Get Free

Album: Lust For Life (2017)
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Songfacts®:

  • Here, Lana Del Rey sings about freeing herself from a negative mindset where she was playing someone else's game rather than living her own life. The liberating place she now finds herself has given the songstress a lust for life.
  • The track originally had a different title, and much more personal lyrics. "That song started out really revealing," Del Rey told the BBC. "I wanted to summarise my whole experience over the last six years; and then I realized, I don't want to reveal everything."

    Having got the initial version "out of my system", Del Rey deleted the recording "then started from scratch".
    "I think it would have been hard for me to do interviews if I'd said a couple of particular things that I was thinking of," she Del Rey said of the original version. "Kind of the way 'Ultraviolence' did. It was harder to promote that record."(She is referencing the song's key line, "He hit me and it felt like a kiss".

    The more vague and hopeful re-recorded version ends with Del Rey referencing Neil Young: "I want to move out of the black, into the blue."
  • Radiohead sued Lana Del Rey over the similarities between this song and their breakthrough hit "Creep." Del Rey tweeted: It's true about the lawsuit. Although I know my song wasn't inspired by Creep, Radiohead feel it was and want 100% of the publishing - I offered up to 40 over the last few months but they will only accept 100. Their lawyers have been relentless, so we will deal with it in court."

    Hours later, during a gig, Del Rey warned fans that "Get Free" may be removed from her Lust For Life album because of Radiohead's plagiarism claim. "Regardless of what happens in court, the sentiment that I wrote in that particular song... was my statement for the [album], my personal manifesto, my modern manifesto," she said. "I just want to let you know... that I am really going to strive for [those sentiments], even if that song is not on future physical releases of the record."

    Radiohead's music publisher, Warner Chappell denied they'd sued Del Rey, stating: "It's clear that the verses of 'Get Free' use musical elements found in the verses of 'Creep' and we've requested that this be acknowledged in favour of all writers of 'Creep'. To set the record straight, no lawsuit has been issued and Radiohead have not said they "will only accept 100%" of the publishing of 'Get Free'.""

    Lana Del Rey confirmed while performing at Lollapalooza Sao Paulo 2018 on March 25, 2018 that her legal battle with Radiohead regarding this song had been resolved. She told the audience: "I mean now that my lawsuit's over, I guess I can sing that song any time I want, right?"

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