Continuing my track-by-track appreciation of Lana Del Rey’s newest album, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd…
Track 10: ‘Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he’s deep-sea fishing’
Between the album title and this song’s moniker, rest assured that Lana Del Rey satisfied any word count requirements for this project. She’s actually showing some restraint, as the line that gives today’s track its name adds the phrase “for sharks in the Pacific.”
I won’t be ranking the songs on Ocean Blvd, but if I were this one would definitely be in the top tier. Its sweeping production and passionate vocals give it extra dramatic heft on an album full of dramatic moments.
While most of the album has been about family and mortality, this song focuses on Del Rey’s professional life. The first (and only) verse addresses the rumors of inauthenticity that dogged her early in her career, the idea that there must be men pulling the strings behind a pretty young woman.
The bridge alludes to a controversy later in Del Rey’s career when she was labelled a racist after posting an Instagram missive that named several women of color who she said write about similar topics without receiving the backlash she does.
As for the chorus, I assume she is simply asking her late grandfather to look after her father, who apparently is an avid deep sea fisherman. I’m not sure why that sentiment sits alongside the other elements of this song, but it sure sounds great.
As you’ll see next week, this song marks a shift in Ocean Blvd away from the more somber, confessional tracks into the more romantic and playful final third of the album.
Three white butterflies to know you’re near
[Verse]
I know they think that it took somebody else
To make me beautiful, beautiful
As they intended me to be
But they’re wrong
I know they think that it took thousands of people
To put me together again like an experiment
Some big men behind the scenes
Sewing Frankenstein black dreams into my songs
But they’re wrong
[Pre-Chorus]
God, if you’rе near me, send mе three white butterflies
Or an owl to know you’re listening, sitting while I’m drinking
[Chorus]
Grandfather, please stand on the shoulders of my father
While he’s deep-sea fishing for sharks in the Pacific
[Bridge]
‘Cause I’m good in spirit, warm-bodied
A fallible deity wrapped up in white
I’m folk, I’m jazz, I’m blue, I’m green
Regrettably, also a white woman
But I have good intentions even if I’m one of the last ones
If you don’t believe me, my poetry, or my melodies
Feel it in your bones
I have good intentions even if I’m one of the last ones
(Ah, yeah, ah, yeah, ah, yeah, oh)
[Chorus]
Grandfather, please stand on the shoulders of my father
While he’s deep-sea fishing for all the things he’s wishing
God, if you’re near me, send me three white butterflies
Or a map to know your vision, impart on me your wisdom
[Post-Chorus]
It took somebody else to make me beautiful, wonderful
As they intended me to be
But they’re wrong
[Outro]
Three white butterflies to know you’re near
Meet Me In Montauk 
Grandfather, please stand on my shoulders to help me get through another week of this album….🤪
😂
Despite the unnecessary length of this song’s title, it is actually one of the most intentional songs on the record. As you articulated so well, I love when Lana gets personal not in a spiteful but in almost prideful, contemplative way. Here, she invokes her falsetto and the story of her grandfather to bring the listener in on this ocean journey. This track too would rank high on my listing for this album. However, the playful third act is where much of my top five lives.
my favorite song!!