Raised in upstate New York, Del Rey moved to New York City in 2005 to pursue a music career. After numerous projects, including her self-titled debut studio album, Del Rey's breakthrough came in 2011 with the viral success of her single "Video Games"; she subsequently signed a recording contract with Polydor and Interscope. She achieved critical and commercial success with her second album, Born to Die (2012), which contained the sleeper hit "Summertime Sadness". Del Rey's third album, Ultraviolence (2014), featured greater use of guitar-driven instrumentation and debuted atop the U.S. Billboard 200. Her fourth and fifth albums, Honeymoon (2015) and Lust for Life (2017), saw a return to the stylistic traditions of her earlier releases, while her critically acclaimed sixth album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019), explored soft rock. Her next studio albums, Chemtrails Over the Country Club and Blue Banisters, followed in 2021. Her ninth studio album, “Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” was released on all platforms March 24th 2023. It includes singles like the title track - "Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd", "A&W", and "The Grants".
Del Rey has collaborated on soundtracks for visual media; in 2013, she wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed musical short Tropico and released "Young and Beautiful" for the romantic drama The Great Gatsby. In 2014, she recorded "Once Upon a Dream" for the dark fantasy adventure film Maleficent and the self-titled theme song for the biopic Big Eyes. Del Rey collaborated with Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus on "Don't Call Me Angel" for the action comedy Charlie's Angels (2019), which peaked at number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Additionally, Del Rey published the poetry and photography collection Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass (2020).
She is the recipient of various accolades, including two Brit Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards, and a Satellite Award, in addition to nominations for six Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Variety honored her at their Hitmakers Awards for being "one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century".
Doin' Time
Lana Del Rey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bradley's on the microphone with Ras MG
All the people in the dance will agree
That we're well-qualified to represent the L.B.C
Me, me and Louie, we gonna run to the party
And dance to the rhythm, it gets harder
Me and my girl, we got this relationship
I love her so bad, but she treats me like shit
On lockdown, like a penitentiary
She spreads her lovin' all over
And when she gets home, there's none left for me
Summertime, and the livin's easy
Bradley's on the microphone with Ras MG
All the people in the dance will agree
That we're well-qualified to represent the L.B.C
Me, me and Louie, we gonna run to the party
And dance to the rhythm, it gets harder
(Harder, yeah, harder, yeah)
Oh, take this veil from off my eyes
My burning sun will, some day, rise
So, what am I gonna be doin' for a while?
Said, I'm gonna play with myself
Show them, now, we've come off the shelf
Summertime, and the livin's easy
Bradley's on the microphone with Ras MG
All the people in the dance will agree
That we're well-qualified to represent the L.B.C
Me, me and Louie, we gonna run to the party
And dance to the rhythm, it gets harder
(Harder, yeah, harder, yeah)
Evil, I've come to tell you that she's evil, most definitely
Evil, ornery, scandalous and evil, most definitely
The tension, it's getting hotter
I'd like to hold her head underwater
(Summertime)
(Ah, ah, ah)
Summertime, and the livin's easy
Bradley's on the microphone with Ras MG
All the people in the dance will agree
That we're well-qualified to represent the L.B.C
Me, me and Louie, we gonna run to the party
And dance to the rhythm, it gets harder
The song "Doin' Time" by Lana Del Rey is a cover of the hit 90s song by Sublime. The song starts with the lyrics "Summertime, and the livin's easy," which is a reference to the George Gershwin song "Summertime" from the opera Porgy and Bess. The song is about enjoying the carefree days of summer and partying with friends. Bradley Nowell, the lead singer of Sublime, is featured on the chorus of the song. He died before the song's release and the band was never able to perform the song live together.
However, the second verse reveals a darker side of the carefree summer days. The lyrics "Me and my girl, we got this relationship / I love her so bad, but she treats me like shit / On lockdown, like a penitentiary / She spreads her lovin' all over / And when she gets home, there's none left for me" depict a toxic relationship where the singer is being cheated on and mistreated. The chorus repeats, but with added emphasis on the line "the tension, it's getting hotter," revealing the growing frustration and anger in the situation.
The song's bridge is a departure from the summer theme and instead turns introspective. The lyrics "Oh, take this veil from off my eyes / My burning sun will, some day, rise / So, what am I gonna be doin' for a while? / Said, I'm gonna play with myself / Show them, now, we've come off the shelf" suggest the singer is looking to find clarity and a sense of purpose. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus and the addition of the line "evil, I've come to tell you that she's evil, most definitely," emphasizing the negative and harmful aspect of the relationship.
Overall, the song is a mixture of carefree summer days and the darker side of relationships, creating a complex and layered narrative.
Line by Line Meaning
Summertime, and the livin's easy
Life is good during the summer months
Bradley's on the microphone with Ras MG
Bradley is singing with Ras MG
All the people in the dance will agree
Everyone at the party will agree
That we're well-qualified to represent the L.B.C
We are the perfect representatives for Long Beach, California
Me, me and Louie, we gonna run to the party
Myself, Louie, and I are going to go to the party
And dance to the rhythm, it gets harder
We will dance to the music and the tempo will increase
Me and my girl, we got this relationship
My girlfriend and I have a certain dynamic between us
I love her so bad, but she treats me like shit
I deeply care for her, but she consistently mistreats me
On lockdown, like a penitentiary
My love life is restricted, like I'm in prison
She spreads her lovin' all over
She gives her affection to many others
And when she gets home, there's none left for me
She doesn't have any love for me, despite coming back home
Oh, take this veil from off my eyes
I want to see the truth, to clear my ignorance
My burning sun will, some day, rise
One day, I'll have a bright future ahead of me
So, what am I gonna be doin' for a while?
What will I spend my time doing?
Said, I'm gonna play with myself
I am going to entertain myself
Show them, now, we've come off the shelf
Demonstrate that we've become available for public consumption
Evil, I've come to tell you that she's evil, most definitely
I am calling her out as wicked and corrupt
Evil, ornery, scandalous and evil, most definitely
She is very evil, mischievous, and scandalous
The tension, it's getting hotter
The situation is growing more intense and stressful
I'd like to hold her head underwater
I want to hurt her, I fantasize about drowning her
(Summertime)
(Life is good during the summer months)
(Ah, ah, ah)
(Vocalizing without a specific meaning)
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Rick Rubin, Adam Horowitz, Adam Yauch, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Bradley Nowell, Marshall Goodman, Dubois Hayward, Dorothy Hayward
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robert Cochran
on West Coast
Amazing how the film maker lifted the filming of this video directly from the Chet Baker documentary Let's Get Lost - black & white hanging at the beach and cruising in the backs of convertables
ciggywater
on National Anthem
such a goddess
Abygail Fernandez Smith
on West Coast
ganda
Inside Bilderberg
on Cruel World
Love this song.
Romatizzalid Bozin Veda Loca
on West Coast
barcelona akhawa
Dawit Dawit
on Ultraviolence
nice
Dawit Dawit
on West Coast
best