| Blue Banisters | |
| Cover: | Lana Del Rey - Blue Banisters (Single).jpg |
| Border: | yes |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Lana Del Rey |
| Album: | Blue Banisters |
| Length: | 4:52 |
| Label: |
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| Producer: | Gabe Simon |
| Prev Title: | Tulsa Jesus Freak |
| Prev Year: | 2021 |
| Blue Banisters | |
| Title2: | Text Book" / "Wildflower Wildfire |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Next Title: | Arcadia |
| Next Year: | 2021 |
"Blue Banisters" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on 22 May 2021 by Interscope Records and Polydor Records alongside "Text Book" and "Wildflower Wildfire" as the joint lead singles for her eighth studio album Blue Banisters. The song was written by Del Rey and Gabe Simon, the latter of whom also produced the song.
Lana Del Rey announced the release of her eighth studio album Blue Banisters on 28 April 2021, with the release date initially set for 4 July.[1] On 20 May 2021, three singles were surprise released by Del Rey — "Blue Banisters", "Text Book", and "Wildflower Wildfire" — as "buzz tracks in anticipation of her upcoming 8th studio album".[2] [3] A music video for "Blue Banisters" was released two days before the album on 20 October.[4]
"Blue Banisters" is a ballad[5] containing cushioned piano notes and quiet vocal runs.[6] Lyrically, the song delves into the sorrow following a breakup and growing older. Del Rey also alludes to her earlier style by mentioning Russian poetry, and her sister Chuck.[7]
Steffanee Wang from jjb encapsulated "Blue Banisters" as "a crescendoing, towering ballad", noting how "Del Rey is able to signal her growth in perspective regarding feminism" "elegantly" on the track.[8] Alisha Mughal from Exclaim! emphasized how Del Rey sounds "unprocessed, raw, unaffected, and so, so beautiful" on the song.[9] Ben Bryant from The Independent portrayed how "the stunning, spacious" song "is as luxurious and haunting as a Jim Buckels painting".[10]
The music video for "Blue Banisters" was released on 20 October 2021. The video features a peaceful setting, where Lana rides a tractor and has fun with her friends painting banisters blue, and decorating cakes.[11] [12] The video is serene until Lana's expression turns serious at the end. Jon Blistein from Rolling Stone described how the "clip toes the line between literally and abstractly complementing the lyrics",[13] a feat also noted by Sam Kemp from Far Out.[14]
An earlier version of the music video was first teased on April 28, 2021[15] and was set to feature Del Rey's partner at the time, Clayton Johnson, who also posted a picture of himself in his music video costume on November 25, 2020.[16] The original concept was likely scrapped after Del Rey and Johnson broke up.
| Peak position | |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[17] | 31 |
|---|---|