Music |
Lana del Rey: “Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd”
By
Published: Jan 24, 2023
Category:
Rock
I could say I’m paying particular attention to love songs on WFUV because I’m writing a novel that’s a love story about sophisticated people and very raw emotions and I’m a magpie who begs/borrows/steals great ideas and pithy lines. But the truth is that the first time I heard Lana del Rey’s new song, “Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard,” I dissolved in tears. First, because it’s like nothing else out there, it stands alone. Second, because the surefire way I know music or film or art is beautiful is that it makes my eyes wet. And then there’s Lana Del Rey’s writing, which surprises you with sudden turns that are just devastating, like these:
When’s it gonna be my turn?
Open me up, tell me you like me
Fuck me to death, love me until I love myself
There’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard
Harry Nilsson has a song, his voice breaks at 2:05
Something about the way he says, “Don’t forget me”
Makes me feel like
I just wish I had a friend like him, someone to get me by
Leaning in my back, whispering in my ear, “Come on, baby, you can drive”
But I can’t
The facts: There really is a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach, California. (photo, above). It was built in 1927, as a local historian has written, “because, at its peak, Pine & Ocean was seeing some 4,000 people crossing the intersection per hour on the weekend…. Businesses in the tunnel sold goods while people passed on their way to the beach.” It’s now waiting for a developer to do something with the properties at both ends and revive the tunnel.
Here’s the YouTube video of the song.
The lyrics are — dare I say it — poetry. It’s not the worst idea to follow the lyrics as she sings.
Mosaic ceilings, painted tiles on the wall
I can’t help but feel somewhat like my body marred my soul
Handmade beauty sealed up by two man-made walls
And I’m like
When’s it gonna be my turn?
Open me up, tell me you like it
Fuck me to death, love me until I love myself
There’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard
There’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard
There’s a girl who sings “Hotel California”
Not because she loves the notes or sounds that sound like Florida
It’s because she’s in a world preserved, only a few have found the door
It’s like Camarillo, only silver mirrors running down the corridor
Oh, man
When’s it gonna be my turn?
Don’t forget me
When’s it gonna be my turn?
Open me up, tell me you like me
Fuck me to death, love me until I love myself
There’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard
Harry Nilsson has a song, his voice breaks at 2:05
Something about the way he says, “Don’t forget me”
Makes me feel like
I just wish I had a friend like him, someone to get me by
Leaning in my back, whispering in my ear, “Come on, baby, you can drive”
But I can’t
When’s it gonna be my turn?
Don’t forget me
When’s it gonna be my turn?
Open me up, tell me you like it
Fuck me to death, love me until I love myself
There’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard
Don’t forget me
Like the tunnel under Ocean Boulevard
Don’t forget me
Like the tunnel under Ocean Boulevard
Don’t forget me
Like the tunnel under Ocean Boulevard
Don’t forget me, don’t forget me
No, no, no, don’t forget me
Don’t you, don’t you forget me
No danger I’ll forget the experience of hearing this song for the first time.
