Listen to Lana Del Rey’s stunning isolated vocals on ‘Lolita’
Vladimir Nabokov’s astounding 1955 novel Lolita was highly controversial upon its release due to its uncomfortable subject matter. Written from the perspective of a paedophile, Humbert Humbert, the novel is a darkly comic tale of a man’s tumultuous downfall. Depicted as witty, handsome and intelligent, Humbert forces the reader to see Lolita, a 12-year-old girl, from his point of view, constantly finding obscene ways to get closer to the object of his affection.
It’s a deeply uncomfortable read, yet one that has endured for decades due to Nabokov’s sublimely complex and self-aware writing style. Through his narrative, he condemns Humbert’s actions, weaving beautiful prose into every sentence. Nabokov’s masterpiece was banned in many countries, the point of the book seemingly going over many people’s heads. However, in 1963, Stanley Kubrick adapted the novel into a movie, leading to a wave of other adaptations, including theatre productions, a musical and a ballet.
Lolita is firmly planted in pop culture, with many musicians paying homage to the novel within their own work. The most prominent example is Lana Del Rey, who loaded her debut album and early unreleased songs with references to Nabokov’s masterpiece. The second song on the album, ‘Off to the Races’, features direct quotes from the book, “Light of my life, fire of my loins,” and ‘Carmen’ is inspired by the song Humbert sings to Lolita.
However, Del Rey couldn’t be more explicit about the book’s influence than on the aptly-named track ‘Lolita’. The song sees Del Rey sing from the perspective of a young girl, emphasising an iffy age gap with lines such as “No more skipping rope, skipping heartbeats with the boys downtown/ Just you and me feeling the heat even when the sun goes down”. Del Rey adds a playful element to her delivery, spelling out words in a childlike manner to highlight the uncomfortable nature of the dynamic.
Del Rey has long been accused of romanticising the novel. Although her use of Lolita references helped to popularise the book among a new generation, she certainly never intended for many young audiences to develop its imagery into a niche aesthetic on websites such as Tumblr. Instead, Del Rey merely used the book to convey themes she related to, emphasising the overarching themes of Born to Die – the dark side of the American dream.
‘Lolita’ is a great highlight from Born to Die, demonstrating Del Rey’s clever writing abilities. Check out her isolated vocals from the track below, a reminder of why she is one of contemporary pop music’s most revered voices.
