Shades of Cool: Deep Inside The Many-Colored World Of Lana Del Rey

Spend enough time—spend any time—in Lana Del Rey’s world and you start to see things differently; teeth gleam gold, eyes are sky blue or darkest black, lips are rubies or cherries, socks are white and so are lines; everything is, at one point, dark—even paradise. Del Rey’s music is atmospheric to a degree unparalleled by any other singer-songwriter working today. She traffics in mood; she invites us into her world, and we are captive until the music stops. Del Rey manages this feat because of how completely she floods our senses with her music; she ties us up not only with her auditory entreaties but also through all our other senses. We don’t just hear Lana Del Rey, we feel, smell, and taste her; it’s not simply the tickle of Pepsi-Cola we feel on our tongues, but also the Aspirin-drip of lines down our throats, the soft cool fur of her coat, the cold, sharp edges of a diamond, the grit of the sand under our feet, the slap of the water on our skin.

And then there are the things she makes us see. Del Rey employs touchstone words and phrases throughout her body of work. Her lyrical universe (so beautifully mapped out last year by Emily Yoshida at The Verge) displays the gamut of Del Rey’s most-favored things: party dresses, hydrangeas, Cadillacs, yayo, trailer parks, the beach, boys. Del Rey sings of a world filled with icons—some of them gleaming, some crumbling and in various states of decay—all of them made visible through her language, and vibrant through her use of color.

“I got my red dress on tonight/ Dancing in the dark in the pale moonlight”

“I paint my house black/ My wedding dress black leather too/ I keep my lips red, to seem like cherries in the spring/ Darling, you can’t let everything seem so dark blue” 

“Crying tears of gold like lemonade”

In “Brooklyn Baby,” Del Rey sings: “They judge me like a picture book, by the colors, like they forgot to read.” And it’s true that judging her by the colors she uses—reds, whites, blacks, and blues, mostly, with flashes of gold and silver—would be a mistake. But then to judge Del Rey at all would be a mistake because it means evaluating her on terms and as part of a reality in which she doesn’t exist—ours. Del Rey, in her music, is existing in a world that only she is capable of defining, one of red, yellow, and blue lights, black-and-white waves, pink cigarettes, and Diet Mountain Dew. It’s a world that, once you enter, holds you enthralled, as if glasses—heart-shaped ones, of course—have been forever planted on your face, affording you too the ability to hear things like Lana does, in the “key of blue.”  

Just about every color of the rainbow (and then some) is mentioned in Lana Del Rey’s work. Some colors appear far more often than others, and all evoke the world of shadow and light in which Del Rey dwells. Other less frequently used hues still make a strong impact when they insinuate themselves into a song. Here, then, is a guide to every time a color gets mentioned in a Lana Del Rey song. And, yes, “hell” is a color. It’s Lana’s world, we’re just living in it. 

BLUE: Blue like fire, blue like water. 

Met you in front of a diner and you had blue hair, “Birds of a Feather,” Sirens

Oh, what can I do? Nothing my sparrow blue, “Black Beauty,” Ultraviolence

Life is so beautiful, but you don’t have a clue, sun and ocean blue, “Black Beauty,” Ultraviolence

Darling you can’t let everything seem so dark blue, “Black Beauty,” Ultraviolence

Blue jeans, white shirt “Blue Jeans,” Born to Die

She wore blue velvet, bluer than the velvet was the sky/bluer than the velvet were her eyes, “Blue Velvet,” Born to Die: Paradise Edition

Flames so hot that they turn blue, “Freak,” Honeymoon

Talk til we both turn blue, “Freak,” Honeymoon

Leather black and eyes of blue (blue, blue, blue), “Freak,” Honeymoon

Sometimes I wake up in the morning to red, blue, and yellow skies, “God Knows I Tried,” Honeymoon

Sometimes I wake up in the morning to red, blue, and yellow lights, “God Knows I Tried,” Honeymoon

