On March 23rd of 2023, “sad girl” pioneer and 6-time Grammy nominee Lana Del Rey released her ninth studio album under the name, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd? It features a few other artists including Father John Misty, Tommy Genesis, Jon Batiste, Bleachers and more. 

As a precursor to the album, Del Rey released the album’s title track of the same name alongside another single titled A&W. The Grants was also released as a single, but all three pre-released tracks are featured as a part of the album. Originally, the album was set to release March 10th but was delayed for unknown reasons. It includes 16 songs and interludes and has a runtime of 77 minutes and 43 seconds.

“Fingertips” is the ninth track on this album and is very personal to Del Rey. She alludes to topics like death, life, motherhood, familial issues, and existentialism. She laments on her past experiences and her hopeful yet melancholy outlook on her future. Del Rey sings, “Charlie, stop smoking/Caroline, will you be with me?/Will the baby be all right? Will I have one of mine?/Can I handle it even if I do?/They said that my mind/It’s not fit, or so they said/To carry a child/I guess I’ll be fine.”

In Fingertips, she sings about her hopes that her brother, Charlie, will stop smoking in an attempt to live out the rest of his life alongside her. She expresses her love and concern for her sisters’ (Caroline Grant) daughter/her nieces’ future in this world, and softly coos her inquiries about having her own children but being told she is not fit due to her fragile mental state. 

She also mentions the suicide of her uncle, David Grant in the song. David took his own life at the Rocky Mountains National Park back in July of 2016. She mourns him through her song and talks about what she wishes she could have done for him had she known how he was hurting. Del Rey gets extra personal by mentioning how she almost drowned in the ocean when she was 15 years old and questions what would have happened if she had not been saved.

“Let the Light in” is the 12th track on the album. Del Rey softly sings alongside Father John Misty, “Ooh, let the light in/At your back door, yelling, ’cause I wanna come in/Ooh, turn your light on/Look at us, you and I, back at it again.” This song can be interpreted many ways, making it an immediate hit with fans as they feel the freedom to insert themselves into this song. 

Throughout the song, Del Rey and Misty beg one another to “let the light in” and sing about waiting patiently for the other to open their door and welcome one another in. One interpretation of this song reads the lyrics as a late-night conversation between a man and his mistress, both of which want more for themselves than an affair. Another interpretation is that the song is about Del Rey encouraging Misty to see the brighter side of their relationship, despite their arguments and imperfections as can be seen through the lyrics, “’Cause I love to love, to love, to love you/I hate to hate, to hate, to hate you/Put the Beatles on, light the candles, go back to bed/’Cause I wanna, wanna, wanna want you/I need to, need to, need to need you/Put the TV on, the flowers in a vase, lie your head.”

“Taco Truck x VB” is a crossover with another one of Del Rey’s popular songs from her sixth studio album, Norman F*****g Rockwell (NFR) under the name Venice B***h. Taco Truck x VB is the 16th track on the album and was an immediate hit on popular social media app, Tiktok.

With a gorgeous slow start, the song drops in tempo and whispers of lines from the preliminary takes of Venice B***h creep in and begin to merge with the song, resulting in a legendary bridge, “Oh, God, I miss you on my lips/It’s me, your little Venice B***h/On the stoop with the neighborhood kids/Calling out, “Bang bang, kiss kiss.” It’s an awesome callback to Del Rey’s last album and a wonderful way to treat her fans to some of her works that did not get published. As it can be seen all throughout any forum or discussion board on the singer- her fans adore her demos and unreleased works, and Del Rey plays to that adoration in this song.

All in all, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd? Is a beautiful trip through Del Rey’s mind and a lovely break from her very sad and very hopeless songs from the past. Many of her fans agree; it is a very pleasant change and very relieving to see Del Rey in a happy and healthy place. This album is especially sweet considering the news of her alleged engagement to music producer, Evan Winiker.