Lana Del Rey - Doin' Time - Single [Review]

When I first learned that Lana Del Rey would soon be releasing a new single titled "Doin' Time" on May 17th, 2019, I got really excited because I was under the impression that the single would be a new single from her upcoming studio album Norman Fucking Rockwell (which I thought would hopefully mean that we would finally get updates on the cover art, the tracklisting, and the release date), but that impression turned out to be false. "Doin' Time" will reportedly not be featured on Norman Fucking Rockwell and (since the song is a cover of a Sublime song) instead has been released to promote an upcoming documentary about the band Sublime. Lana's cover remains relatively faithful to the original Sublime song (even retaining its original pronouns when Sublime sings that "me and my girl, we got this relationship. I love her so bad, but she treats me like... She spreads her lovin' all over, and when she gets home, there's none left for me."). The instrumental is very similar except a lot more ethereal as opposed to Sublime's somewhat tropical sound, with Lana's version being played on what sounds like harp (one of my favorite instruments), which is eventually joined by a hip hop beat. Del Rey also sings the verses a bit slower than Sublime does. The lyrics of "Doin' Time" speak of a relationship that feels like a prison because you, for one reason or another, feel trapped. Your lover does not treat you properly, saving you for last after sleeping around with others, and you feel like you can't leave: "On lockdown, like a penitentiary." (Interestingly, even though the song says the word "summertime" multiple times, it never says the phrase "doin' time.") Even though I do like the Lana Del Rey version better (which is probably in part because I am biased and have never really been much of a Sublime fan and also in part because I love the softer and more ethereal treatment on Lana's version), I appreciate the Sublime version because it is a lot more personal and features lyrics that quite honestly don't make much sense being sung by anyone else. For example, near the beginning of the song, we hear the lines, "Bradley's on the microphone with Ras M.G. All people in the dance will agree that we're well-qualified to represent the L.B.C., and me and Louie, we gon' run to the party..." Bradley is in reference to Bradley Nowell, the Sublime frontman, and Ras M.G. is in reference to a DJ who worked with Sublime on the song; L.B.C. is an abbreviation of Long Beach, California, where Sublime is from, and Louie is in reference to Nowell's dog, so as I said, these lyrics are essentially meaningless being sung by Lana because they are not universal due to being so specific. As happy as I am to be treated to a new release by Lana Del Rey, I am really looking forward to another original song released from Norman Fucking Rockwell, as it has been far too long.