Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (song) explained
| Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd |
| Cover: | Lana Del Rey - Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd song.png |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Lana Del Rey |
| Album: | Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd |
| Genre: |
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| Length: | - 4:45 (main version)
- 4:02 (radio edit)
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| Label: |
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| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | Watercolor Eyes |
| Prev Year: | 2022 |
| Next Title: | A&W |
| Next Year: | 2023 |
"Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from the 2023 studio album of the same name, her ninth album. It was released as the lead single from the album on December 7, 2022.[1] [2] Del Rey wrote the song with Mike Hermosa and both produced it with Jack Antonoff, Drew Erickson, and Zach Dawes.
Background and release
The song was written by Del Rey and Mike Hermosa, with whom she also co-produced it, alongside Jack Antonoff, Drew Erickson, and Zach Dawes. The track is a slow dreamy ballad described as baroque orchestral pop.[3]
In an interview with Billie Eilish for Interview, Del Rey revealed that "Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd" was the first song written for its parent album of the same name. She also shared that the song and title 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 beautiful] 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.[4]
There is no known connection to the tunnel under Ocean Boulevard at Sea Mist Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, built in the 1980s but no longer used as of 2022.[5]
Impact
The Jergins Tunnel that was referenced in the song received renewed interest after the song was released.[6] In November of 2023, it was announced that the Jergins Tunnel will reopen as a speakeasy that will be part of a new Hard Rock Hotel. The project will be completed in 2027, one year prior to the 2028 Summer Olympics.[7]
Critical reception
Sam Sodomsky of Pitchfork described the song as a "slow, dreamy ballad filled" with "incidental moments" and found the tunnel in the title to be "less a geographic focal point than a window into the potential she sees in the most familiar scenes and well-traveled routes".[8]
Personnel
Credits are adapted from Tidal.[9]
- Lana Del Rey – vocals, background vocals, songwriter, producer
- Mike Hermosa – producer, songwriter, acoustic guitar
- Jack Antonoff – producer, drums, electric guitar, synth bassist, programmer, mixer
- Drew Erickson – producer, conductor, string arranger, piano, synth bass
- Zach Dawes – producer
- Jim Keltner – drums
- Benji Lysaght – acoustic guitar, sound effects
- Christine Kim – cello
- Jake Braun – cello
- Logan Hone – clarinet
- Charlie Bisharat – violin
- Andrew Bulbrook – violin
- Wynton Grant – violin
- Paul J. Cartwright – violin
- Vonciele Faggett – background vocals
- Melodye Perry – background vocals
- Shikena Jones – background vocals
- Laura Sisk – engineer, mixer
- Michael Harris – engineer
- Dean Reid – engineer
- Bill Mims – assistant recording engineer
- Jon Sher – assistant recording engineer
- Mark Aguilar – assistant recording engineer
- Ben Fletcher – assistant recording engineer
- Matt Tuggle – assistant recording engineer
- Ruairi O'Flaherty – assistant recording engineer
- Brian Rajaratnam – assistant recording engineer
- Ivan Handwerk – assistant recording engineer
- Megan Searl – assistant recording engineer
Charts
Notes and References
- Web site: Jones . Damian . December 7, 2022 . Lana Del Rey announces new album and single 'Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd' . December 8, 2022 . NME.
- Martoccio . Angie . Mier . Tomás . December 7, 2022 . Lana Del Rey Asks on New Album, 'Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd' . . December 8, 2022.
- Web site: Griffiths . George . December 8, 2022 . Lana Del Rey's ninth album Did You Know There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd will be released early next year . December 9, 2022 . Official Charts Company.
- Web site: Lent . Caitlin . 2023-02-14 . Lana Del Rey and Billie Eilish Fall in Love . 2023-02-15 . Interview Magazine . en-US.
- News: Fact check: Is Lana Del Rey's new album referencing Myrtle Beach's Ocean Boulevard?. Williamson. Caroline. The Sun News. 2022-12-19. 2024-09-16.
- Web site: Lana Del Rey: a great American poet . 1 August 2023 . Hannah . Williams . New Statesman . 10 August 2023 . 10 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230810230559/https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/music/2023/08/lana-del-rey-a-great-american-poet . live .
- Web site: Hard Rock Hotel plans 2027 opening in Long Beach; Jergins Tunnel to be a speakeasy, mayor says . 13 November 2023 . Brandon . Richardson . Long Beach Business Journal . 15 February 2024 .
- Web site: Lana Del Rey: "Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd" Track Review. Pitchfork. Sodomsky. Sam. December 7, 2022. December 8, 2022.
- Web site: Credits / Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd / Lana Del Rey. Tidal. December 9, 2022.
- Web site: IFPI Charts . 2022-12-21 . www.ifpi.gr.
- Web site: IRMA – Irish Charts. Irish Recorded Music Association. December 17, 2022.
- Web site: 2022 50-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100). AGATA. lt. December 16, 2022. December 16, 2022.
- Web site: NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ. December 19, 2022. December 17, 2022.
