5 Lana Del Rey Songs That Aren’t ‘Video Games’
Lana Del Rey, whose real name is Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, released her debut album, Lana Del Ray, in 2010. However, her breakthrough came the next year, after she released her single, “Video Games.”
Del Rey recently announced the release of her tenth studio album, The Right Person Will Stay on May 21, 2025.
Before her new album comes, here are 5 Lana Del Rey songs you should listen to and give “Video Games” it’s well-deserved break from playing on a loop.
“Born to Die”
From her sophomore album of the same name, “Born to Die” was released as the album’s second single in December 2011. According to Del Rey, the song is a “homage to true love and a tribute to living life on the wild side,” per Genius. The track will make you feel a rollercoaster of emotions: “Come and take a walk on the wild side/Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain/You like your girls insane (Louder, alright)/Choose your last words, this is the last time/’Cause you and I, we were born to die.”
The pre-chorus will also make your heart ache and make you want to call your ex; please, don’t. (“Don’t make me sad, don’t make me cry/Sometimes, love is not enough.”)
The accompanying music video is also a delight to watch with its rich storytelling and pleasing visuals with Del Rey in a white dress and a flower crown sitting in the throne room of a castle alone adds melancholy to the song’s haunting lyrics.
“Young and Beautiful”
“Young and Beautiful” is the soundtrack to Leonardo DiCaprio’s film, The Great Gatsby. Del Rey worked with director Baz Luhrmann to write the lyrics in Daisy Buchanan’s (played by Carey Mulligan) POV. Del Rey’s powerful vocals along with the fact that, hey, she is young and beautiful, gave the song more depth. You can feel her desperation to know the answer to the question: “Will you still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful?/Will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching soul?”
If you’ve ever worried your partner might leave you as you grow old, listening to this song will have you convinced your wrinkles and laugh lines are multiplying by the second.
“West Coast”
This song might be different from the usual Lana Del Rey songs. It’s different, but good. It can be your go-to summer anthem, especially if you’re going through a crisis or heatache: “Down on the West Coast, I get this feeling like/It all could happen, that’s why I’m leaving/You for the moment, you for the moment.”
But hey, if your supposedly true love isn’t supportive of your dream or unwilling to “Move, baby, move, baby,” perhaps you should also go after a new love.
Del Rey also released a music video with the California scenery as the backdrop with leather-clad bad-boy love interests.
“Love”
The lead single from her fifth album, Lust for Life, “Love” captures the innocence and carefree feeling of young love: “It doesn’t matter if I’m not enough/For the future or the things to come/’Cause I’m young and in love.”
If some of the songs on this list made you feel gloomy and doomy, this song will remind you of the crazier and lighthearted moments of being young and in love.
Music critics loved the song and called it “anthemic” and “marvelously good.” The song was also used in the pilot episode of the reality TV show, Siesta Key.
“Summertime Sadness”
You can’t get the post-chorus out of your head: “I got that summertime, summertime sadness/Su-su-summertime, summertime sadness/Got that summertime, summertime sadness.” In 2012, when they song was released, everyone singing it .
Lyrically, the song talks about a tragic (“Think I’ll miss you forever/Like the stars miss the sun in the morning sky”) but intoxicating love (“I just wanted you to know/That, baby, you the best.) The accompanying music video is more poignant, featuring actress Jaime King, whose husband, Kyle Newman, directed it.
This song is perfect for those feeling sad about the end of summertime romances, which are sweet but can be fleeting.
Lana Del Rey’s discography is a treasure trove of heartbreaking ballads, melancholic dream pop, and unforgettable soundtracks for movies and TV shows. Sure, “Video Games” will always be special, but these five tracks (and trust us, there are many more) showcase Del Rey’s incredible vocal range and poetic songwriting talent.
