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".
Gangsta Boy
Lana Del Rey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don’t care if you’re going to prison,
I wouldn’t say I l-love you if I didn’t,
I can cheat cause I know what I’m missin’
Boop, boop, woopty doo.
I won’t play cause I’m already winnin’
Kissing your lips,
High school, loved you from the beginnin’,
Boop, boop, woopty doo.
I want you, you, you,
By my swimming pool,
You, you, you,
That would be so cool.
You’re my gangsta boy,
You’re my gangsta boy,
Cause you’re my favourite toy,
You’re my favourite toy,
Get you out,
Get you wet,
No, I’ll ever never stop.
You’re my gangsta boy,
You’re my gangsta boy,
Oooh,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
My gangsta boy.
I don’t care what my girls and my mama say about you, bad boy,
I like the drama,
We can ditch ‘em all while you’re out, if you wanna,
Boop, boop, woopty doo.
Like your leather and your long hair, honey, honey,
You can bring your love and baby, I got the money,
Love you baby boy,
Like I never loved nobody,
Boop, boop, woopty doo.
I want you, you, you,
By my swimming pool,
You, you, you,
That would be so cool.
You’re my gangsta boy,
You’re my gangsta boy,
Cause you’re my favourite toy,
You’re my favourite toy,
Get you out,
Get you wet,
No, I’ll ever never stop.
You’re my gangsta boy,
You’re my gangsta boy,
Oooh,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
My gangsta boy.
Summer’s almost over, baby,
Everybody thinks I’m crazy,
I could have it all,
But it means nothing without you,
Boy, I’ve been so lonely lately,
I’ll never get tired of waiting,
I could have the world,
But it means nothing without you. .
You’re my gangsta boy,
You’re my gangsta boy.
You’re my gangsta boy,
You’re my gangsta boy,
Cause you’re my favourite toy,
You’re my favourite toy,
Get you out,
Get you wet,
No, I’ll ever never stop.
You’re my gangsta boy,
You’re my gangsta boy.
Oooh,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
My gangsta boy,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
B-B-Boy,
Oooh,
My gangsta boy.
In "Gangsta Boy," Lana Del Rey sings about her attraction to a bad boy who is involved in a life of crime. She acknowledges that she knows his behavior is wrong and that he will likely end up in prison, but it doesn't stop her from being drawn to him. She emphasizes that even though she cheats on him, she does it because she knows what she's missing out on. The chorus features the repetition of the phrase "You're my gangsta boy" with additional lyrics emphasizing how much she wants him by her side.
In the second verse, Del Rey further describes her attraction to the gangsta boy, stating that she likes his appearance with the leather and the long hair. She admits that she likes the drama that comes along with him and that she's willing to ditch her friends and family if he wants her to. The bridge of the song features Del Rey singing about how the end of summer is approaching and how she's been lonely without her gangsta boy. She admits that she could have anything else in the world, but it wouldn't mean anything without him.
Overall, "Gangsta Boy" portrays a common theme in Lana Del Rey's music: romanticizing troubled and dangerous men. The song suggests that even though Del Rey knows that the gangsta boy is bad for her, she can't help but be drawn to him.
Line by Line Meaning
My gangsta boy,
Addressing her lover as a gangster boy who she finds attractive and important.
I don’t care if you’re going to prison,
She is indifferent to his criminal activities and wouldn't mind if he is sent to prison.
I wouldn’t say I l-love you if I didn’t,
She wouldn't confess her love if she didn't feel it genuinely.
I can cheat cause I know what I’m missin’
She's still exploring new relationships because despite being with him, she feels that something is missing from the equation.
Boop, boop, woopty doo.
An expression of her carefree attitude and disregard for societal norms.
I won’t play cause I’m already winnin’
She doesn't see the need to play games because she's already in a successful relationship.
Kissing your lips,
She enjoys being intimate with him.
Hot-hot like I’m sinnin’
When in his arms, she feels like she's committing a sin because of the intensity of their passion.
High school, loved you from the beginnin’,
She loved him since high school, from the very start.
Boop, boop, woopty doo.
An expression of her carefree attitude and disregard for societal norms.
I want you, you, you,
She wants him badly, without doubt.
By my swimming pool,
She wants him to be with her by her luxurious swimming pool.
That would be so cool.
It would be amazing to be with him in such a luxurious environment.
You’re my gangsta boy,
Reiterating that he is her gangster boy.
Cause you’re my favourite toy,
She regards him as her favourite plaything, which makes her happy.
Get you out,
She wants to take him out of whatever situation is keeping him away from her.
Get you wet,
She wants to arouse him sexually and get him ready for some action.
No, I’ll ever never stop.
She'll never stop pursuing him and making him happy.
Oooh,
An expression of ecstasy.
B-B-Boy,
A phrase which she uses to reference her lover as a hip hop/rap artist.
Summer’s almost over, baby,
The summer is coming to an end, and she's lamenting its passing along with its memories of being with him.
Everybody thinks I’m crazy,
People around her think she's crazy for being with him despite his criminal activities.
I could have it all,
She could have everything she wants, but she only wants him.
But it means nothing without you,
Nothing would matter to her or make her happy without him.
Boy, I’ve been so lonely lately,
She's been lonely and longing for him recently.
I’ll never get tired of waiting,
She's patiently waiting for him because she knows he's worth it.
I could have the world,
She could have anything she wants in the world, but all she desires is to be with him.
You’re my gangsta boy,
Reiterating that he's her gangsta boy.
Contributed by Charlie T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@carolinarodrigues695
THANKS
@vitajvsn7200
You aliveeee
@meryozu
put in 0.5 speed
@ArtNouveaus
That makes the quality sound weird
@geografia777oficial7
It sounds awful 😞
@Serendipitywipity
I'm just so glad to finally hear her singing this song because it was my favorite when I was 12, 9 years ago. I've been so sad ever since I hadn't been able to find it.