over and over, honey
Over and over, honey
Over and over, honey
Over and over
If you weren't mine, I'd be
Jealous of your love
If you weren't mine, I'd be
Jealous of your love
If you weren't mine, I'd be
Jealous of your love
If you weren't mine, I'd be
Jealous of your love
If you weren't mine, I'd be
Jealous of your love
Credits[]
- Personnel
- Lana Del Rey — songwriting, production, vocals, background vocals
- Jack Antonoff — songwriting, production, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, synthesizer, piano, programming, mixing
- Laura Sisk — engineering, mixing
- Jon Sher — recording
- Derrick Stockwell — recording
- Greg Eliason — recording
- Chris Gehringer — mastering
- Will Quinnell — mastering
- Technical
- Mastered at Sterling Sound
- Recorded at Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles, United States / Westlake Recording, Los Angeles, United States / Henson Recording Studios, Los Angeles, United States
- Mixed at Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles, United States
Charts[]
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| France (SNEP)[9] | 95 |
| Greece International Digital Singles (IFPI)[10] | 97 |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[11] | 32 |
| Scotland (OCC)[12] | 80 |
| Spain Physical/Digital Songs (PROMUSICAE)[13] | 35 |
| UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[14] | 76 |
| US Alternative Digital Songs (Billboard) | 10 |
References[]
- ↑ Renshaw, David (September 12, 2018). "Lana Del Rey to release two new songs ahead of 2019 album". The Fader. https://www.thefader.com/2018/09/12/lana-del-rey-new-album-mariners-apartment-venice. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ↑ Del Rey, Lana (September 17, 2018). "Venice Bitch Tomorrow w Zane Lowe on Beats 1". Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn1i2Bvgrk7/.
- ↑ Lowe, Zane (September 18, 2018). "New Lana coming to @Beats1 this morning ‘Venice Bitch’ is 10 min long. And it’s stunning.". Twitter. https://www.twitter.com/zanelowe/status/1042065899740487681. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ↑ "Jack Antonoff Is Everywhere: The Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone. June 16, 2021. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/jack-antonoff-bleachers-album-taylor-swift-lorde-bruce-springsteen-lana-del-rey-1183389/. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ↑ "Lana Del Rey: she does it for the girls". Rolling Stone UK. March 8, 2023. https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/features/lana-del-rey-she-does-it-for-the-girls-album-27426/. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ↑ Sodomsky, Sam (September 18, 2018). ""Venice Bitch" by Lana Del Rey Review". Pitchfork. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/lana-del-rey-venice-bitch/. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ↑ Wallis, Adam (October 30, 2018). "Lana Del Rey debuts new song ‘How to Disappear’ in surprise performance". Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/4611965/lana-del-rey-new-single/. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ↑ Del Rey, Lana (January 11, 2019). "Norman Fucking Rockwell @yourgirlchuck @follow_ashley @missalexkaye". Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/BsfNuY0juH7/. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
- ↑ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 38, 2018)" (in fr). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. http://www.snepmusique.com/tops-semaine/top-singles-telecharges/?ye=2018&we=38. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ↑ "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 38/2018". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on October 1, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181001175029/http://www.ifpi.gr/digital_ien.html. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
- ↑ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. October 1, 2018. https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/hotsingles?chart=4536. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ↑ "Spain Digital & Physical Songs Sales". spanishcharts.com. September 23, 2018. https://spanishcharts.com/weekchart.asp?cat=s3&year=2018&date=20180923&lang=. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- ↑ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
