ELDERS READ LANA DEL REY’S HIT SONGS (React)

- ♪ Honey, is that true? ♪

- (chuckling) I'm choked up.

♪ (hard rock music) ♪

- (FBE) So today we're
going to have you read

a collection of lyrics
from top songs by an artist.

and have you break them down,

then after, we will have you
listen to the songs you read

and tell us what you
think of the artist's repertoire.

- That sounds good.

I love the new way we're doing it.

- I'm curious if it's somebody
I have any familiarity with.

- Well, I assume this is something
that's not my generation.

This isn't gonna be Frank Sinatra.

- I love, love lyrics, so let's see
if they telling me a story.

- I am ready to get into it.

- "Swinging in the backyard.

Pull up in your fast car.

Whistling my name.
Open up a beer.

And you say, 'Get over here,'
and play a video game."

- Sounds cute.
It sounds welcoming.

It sounds warming.

- It's starting to feel romantic
because he's saying,

"Get over here," and then
I feel kind of like not crushed,

but, like, oh, you gotta be
freaking kidding me

when he says, yeah, let's do,
all of a sudden, play a video game!

- They're pop lyrics.

They are telling the story.

They are giving you visuals.

- I like it because even
when I read these lyrics,

you can even feel the rhythm.

- (singing out) "It's you,
it's you, it's all for you.

Everything I do,
I tell you all the time,

heaven is a place
on Earth with you."

- "Tell me all the things
you want to do.

I heard that you like the bad girls.

Honey, is that true?"

- Oh, she's a bit
obsessed with him.

Wants to please,
the woman wants to please.

Yeah, I'm interested.

Does he like the bad girls?

I would like to know.

- She's saying she is a bad girl,

and she heard
that he likes bad girls.

- I like these lyrics.
They're interesting.

It's more current
relationship type thing,

then for something my generation.

- (FBE) Here are the first lyrics
to your second song.

- "I'm feelin' electric tonight,
cruisin' down the coast,

goin' 'bout 99.

Got my bad baby
by my heavenly side.

I know if I go,
I'll die happy tonight."

- She's got everything
that she wants

right with her tonight.

- And 99 miles an hour,
that's dangerous, guys!

- They're cruisin' down
the highway, happy as hell.

No matter what happens,
they'll be happy

because they're together.

- "Life fast, die young,
leave a beautiful corpse,"

that was a '60s mantra
when we were young.

I'm real glad now it
didn't come true for most of us.

- "Oh, my god.
I feel it in the air.

Telephone wires above
are sizzling like a snare.

Honey, I'm on fire.

I feel it everywhere.
Nothing scares me anymore."

- That's free spirit.
I'm letting it all out.

I have no fear of where I am
or who I'm with.

- She's not in fear anymore.

She just doesn't care.

She's just enjoying how she feels.

They are lyrics that you
really don't have to see the video

to get a picture
of what's going on.

- (take aback) "My [bleep]
tastes like Pepsi-Cola.

My eyes are wide
like cherry pies.

I gots a taste for men
who are older.

It's always been,
so it's no surprise."

- I don't even know how
to comment on that first line,

"My [bleep] tastes
like Pepsi-Cola."

Pepsi-Cola, cherry pie, yeah,
there's Americana,

old-school Americana.

- It doesn't hark back
to the way we used to try

to court the opposite sex,
but I like the fact

that she's being very open...
but the question is

how does she
know that? (laughing)

- Look at how she is using these,
"My eyes are wide like cherry pies."

I love the descriptive adjectives
that she's using in here, you know?

- "I got a taste for older men."

That's right, baby,
you're on the right track!

- She seems to be only satisfied
with an older person,

more experienced,
more knowledgeable,

more sagacious.
(ding)

- "Down on the West coast,
they've got their icons.

Their silver starlets,
their Queens of Saigon.

And you've got the music.

You've got the music
in you, don't you?"'

- What's on the West coast?

Stars, Hollywood.

So you got your silver starlettes.

- I'm just not sure
where she came up with

the Queens of Saigon,

if that's a new thing
or something because I grew up

in that era, and I lost
a brother in Vietnam,

so when you mention Saigon,
it does not bring back

really fond memories for me.

- It's now called Ho Chi Minh City.

It's in South Vietnam.

I was there
many times in the '60s.

Very hot there.
Very scary.

- "The truth is I never
bought into your bullshit

when you would pay tribute to me
'cause I know that.

All I wanted to do
was get high by the beach.

Get high, baby, baby, bye-bye."

- They're breaking up
and this guy's just had enough

and-- or she's had enough.

- Well, "pay tribute"
would just mean give attention to.

- He thinks that
he's winning her over

with his bullshit or his smooth talk,
but all the while,

she knows what it's all about.

- I don't need who
you want me to think you are.

Let's just, you know,
sit on the beach,

get high, and enjoy
who we really are.

- When you tell me how pretty I am,
well, I already know that,

so don't give me
that jive ass talk.

I don't need
your bullshit to tell me.

All I want to do
is get high and get out!

- "Look at you kids
with your vintage music.

Comin' through
the satellites while cruisin'.

You're part of the past,
but now you're the future.

Signals crossing
can get confusing.

- Well, kids today
like to listen to old music,

but they listen to it
through the new devices.

- They love the past.

They're retro,
but now they're the people

coming into, shall we say, power.

- This singer is talking
about today's society

and how maybe
it lacks some things

and they're looking to the past
to maybe find meaning

for their lives.

- "You get ready,
you get all dressed up.

To go nowhere in particular.

