"When the World Was At War We Kept Dancing" is a song by Lana Del Rey. It was co-written and produced with Rick Nowels, Dean Reid and Kieron Menzies. It is featured as the eleventh track on Del Rey's upcoming fifth studio album and fourth major-label studio album, Lust for Life.
Background
During an interview featured in Flaunt magazine that was released on May 15, 2017, Del Rey stated that the song has political themes, similarly to "God Bless America - And All the Beautiful Women In It". However, she fears that it will not be well received by the public and was unsure whether to include it or not:
“Well, I have a song that’s quite aware about the collective worry, about whether this is the end of an era. It’s called “When the World Was At War We Kept Dancing.” But I actually went back and forth about keeping it on the record, because I didn’t want it there if it would make people feel worse instead of better. It’s not apathetic. The tone of the production is very dark, and doesn’t lead to a fucking happy feeling. And the question it poses: Is this the end of America, of an era? Are we running out of time with this person at the helm of a ship? Will it crash? In my mind, the lyrics were a reminder not to shut down or shut off, or just don’t talk about things. It was more like stay vigilant and keep dancing. Stay awake.”
In an interview for V magazine, Del Rey confirmed that the track is included on the album.
Cross-references
- Pearls and curls are mentioned in "Fucked My Way Up to the Top".
Lyrics
Girls, don’t forget your pearls
And all of your horses
As you make your way across the pond
Girls, don't forget your curls
And all of your corsets
Memorise them in a little song
Shake it up, throw your hands up and get loose
Cut a rug, lean into the fuckin' youth
Choreo, we just want the fuckin' truth
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?
Oh, it’s only beginning
If we hold on to hope
We’ll have our happy ending
When the world was at war before
We just kept dancing
When the world was at war before
We just kept dancing
Boys, don’t forget your toys,
And take all of your money,
If you find you’re in a foreign land
Boys, don’t make too much noise,
And don’t try to be funny,
Other people may not understand.
Shake it up, throw your hands up and get loose
Cut a rug, lean into the fucking youth
Choreo, we just want the fuckin’ truth
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?
Oh, it’s only beginning
If we hold on to hope
We’ll have our happy ending
When the world was at war before
We just kept dancing
When the world was at war before
We just kept dancing
We'll do it again,
(Oh my God, do you feel me loving you?)
We'll do it again,
(Oh my God, do you feel me loving you?)
We'll do it again,
(Do you feel, do you feel me loving you?)
We'll do it again.
(The world at war)
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?
Is it the end of an era?
Is it the end of America?
When the world was at war before
We just kept dancing
When the world was at war before
We just kept dancing
We'll do it again,
And we'll do it again
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