Cola (Lana Del Rey song) facts for kids

"Cola" is a song by American singer Lana Del Rey. It was released on her mini-album (called an EP) Paradise in 2012. The song also appeared on a special re-release of her album Born to Die: The Paradise Edition. Before the song officially came out, a small part of it was shared in a video on her YouTube channel. Some of the words in the song caused a lot of discussion.

How the Song Was Made

"Cola" was written by Lana Del Rey, whose real name is Elizabeth Grant, and Rick Nowels. Elizabeth Grant wrote the words for the song. When asked about where the lyrics came from, Del Rey said they were inspired by a conversation with her Scottish boyfriend at the time. He thought American girls were very interesting and patriotic.

Rick Nowels produced the song, and the group DK also helped with production. Many different instruments and sounds were used to create the song. These included drum machines, real drums played by Devrim Karaoglu and Rick Nowels, keyboards, and a special bass sound called Juno bass. Rick Nowels also played acoustic guitar. Tim Pierce played the slide guitar, and Patrick Warren played strings, glockenspiel (a type of bell instrument), brass, organ, electric guitar, piano, and synthesizers.

The song was recorded at The Green Building in Santa Monica. Chris Garcia and Jordan Stilwell helped with extra recording. Finally, John Davis made the song sound perfect (this is called mastering) at Metropolis Mastering in London.

Releasing the Song

After another one of Lana Del Rey's songs, "Ride", was released in September 2012, she shared a video online. This video showed short clips of songs from her new Paradise EP and the Paradise Edition of Born to Die. In November 2012, it was announced that "Cola" would be the second single from the EP. Lana Del Rey mentioned that her record label (the company that releases her music) was unsure about releasing "Cola" because of its lyrics.

Changes to the Song's Performance

In 2017, after some public discussions about a person named Harvey, Lana Del Rey decided to stop performing "Cola" at her concerts during the LA to the Moon Tour. She said that when she wrote the song, she had a character in mind who was similar to a "Harvey Weinstein/Harry Winston-type." The song's lyrics also refer to the 1967 song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by The Beatles.

Song's Popularity

"Cola" first appeared on music charts in Ireland, reaching number 99, even before it was officially announced as a single. It then appeared on the United Kingdom singles chart at number 120 in November 2012.

When the Paradise EP was released, several songs from it appeared on Billboard magazine's Hot Rock Songs chart in the United States. "Cola" reached number 22, which was Lana Del Rey's highest spot on that chart at the time. Other songs from the EP, like "American" (at 29) and "Ride" (at 30), also charted.

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