Born to Die (song)
| "Born to Die" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Lana Del Rey | ||||||||||
| from the album Born to Die | ||||||||||
| Released | December 30, 2011 | |||||||||
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| Length | 4:46 | |||||||||
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| Lana Del Rey singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Born to Die" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey, taken from her second studio album of the same name. The song was released as the singer's second single on December 30, 2011, through Interscope Records. Musically, "Born to Die" is a ballad that speaks of a doomed relationship. Critics noted that it features apocalyptic lyrics and strings similar to John Barry compositions. It received mixed to positive reception from contemporary critics, who considered it as haunting as, yet similar to, Del Rey's previous single "Video Games". In the United Kingdom, "Born to Die" became Del Rey's second top 10 single, when it peaked at No. 9 for the week ending February 4, 2012.
The song was promoted with a music video, directed by Yoann Lemoine (a.k.a. Woodkid), that portrays Del Rey in an unstable relationship with her boyfriend, played by model Bradley Soileau, as they go on a car trip that results in her death. At the 2012 UK Music Video Awards, "Born to Die" won the "Best Pop - International Video" award, outranking her other songs "Blue Jeans" and "National Anthem" which were also nominees. Critical reception for the video was generally positive. The video has received over 285 million views on video-sharing website YouTube.
"Born to Die" was written and composed by Del Rey and Justin Parker, and produced by Emile Haynie. The song features "gently apocalyptic" lyrics, and opens with Del Rey singing "Feet don't fail me now/ Take me to the finish line/ Oh my heart, it breaks every step that I take/ But I'm hoping at the gates, they'll tell me that you're mine." According to the singer, the song is a "homage to true love and a tribute to living life on the wild side", theme that is perceived in lines such as "Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain, you like your girls insane." The original unreleased version of the song featured Del Rey singing "Let me fuck you hard in the pouring rain" instead of "Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain"; this version is sung at most all her live shows. Laura Snapes of NME compared the background to "melted chocolate waterslide, buffeted by impeccable production", with the John Barry-esque "whipping strings" being noted as similar to the music scores of Gone with the Wind (1939) and Western (1997). "Born to Die" was first released in December 30, 2011 as the second single from the album of the same name. It contains a vocal sample of "Long Red" by Mountain.
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