See you walking on that blue Pacific, “Guns and Roses,” Ultraviolence

Dark blue, dark blue, “Honeymoon,” Honeymoon

Blue Ribbons on ice, “Music to Watch Boys to,” Honeymoon

Red, white, blue’s in the sky, “National Anthem,” Born to Die

Bright blue ripples, you sitting sipping on your Black Cristal, “Off to the Races,” Born to Die

Blue hydrangea, cold cash divine, “Old Money,” Ultraviolence

All the lights in Miami begin to gleam/ Ruby, blue and green, neon too, “Salvatore,” Honeymoon

Like aquamarine, ocean’s blue, “Salvatore,” Honeymoon

On the downtown scene, shady blue, “Salvatore,” Honeymoon

My baby lives in shades of blue, “Shades of Cool,” Ultraviolence

Blue eyes and jazz and attitude, “Shades of Cool,” Ultraviolence

I’m one of many on his blue, “Shades of Cool,” Ultraviolence

Carry me home, got the blue nail polish on/ It’s my favorite color and my favorite tone of song, “The Blackest Day,” Honeymoon

You for the moment, Boy Blue, yeah, you, “West Coast,” Ultraviolence

I like the snake on your tattoo/ I like the ivy and the ink blue, “Yayo,” Born to Die: The Paradise Edition

RED: She's your little scarlet starlet.

I keep my lips red, to seem like cherries in the spring, “Black Beauty,” Ultraviolence

Put your red dress on, put your lipstick on, “Carmen,” Born to Die

Put my little red party dress on, “Cruel World,” Ultraviolence

Sometimes I wake up in the morning to red, blue, and yellow skies, “God Knows I Tried,” Honeymoon

Sometimes I wake up in the morning to red, blue, and yellow lights, “God Knows I Tried,” Honeymoon

Could be kissing my fruit punch lips in the bright sunshine, “Lolita,” Born to Die

Red, white, blue’s in the sky, “National Anthem,” Born to Die

White bikini off with my red nail polish, “Off to the Races,” Born to Die

I’m your little scarlet starlet, “Off to the Races,” Born to Die

He’s got a soul as sweet as blood-red jam, “Off to the Races,” Born to Die

Likes to watch me in the glass room, bathroom, Chateau Marmont putting on my red dress, “Off to the Races,” Born to Die

Red racing cars, sunset divine, “Old Money,” Ultraviolence

All the lights in Miami begin to gleam/ Ruby, blue and green, neon too, “Salvatore,” Honeymoon

I got my red dress on tonight, “Summertime Sadness,” Born to Die

Drinking cherry schnapps in the velvet night, “This Is What Makes Us Girls,” Born to Die

BLACK: Things are getting darker and darker.

I paint my nails black, “Black Beauty,” Ultraviolence

I paint the sky black, “Black Beauty,” Ultraviolence

Black beauty, “Black Beauty,” Ultraviolence

I paint my house black, “Black Beauty,” Ultraviolence

My wedding dress black leather too, “Black Beauty,” Ultraviolence

Every time I close my eyes, it’s like a dark paradise, “Dark Paradise,” Born to Die

Leather black and eyes of blue (blue, blue, blue), “Freak,” Honeymoon

Palm trees in black and white, “Jump,” Lana Del Ray AKA Lizzy Grant

Kiss me in the d-a-r-k dark tonight, “Lolita,” Born to Die

Bright blue ripples, you sitting sipping on your Black Cristal, “Off to the Races,” Born to Die

And he shows me, he knows me, every inch of my tar black soul, “Off to the Races,” Born to Die

Dancing in the dark in the pale moonlight, “Summertime Sadness,” Born to Die

Ever since my baby went away, it’s been the blackest day/ Because I’m going deeper and deeper/ Harder and harder/ Getting darker and darker, “The Blackest Day,” Honeymoon

Running from the cops in our black bikini tops, “This Is What Makes Us Girls,” Born to Die

Put me onto your black motorcycle, “Yayo,” Born to Die: The Paradise Edition

WHITE: White bikini in the white sunshine.

