Lana Del Rey returns today with “A&W,” the second taste of her forthcoming ninth album, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd. As with her previous single, the LP’s title track, Lana wrote and produced “A&W” with hitmaker Jack Antonoff. And just like last time, the song shot up the Genius Top Songs chart, reaching No. 1 within hours of release.
While the song’s title evokes a brand of root beer that’s been around for more than a hundred years—the kind of distinctly American reference that LDR loves to make—“A&W” here stands for “American Whore,” a title Del Rey’s character in the song gives herself. Actually, “songs” may be more correct, as the seven-minute track breaks neatly into two parts: a piano-driven narrative about a woman struggling against societal expectations, and an electronic section that finds Lana recontextualizing a 1959 R&B hit.
In the first verse, Lana’s protagonist contrasts her innocent younger self with the person she’s become. She’s hard and jaded after years of being sexualized based on her appearance.
I haven’t done a cartwheel since I was nine
I haven’t seen my mother in a long, long time
I mean, look at me, look at the length of my hair, my face, the shape of my body
Do you really think I give a damn what I do after years of just hearing them talking?
The pre-chorus gives us a setting for this story: Rosemead, California, a city in Los Angeles County. Although LDR’s character doesn’t really consider herself part of the community.
I say I live in Rosemead, really, I’m at the Ramada
It doesn’t really matter, doesn’t really, really matter
The word “whore” has several meanings. It’s a derogatory synonym for sex worker, and it’s a term for a “promiscuous or immoral woman,” according to Merriam-Webster. Which definition is Lana using in the song’s chorus, where she invites a man to her hotel room for a physical encounter with no emotions attached? Likely the second, in anticipation of what people will say about her. She’s meant to feel ashamed for embodying the image others have long foist upon her.
Call him up, come in to my bedroom
Ended up we fuck on the hotel floor
It’s not about having someone to love me anymore
This is the experience of being an American whore
In the second verse, Lana name-checks Forensic Files, a TV show about the science of solving violent solving crimes, and seemingly references 2015’s The Diary of a Teenage Girl, a film about a 15-year-old who becomes sexually active by sleeping with her mother’s boyfriend.
Watching Teenage Diary of a Girl
Wondering what went wrong
I’m a princess, I’m divisive
Ask me why I’m like this
Maybe I’m just kinda like this
I don’t know, maybe I’m just like this
In the third verse, Lana returns to the physical description she gives of herself in the first verse. This time, she alludes to being the victim of a sexual crime—someone who deserved what she got, according to some horribly misguided people, because of how she presents herself.
I mean, look at my hair
Look at the length of it there and the shape of my body
If I told you that I was raped
Do you really think that anybody would think I didn’t ask for it, didn’t ask for it?
Didn’t testify, already fucked up my story
The fact that nobody listens to her might explain the closing lines of this section of the song.
I’m invisible, look how you hold me
I’m invisible, I’m invisible
I’m a ghost now, look how you hold me now
Following the final chorus, a harsh electronic beat drops, punctuated by the sound of zippers unzipping. In the hook of this second section, Lana seemingly harks back to 1959’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop” by Little Anthony & The Imperials. Only she uses the language of the feel-good R&B oldie to describe a manipulative relationship centered on drugs.
Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko-Bop, Jimmy, Jimmy ride
Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko-Bop, Jimmy, get me high (Oh, my God)
Love me if you live and love, you can be my light
Jimmy only love me when he wanna get high
In an Instagram post, Antonoff said this song is his favorite he’s ever made with LDR. Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd is due to arrive on March 24. In the meantime, you can read all the lyrics to “A&W” on Genius now.