It doesn't matter
'cause it's enough.

To be young and in love."

Oh, I agree with that,
"To be young and in love."

(laughing)

- I'm dressing up for him
and we're enough.

We don't have to have
any particular place to go.

- Just to be with that person,
to look good for that person,

to show you take
enough interest in how you look

because you care enough
about that person.

- "How nice to be
young and in love,"

and that your man
will still dress to the nines.

- Being young and being
in love is all there is in life,

and it should be because
that's the time you do that

and feel that because
you don't know what's up ahead.

- All the good and all the bad
and all the crazy,

it doesn't even matter
because you've got each other.

It's hard to maintain,
but it's phenomenal

when you have it.

- I mean, that's worth
a million dollars

that you can't put in the bank,

just the feeling you're floating,
to be in love and to be young.

You said it, baby,
whoever you are.

- (FBE) So any idea
whose lyrics you've been reading?

- No.

- I have no idea.

- No, I don't know.

- I have no idea whose lyrics
I've been reading

for any of these songs.

- (FBE) So these
were lyrics to songs

from Lana Del Rey's repertoire.

- Never heard of her.

- I've heard her name.

Obviously, I am
not familiar with her.

- I'll tell you, she's got talent
and she's got heart.

- (FBE) Lana's sound has been called
"Hollywood Sadcore."

Her music has a cinematic sound
and she often references

pop culture
from the '50s and '60s.

She once said in an interview
she wasn't born in the '50s,

but she often feels
like she was there.

- Well, I can see that.
When you look back

at some of those
glamorous times in the '50s,

the '40s, '50s, '60s, whatever,
and a lot of people envy that.

- I certainly identify with that,
living in the past and the '50s.

I mean, the clothes
were the best!

- I think you can feel akin
to a type of music

that's not of your age.

I like swing.

I like Glenn Miller,
you know, very much,

but I didn't-- I'm not that old.

- (FBE) Now let's play you
the songs you read.

- Yeah, let's play. (laughing)
- (FBE) Okay.

- ♪ Swinging in the backyard ♪

♪ Pull up in your fast car... ♪
- Wow, that's old-school.

A melody with words.

- ♪ Open up a beer ♪

♪ And you say get over here... ♪

- She definitely has talent.

Not even a question,
her voice is beautiful.

- ♪ It's you, it's you,
it's all for you ♪

- That's very soft and melodic,
what I didn't expect.

And you mean that younger people
are listening that?

- ♪ ...want to do ♪

♪ I heard you like the bad girls ♪

♪ Honey, is that true? ♪

- (chuckling) I'm choked up!

I mean, that's
really a touching song.

- I liked those lyrics,
but now it just brings them alive

and her voice is wonderful
and, oh, I have--

now I'm gonna have to stop
on the way home

and (laughing) buy
a Lana Del Rey CD.

- ♪ I'm feelin' electric tonight ♪

♪ Cruisin' down the coast... ♪
- Wow.

- ♪ ...goin' 99 ♪

- There's something about that
"going fast down the coast highway."

Being from Santa Monica,
I know about that.

- ♪ I know if I go,
I'll die happy tonight ♪

♪ Oh, my god... ♪
- I like it because

it's got a nice hook to it.

- I like it.
- ♪ ...are sizzling like a snare ♪

♪ Honey, I'm on fire,
I feel it everywhere ♪

♪ Nothing scares me anymore ♪

- I'm just flabbergasted
and amazed.

I mean, I could
listen to it and enjoy it.

- ♪ My [bleep] tastes
like Pepsi-Cola ♪

♪ My eyes are wide
like cherry pies ♪

♪ I gots the taste for men
who are older ♪

- Boy, that lyrics,
now with the melody, really talks.

- ♪ ...so it's no surprise ♪

- Don't like the voice,
don't like the production.

Sorry, pffft.

- ♪ Down on the West coast,
they got their icons ♪

- This song, I think,
would be very popular today.

- ...Queens of Saigon ♪

- And I can see
the tremendous appeal.

- Interesting.

A little bit different
than the other ones.

- ♪ The truth is I never... ♪

- Okay, this is the one
with the strong woman

figuring out she's probably smarter
than all the men she knows.

- Oh, so different from
what I'm used to hearing.

- ♪ Get high, baby, baby, bye-bye ♪

- And her voice in this, to me,
is more one of the instruments

than trying to really sing loudly,
which is great.

- ♪ Look at you kids
with your vintage music ♪

♪ Comin' through
satellites while cruisin' ♪

- Oh, I love this, yeah.

- ♪ ...but now you're the future ♪

- That is a strong, strong lyric.

- This sort of
really has the sound

of... the folk rock
women of the '60s.

- ♪ It doesn't matter
if I'm not enough ♪

♪ To be young... ♪

And in love! Oh yeah!

- ♪ (vocalizing) ♪

- That's the best one
of the lot of them, I think.

- This person has a great career
if she sticks with it

because not only does
she sing well,

but the lyrics are meaningful.

- I'm impressed. I'm a fan.

Didn't know who she was
when I walked in here.

- I don't know if
it's her first hit or what,

but how in the hell
do you top this?

- Thanks for watching
Lyric Breakdown

on the React channel.

- New shows every week.
Be sure to subscribe.

- Bye, everyone!

- Hey, guys, I'm Katie,
a React channel producer.

Thank you so much
for all your comments

and suggestions for this
Lana Del Rey episode.

She's one of my favorite artists
and I loved doing this episode,

so thank you guys
and hit that Like button.

Thanks!