Blue jeans, white shirt, “Blue Jeans,” Born to Die

Baby stopping in 7-Eleven there in his white Pontiac heaven, “Diet Mountain Dew,” Born to Die

White lines, pretty baby, tattoos, “Florida Kilos,” Ultraviolence

White palms, baking powder on the stove, “Florida Kilos,” Ultraviolence

White lines, pretty daddy go skiing, “Florida Kilos,” Ultraviolence

K’s a friend of mine, I think about him as he does time, miss his white wine, “For K,” Sirens

Buy a white sweater for the last white day of summer, “Mermaid Hotel,” Lana Del Ray AKA Lizzy Grant

Red, white, blue’s in the sky, “National Anthem,” Born to Die

White bikini off with my red nail polish, “Off to the Races,” Born to Die

Cashmere, cologne, white sunshine, “Old Money,” Ultraviolence

Put your white tennis shoes on and follow me, “Swan Song,” Honeymoon

Yo soy la princesa, comprende mis white lines, “Ultraviolence,” Ultraviolence

GOLD: Sun's in her mouth, gold's in her eyes and heart.

Your skin so gold and brown, “American,” Born to Die: Paradise Edition

Sun in my mouth and gold hoops, “Florida Kilos,” Ultraviolence

You’re lying with your gold chain on, “Off to the Races,” Born to Die

Crying tears of gold like lemonade, “Ultraviolence,” Ultraviolence

Their golden gods, “West Coast,” Ultraviolence

Gold and silver line my heart, “Without You,” Born to Die

PURPLE: Pills and flowers and haze and hair.

You wear purple socks and you still like Purple Haze, “Birds of a Feather,” Sirens

There are violets in your eyes, “Honeymoon,” Honeymoon

High up in the Hollywood Hills taking violet pills, “Is This Happiness,” Ultraviolence

Buy my purple wig for my mermaid video, “Mermaid Motel,” Lana Del Ray AKA Lizzy Grant

You call me lavender, you call me sunshine, “Mermaid Motel,” Lana Del Ray AKA Lizzy Grant

Putting on my makeup, glass room, perfume, cognac, lilac fumes, “Off to the Races,” Born to Die

PINK: Think pink.

In my white mink, pink cigarettes from the store, “Dum Dum,” (unreleased)

There are roses in between my thighs, “Honeymoon,” Honeymoon

Pink flamingos always fascinated me, “Music to Watch Boys to,” Honeymoon

Cheering our name in the pink spotlight, “This Is What Makes Us Girls,” Born to Die

SILVER: Cold and unsure, like starlets. Like hearts.

Shining like gunmetal, cold and unsure, “Art Deco,” Honeymoon

I’m waving on the silver screen, “Brite Lites,” Lana Del Ray AKA Lizzy Grant

Their silver starlets, “West Coast,” Ultraviolence

Gold and silver line my heart, “Without You,” Born to Die

GREEN: Diet. Mountain. Dew.

I met you with your mother and she had green shoes, “Birds of a Feather,” Sirens

Diet Mountain Dew, baby, New York City, never was there a girl so pretty, “Diet Mountain Dew,” Born to Die

All the lights in Miami begin to gleam/ Ruby, blue and green, neon too, “Salvatore,” Honeymoon

I like the snake on your tattoo/ I like the ivy and the ink blue, “Yayo,” Born to Die: The Paradise Edition

YELLOW: Hello, yellow.

Sometimes I wake up in the morning to red, blue, and yellow skies, “God Knows I Tried,” Honeymoon

Sometimes I wake up in the morning to red, blue, and yellow lights, “God Knows I Tried,” Honeymoon

Hello, heaven, you are a tunnel lined with yellow lights/ On a dark night, “Yayo,” Born to Die: The Paradise Edition

ORANGE: No rhyme or reason.

And in the orange light, the fog is rising, “All You Need,” Sirens

I was so wrong not to tell, Medillin, tangerine dreams, “Salvatore,” Honeymoon

BROWN: Getting deeper and deeper.

I dye my hair a darker shade of brown, “Black Beauty,” Ultraviolence

Turning tan and you look terrific, “Guns and Roses,” Ultraviolence

HELL: Definitely a color. Don't tell me you can't see it.

Paradise is a hell-colored flame sky, “Angels Forever,” (unreleased)