"Without You" (originally titled "China Doll") is a song by Lana Del Rey from her first major-label album, Born to Die, written with Sacha Skarbek and produced by Emile Haynie. It serves as the first bonus track from the deluxe edition of the album.
Background[]
Both demos of the song leaked on June 7, 2012. The official instrumental would later leak on April 13, 2024.
Composition[]
A dramatic pop ballad, "Without You" runs at approximately 112 beats per minute in the key of E♭ minor. The song features electric guitars, distorted vocal samples, keyboards, synthesized bass, artificial drum sounds with heavy delay, and Del Rey's layered voice throughout the chorus. It features a sample of the song "Mary Jane (Live @ Long Beach '81)" by Rick James, which is also used in "Lolita", "Blue Jeans", "National Anthem", and "Dark Paradise".
Live performances[]
Del Rey performed the song - then known as "China Doll" - for the first time at the Ruby Lounge in Manchester, England, during the first show of the Born to Die Tour on November 4, 2011, before the song was officially released. It was performed regularly at shows on that tour as well as the Paradise Tour, where the song would close with an instrumental outro of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". It would be another ten years before Del Rey performed the song live again, the next time being at her April 12, 2024, Coachella performance in Indio, California as part of the Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd Promotional Tour; it was subsequently added to the set list.
The song was a part of a session done by Del Rey's live touring band in preparation for her Paradise Tour performances. The full rehearsal session, which featured Del Rey's pre-recorded vocals and were created with the intent of aiding the tour's videographer, leaked on October 15, 2020. The file also included the instrumental outro of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door".
Cross-references[]
- The American dream is also referenced in "Radio" and "Damn You", among other songs.
- The phrase "my life is sweet" is used in "Radio" and "Dark but Just a Game".
- Del Rey mentions rivieras in "Fucked My Way Up to the Top".
- A variation of the first line of the chorus is also used in the bridge of "Hollywood".
- The phrase "life is beautiful" is a direct reference to the song of the same name, and is present in the chorus of "Black Beauty".
- The intonation of Del Rey's "hello, hello" is echoed in "take off, take off" from "Lust for Life".
- Del Rey also sings "if I can't have you" in "Jealous Girl".
- The phrase "nothing without you" is also used in "Gangsta Boy".
- The phrase "can you hear me?" also appears in "Terrence Loves You".
- Summertime is also referenced in "Summertime Sadness", "Summer Bummer", "Summer of Sam", and "Salvatore", among many others.
- Vanilla is also mentioned in "Cola".
- The word "sweet" is also mentioned in "Radio", "Trash Magic", "Venice Bitch", "Fuck It I Love You", "Serial Killer", "Meet Me in the Pale Moonlight", "West Coast", "This Is What Makes Us Girls", "Living Legend", and in the song of the same name, among many others.
Official versions[]
- Album version — 3:49
- Instrumental version — 3:48
- Demo version 1 — 3:06
- Demo version 2 — 3:06
- Paradise Tour rehearsal session (with "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" instrumental outro) — 4:52
Lyrics[]
Album version[]
Everything I want, I have
Money, notoriety, and rivieras
I even think I found God
In the flashbulbs of the pretty cameras
Pretty cameras, pretty cameras
Am I glamorous? Tell me, am I glamorous?
Hello, hello, ca-can you hear me?
I can be your china doll, if you wanna see me fall
Boy, you're so dope, your love is deadly
Tell me life is beautiful, they all think I have it all
I have nothing without you
All my dreams and all the lights mean
Nothing without you
Summertime is nice and hot
And my life is sweet like vanilla is
Gold and silver line my heart
But burned into my brain are these stolen images
Stolen images, baby, stolen images
Can you picture it? Babe, that life we could've lived
Hello, hello, ca-can you hear me?
I can be your china doll, if you like to see me fall
Boy, you're so dope, your love is deadly
Tell me life is beautiful, they all think I have it all
I have nothing without you
All my dreams and all the lights mean
Nothing without you
We were two kids just tryna get out
Lived on the dark side of the American dream
We would dance all night, play our music loud
But when we grew up, nothing was what it seemed
Hello, hello, ca-can you hear me?
