The 10 Best Lyrics on Lana Del Rey’s ‘Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’

Lana Del Rey is back in all her glory on her latest album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, a 16-track victory lap around a remarkable career apex that’s lasted for years and doesn’t seem to be coming to an end any time soon.

It’s been said before, but the March 24-released record is peak Lana: sprawling melodies, caustic lyrics perfumed with wilted roses and cigarette smoke, and most importantly, little regard for pop music’s rules. It’s her ninth studio album and third solo LP in two years — a feat she chose to create with seasoned collaborators Jack Antonoff, Mike Hermosa and Drew Erickson — unshakeable proof that while a generation of aspiring anti-pop stars may try to mimic her complexity, Del Rey will always be inimitable.

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“Eleven years ago I wanted it to be so good,” this year’s Women in Music Visionary Award honoree told Billboard earlier this year. “Now, I just sing exactly what I’m thinking. I’m thinking a little less big and bombastic. Maybe at some point I can have fun creating a world again, but right now, I would say there’s no world building. This music is about thought processing. It’s very, very wordy. I’m definitely living from the neck up.”

She really wasn’t kidding when she said she’s leaning wordier than ever, by the way. The tracks on Ocean Blvd often stretch longer than five minutes, no trace of a filler lyric in sight, packed with vulnerable lamentations on family, legacy and duty, in addition to her usual noir musings on love and sex.

Keep reading to see Billboard‘s 10 favorite lyrics from Lana Del Rey’s new record below, in no particular order.

Hannah Dailey

Billboard