Lana Del Rey | Born To Die (Deluxe) | lyrics

Blue Jeans

lyrics:

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blue jeans, white shirt
walked into the room
you know you made my eyes burn
it was like James Dean, for sure
you're so fresh to death and sick as c-c-cancer

you were sorta punk rock
I grew up on hip hop
but you fit me better than my favourite sweater and I know
that love is mean
and love hurts
but I still remember that day we met in December
ooh, baby...

I will love you till the end of time
I would wait a million years
promise to remember that you're mine
baby, can you see through the tears?
love you more than those bitches before
say you'll remember
say you'll remember

ooh, baby, ooh!
I will love you till the end of time.

big dreams, gangsta
said you had to leave to start your life over
I was like, "no please! stay here!
we don't need no money
we can make it all work."

but he headed out on Sunday
said he'd come on Monday
I stayed up waiting, anticipating and pacin'
but he was chasing paper
caught up in the game - that was the last I heard

you went out every night
and baby, that's alright
I told you that no matter what you did, I'd be by your side
'cause I'm your ride or die whether you fail or fly
well shit, at least you tried

but when you walked out the door a piece of me died
told you I wouldn't mind
it's not what I had in mind
just want it like before
we were dancin' all night
then they took you away
stole you out of my life
we just need to remember...

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analysis:

my thoughts

Blue Jeans is the third track and second single off Lana Del Rey's debut LP Born To Die. the song is about an ex-boyfriend, whom she compares to James Dean, a 50s heartthrob who died young. It begins with a cutting, static guitar plucking strings, and then a drum kicks in with the rest of the music as she begins to sing the first verse. In this first verse, she describes the man she's with; "blue jeans, white shirt" which is a reference to James Dean's fashion. "you're so fresh to death and sick as c-c-cancer." This line is describing the man as fresh, meaning cool but also juxtaposing it with the comparison of being as sick as cancer. "Sick" is still a slang synonym for cool, but using a potentially deadly illness with the word clarifies its double meaning, with Lana knowing he has a dark past and side to him as well that could at some point be fatal to the relationship.

As the song progresses to the chorus, Lana Del Rey sings hopelessly and wistfully that she will love him til the end of time, even if it means "waiting a million years". The song moves to dreamy and soft during the chorus, as Lana reaches high notes and harmonies as if reaching for him, and shouting out to profess her love, even to someone who she thinks might not reciprocate (as proved in the second verse and bridge lyrics). The relationship with the "bad boy" that starts off well but then is doomed by him no longer taking interest in her and leaving. The romantic confession matches to that of Off To The Races, of loving someone you know you cannot change, but not caring because you still love them anyway, which is a running theme in many others such as a song in the following record called Shades Of Cool.

The man she is writing about in these songs is the same man in Born To Die and Video Games. With Off To The Races, Blue Jeans and Video Games, we progress through three different romances, each characteristic of a different stage of life, in reverse order. Off To The Races shows us a relationship focused on drinking and nightlife, likely corresponding to someone in her 20s. Blue Jeans depicts a relationship with a James Dean figure which likely seems set in high school or college. Video Games is a song about first love, the most innocent of all, and the feeling of love being reciprocated for the first time.

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