Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an Amer… Read Full Bio ↴Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent references to contemporary pop culture and 1950s–1960s Americana.

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".

Heavy Hitter
Lana Del Rey Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I was lounging at,
The Chateau Marmont,
Glimmering by,
The swimming pool.

My man walked in,
Like a slow motion,
Movie I said,

"You're so cool."

I heard a man screaming,
"Lights, camera, action!"
I c-c-can't reme-member,
What happened. I overdosed,
You throw me over your shoulder,
I was dying, you were screaming,
"Open up that Lambourghini!"

Open up your butterfly doors,
Heavy Hitter.
Open up your butterfly doors,
What do you say?
Open up your butterfly doors,
Heavy Hitter.
Let's ch-ch-change our DNA,
Let's change our DNA.

You're the king mafia, baby,
I am the Queen of Alchemy,
I know a way to make gold by mixing,
Our souls to escape reality

Queen in Monterey, run to that ocean,
I got that magical trans-potion,
Gotta leave I can't wait 'til I'm older,
You was laughing, I was running,
Use that remote to open 'em.

Open up your butterfly doors,
Heavy Hitter.
Open up your butterfly doors,
What do you say?
Open up your butterfly doors,
Heavy Hitter.
Let's ch-ch-change our DNA,
Let's change our DNA.

You can be my higher power, baby,
I can be your M-S USA.
We can go for drives for hours, baby,
Let's change our DNA,
Let's change our DNA,
Let's change.

Open up your butterfly door,
Heavy Hitter.
Open up your butterfly door,
What do you say?
Open up your butterfly door,
Heavy Hitter.
Let's ch-ch-change our DNA,
Let's change our DNA.

Heavy Hitter.

Overall Meaning

The opening lines of Lana Del Rey's song "Heavy Hitter" place the listener in a luxurious Hollywood setting - the Chateau Marmont hotel pool, to be exact. Her man arrives and she acknowledges his coolness, but the moment is quickly interrupted by a man screaming "Lights, camera, action!" Lana's memory gets hazy as she overdoses and her man throws her over his shoulder. She was dying as he screamed to open up his Lamborghini.

The chorus urges her man to "open up your butterfly doors," a reference to the Lamborghini's iconic scissor doors. The phrase "heavy hitter" is repeated throughout the song, which is perhaps a nod to both her man's financial success and their intense relationship. Lana alludes to a desire to change their DNA, which could signify a longing to transform their lives or simply indulge in escapism. As with many of Lana's songs, the lyrics are open to interpretation and can be read as a commentary on fame, wealth, and the dark side of Hollywood.

Line by Line Meaning

I was lounging at, The Chateau Marmont, Glimmering by, The swimming pool.
I was at The Chateau Marmont, near the pool, enjoying the sun.

My man walked in, Like a slow motion, Movie I said, 'You're so cool.'
My man walked in, and I was struck by his coolness - he was like a slow motion movie.

I heard a man screaming, 'Lights, camera, action!' I c-c-can't reme-member, What happened. I overdosed, You throw me over your shoulder, I was dying, you were screaming, 'Open up that Lambourghini!'
I heard some commotion, but I can't recall what happened. I overdosed, and you carried me out while shouting to open up the Lamborghini.

Open up your butterfly doors, Heavy Hitter. Open up your butterfly doors, What do you say? Open up your butterfly doors, Heavy Hitter. Let's ch-ch-change our DNA, Let's change our DNA.
Open up the butterfly doors of your car, Heavy Hitter. Let's change our DNA as we ride.

You're the king mafia, baby, I am the Queen of Alchemy, I know a way to make gold by mixing, Our souls to escape reality
You're the king mafia, baby, and I'm the Queen of Alchemy. Together we can mix our souls to make gold and escape this reality.

Queen in Monterey, run to that ocean, I got that magical trans-potion, Gotta leave I can't wait 'til I'm older, You was laughing, I was running, Use that remote to open 'em.
We're in Monterey and I want to run to the ocean - I have some magical trans-potion. I can't wait to leave, and you laughed as I ran away. Use the remote to open the car doors.

You can be my higher power, baby, I can be your M-S USA. We can go for drives for hours, baby, Let's change our DNA, Let's change our DNA, Let's change.
You can be my higher power, and I can be your Miss USA. We can drive around for hours and change our DNA together.

Heavy Hitter.
Heavy Hitter.

Contributed by Stella M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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