I can be your china doll, if you like to see me fall
Boy, you're so dope, your love is deadly
Tell me life is beautiful, they think that I have it all (Ooh)
I have nothing without you
All my dreams and all the lights mean (Ooh)
Nothing without you
Hello, hello, ca-can you hear me?
I can be your china doll, if you like to see me fall
Boy, you're so dope, your love is deadly
Tell me life is beautiful, they think that I have it all (Ooh)
I have nothing without you
All my dreams and all the lights mean (Ooh)
Nothing without you
All my dreams and all the lights mean
Nothing, if I can't have you
Demo version 1[]
Everything I want, I have
Money, notoriety, and rivieras
I even think I found God
In the flashbulbs of your pretty cameras
Pretty cameras, ooh, pretty cameras
Am I glamorous? Tell me, am I glamorous?
Hello, hello, boy, can you hear me?
I can be your china doll if you like it when I fall
I know, I know, it gets kinda scary
I'm fallin' down, down, down, down
But it means nothing without you
All the dreams and all the lights mean
Nothing without you
Summertime is nice and hot
And my life is sweet like vanilla is
Gold and silver line my heart
But burned into my brain are these stolen images
Stolen images, baby, stolen images
Can you picture this? Honey, can you picture this?
Hello, hello, boy, can you hear me?
I can be your china doll if you like to see me fall
I know, I know, that things got kinda scary
But now I'm down, fallin' down, down, down
'Cause it means nothing without you
All the dreams and all the lies mean
Nothing without you
'Cause we were two kids just tryna get out
Livin' on the dark side of the American dream
Livin' life on the run, livin' life out loud
And it was nothing like what it seemed
Hello, hello, boy, can you hear me?
Honey, I'm your china doll, watch me when you see me fall
I know, I know, things got kinda scary
But now I'm fallin' down, down, down
It means nothing without you
All the dreams and all the lights mean
Nothing without you
All their dreams and all their lies mean
Nothing if I can't have you
Demo version 2[]
Everything I want, I have
Money, notoriety, and rivieras
I even think I found God
In the flashbulbs of the pretty cameras
Pretty cameras, pretty cameras
Am I glamorous? Tell me, am I glamorous?
Hello, hello, ca-can you hear me?
I can be your china doll, if you wanna see me fall
Boy, you're so dope, your love is deadly
Tell me life is beautiful, they all think I have it all
I have nothing without you
All my dreams and all the lights mean
Nothing without you
Summertime is nice and hot
And my life is sweet like vanilla is
Gold and silver line my heart
But burned into my brain are these stolen images
Stolen images, baby, stolen images
Can you picture it? Babe, that life we could've lived
Hello, hello, ca-can you hear me?
I can be your china doll, if you like to see me fall
Boy, you're so dope, your love is deadly
Tell me life is beautiful, they all think I have it all
I have nothing without you
All my dreams and all the lights mean
Nothing without you
We were two kids just tryna get out
Lived on the dark side of the American dream
We would dance all night, play our music loud
But when we grew up, nothing was what it seemed
Hello, hello, ca-can you hear me?
I can be your china doll, if you like to see me fall
Boy, you're so dope, your love is deadly
Tell me life is beautiful, they think that I have it all (Ooh)
I have nothing without you
All my dreams and all the lights mean (Ooh)
Nothing without you
All my dreams and all the lights mean
Nothing, if I can't have you
Credits[]
Personnel[a]
- Lana Del Rey — songwriting, vocals
- Sacha Skarbek — songwriting, vocal production, Omnichord
- Emile Haynie — production, keyboards, guitar, drums
- Larry Gold — strings arrangement, strings conducting
- Steve Tirpak — string assistance
- Dan Heath — additional strings
- Lorenzo Cosi — engineering
- Dan Grech-Marguerat — mixing
- Duncan Fuller — mixing assistance
- John Davis — mastering
Technical
- Published by EMI / Universal
- Mixed at Miloco's Engine Room, London, United Kingdom
- Mastered at Metropolis Mastering, London, United Kingdom
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Adapted from the album's liner notes.
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