Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (2022) – Lana Del Rey

The lyrics contain strong language. Reader / listener discretion is advised.

“What can I say! I’m so grateful to be present and feeling effervescent today…With a mind full of violets and a forehead warmed by the sun as I pray in the garden.”

– From a typewritten letter Lana wrote to release her new album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.

I’ve listened to my fair share of Lana Del Rey over the past couple of years as a relatively new fan, and her songs have been coming out here like hotcakes – something I don’t see abating anytime soon. Let me just say it: today’s featured track, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, stands above just about any other song I’ve heard from her, showcasing her melancholic beauty and cinematic sound all in one package. It’s a bit like Dostoevsky’s short story White Nights – a perfect gateway into his world. If you like White Nights, you’ll likely love Dostoevsky; if you don’t, probably not. The same goes for this song and Lana’s artistry – to me, it’s a full immersion into who she is as an artist.

Did You Know… carries a melodic and lyrical lucidity that feels utterly original. Lana weaves an atmosphere that’s both intimate and vast. She seems to be expressing herself as if she was a by-product of her place and the inherent materialism associated with our age – yet determined to transcend it through the alchemy of her own voice, talent, and sexuality. In that sense, she’s not unlike Argentinian artist Nathy Peluso, both of whom are reshaping the modern musical landscape as we speak, through fearless self-expression and artful provocation.

I don’t know why, but as soon as this song unravels into the chorus, I feel that lump in my throat, the eyes becoming watery. It’s irrepressible, quintessential Lana Del Rey – that Americana music whispered from the static of a dying radio. It’s the same reaction I get when she sings, “America, I need a miracle,” in Arcadia – pure cinematic yearning. To me, Lana’s like an old siren from a 1950s screen who’s drifted into the modern world.

The following was abridged from the Wikipedia article below:
Lana shared that the song and title Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd were inspired by a sealed tunnel under the Jergins Trust Building in Long Beach, California, and a 1974 track by Harry Nilsson titled Don’t Forget Me. She had read that “the [tunnel’s] mosaic ceilings were still perfectly preserved, but no one could get in“, and was compelled to write a song inspired by Nilsson’s track using her own metaphors.

The song is the title track and lead single from Lana’s ninth studio album. Commercially, the album topped the record charts in eight countries and reached the top-five in over 20 countries, including the United States, where it peaked at number three on the US Billboard. Work on the album started shortly after the release of her eighth studio album, Blue Banisters, in October 2021. 

In the album Lana departed from her signature colorful language and world-building, found in her other work, in favor of a conversational style. The album is an Americana and alt-pop album by experimenting with a fusion of ‘Seventies FM piano pop’, hip-hop, and dance production, as well as influences of gospel, folk, trap, electro-jazz, soul, and psychedelic music. Del Rey called the creation of the album “totally effortless“, saying that she wanted the music to have “a spiritual element“.

“If people think my music is good it’s because there’s other people involved in the songs and in the process of making it. So many people” 

– With 16 tracks, the album includes collaborations with everyone from Father John Misty to Bleachers, Tommy Genesis to Jon Batiste.

[Verse 1]
Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard?
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

[Pre-Chorus]
And I’m like
When’s it gonna be my turn?
When’s it gonna be my turn?

[Chorus]
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
Therе’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulеvard

[Verse 2]
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

[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, man
When’s it gonna be my turn?
Don’t forget me
When’s it gonna be my turn?

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
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 give me five
Lennon in my back, whisperin’ in my ear
“Come on, baby, you can thrive”
But I can’t

[Pre-Chorus]
When’s it gonna be my turn?
Don’t forget me
When’s it gonna be my turn?

[Chorus]

References:
1. ‘Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’ – Rolling Stone
2. Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd – Wikipedia