Venice Bitch

Album: Norman F---ing Rockwell! (2018)
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Songfacts®:

  • Over hazy electric guitars, miniature orchestrations and psychedelic interludes, Lana Del Rey sings on this slow burner about the happy moments in her California-based relationship.

    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


    Del Rey has previously referenced her love affair with America in songs like "National Anthem," "American" and "God Bless America – and All the Beautiful Women in It."
  • This was released as the second single from Norman F---ing Rockwell. The first single, "Mariners Apartment Complex," which was dropped a week earlier references this song's title in its lyrics.

    Your Venice bitch, your diehard, your weakness
  • Del Rey told Zane Lowe that when she played this for her managers and told them it was the single she wanted to put out, they complained, "It's 10-minutes long" and "it's called 'Venice Bitch.'"

    "Why do you do this to us," they added, "Can you make a three-minute normal pop song?"

    Del Rey replied that at the end of summer, when this was released, "Some people just wanna drive around for 10 minutes, get lost in some electric guitar."
  • Norman Rockwell was an American painter and illustrator, whose mid-20th century works presented an idealised version of the United States and its citizens. He is best known for the kitchy depictions of everyday life that he created for The Saturday Evening Post and other magazines of the day. Del Rey makes reference to Rockwell in "Venice Bitch" and namechecks him in the album title. She recalled to Zane Lowe:

    "I think when I was writing this song, it was a more happy take on love and it was just sort of about like, 'I tour, you write. We make it work.' And also you know I love having painter references because I think sometimes when you're writing you're sort of trying to paint these ideas into existence, because I'm very visual too. So yeah, I don't know. I know it's a crazy title, but that's just the title of the record."
  • The video was filmed by Del Rey's sister, the photographer Caroline "Chuck" Grant, who also shot the video for "Mariners Apartment Complex." Both clips have a home-movie feel.
  • Lana Del Rey co-wrote and co-produced the song with Jack Antonoff. The Bleachers frontman has also worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, Pink, and Lorde. Speaking in a December 2021 Audacy video chat with Ed Sheeran, Antonoff said of all the tracks he's either produced or helped to write, this is his favorite. "It took this crazy, wild turn to end up being this sprawling, long thing," he explained, "and it's one of those things that you can't plan to do."

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